Raymond Stevens (judoka)

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Raymond Stevens (born 26 July 1963) is a British judoka from Camberley, Surrey. He started judo at age ten and earned a black belt at sixteen. He was the British middleweight champion in 1984 and 1986. In 1986 he won gold in the 86 kg division at the judo demonstration event of the Commonwealth Games.

Stevens competed in two Summer Olympics. In 1992 in Barcelona, he won the silver medal in the men’s -95 kg division, after losing the final to Antal Kovács of Hungary. He represented England at the 1990 Commonwealth Games in Auckland, winning gold in the 95 kg half-heavyweight category. He was European Champion in 1994 in Gdańsk in the -95 kg division and finished seventh at the 1995 World Judo Championships.

He holds the rank of 7th Dan (awarded in 2015) and serves as Vice Chairman of the British Judo Association London Area. In 2008 he became the first person to receive a black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu from Roger Gracie, and he earned his 2nd Dan BJJ in 2015. He opened Ray Stevens Academy in September 2017 in South London (Merton), offering Judo, BJJ, No-Gi Wrestling, MMA and Kickboxing.