Hollywood superstar Tom Hardy won first place at the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship as a surprise competitor

Tom Hardy participated in the 2022 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Open Championship, a competition organized by the Ultimate Martial Arts Championships in Milton Keynes

Tom won all his matches and walked away with a gold medal.

A spokesperson for the championships described him as a “really nice guy” who was a “real pleasure” to host at their tournament.

Danny Appleby, Tom Hardy’s opponent at the tournament’s semifinal, lauded Hardy for putting up a great show

“Everyone recognized him but he was very humble and was happy to take time out for people to take photographs with him,” a spokesperson for the championships was quoted as saying in the report. “It was a real pleasure to have him compete at our event,” he added.

“I was shell-shocked,” Appleby said. “[Hardy] said, ‘Just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do.’”

Continuing further Appleby stated the actor to be “a really strong guy … You wouldn’t think it with him being a celebrity.”

Appleby was ‘shell-shocked’ fighting Hardy

This is what Appleby told the local media after fighting Hardy: “I was shell-shocked. He said, ‘Just forget it’s me and do what you would normally do.’ He’s a really strong guy… You wouldn’t think it with him being a celebrity. I’ve done about six tournaments and I’ve been on the podium in everyone. But he’s probably the toughest competitor I’ve had – he certainly lived up to his Bane character, that’s for sure.”

Tom Hardy, who has a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, won the REORG Open Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Wolverhampton back in August, a tournament aimed at raising funds for military personnel, veterans, and emergency service workers. He is also a trustee for REORG, a charity teaching jiu-jitsu to those with serious injuries, or who are suffering from PTSD and depression.

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