Johnny Tama is an Ecuadorian wrestler and jiu-jitsu black belt under Juan Miguel Iturralde of Alliance Academy. Tama earned his reputation as one of the best athletes of his generation after winning medals at the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Pan American Championships (gi and no-gi) and World Championships (also gi and no-gi). gi) in both. the purple and brown belt categories. Later, in December 2019, Johnny Tama became the first Hispanic athlete to win an IBJJF world title in the adult black belt division of this sport.

Johnny Tama grew up in Ecuador and as a child he was not a big fan of martial arts. Playing football and hanging out with his friends was what Johnny did in his free time, although he did do Taekwondo for a short period of time. Growing up in a very religious family consisted of going to church on Sundays and Johnny was raised to be a good boy. Growing up as a Hispanic child on the streets of Ecuador had its perils. In 2009, Johnny was attacked by another young man and, by all accounts, received a severe beating. After this incident, Johnny was worried about his safety, so he decided to train in self-defense. After receiving some advice from his stepfather, Johnny decided to start training in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. Johnny would also see Fernando Di Piero destroy his MMA opponent with pure Jiu Jitsu, which was the deciding factor in him starting to train in BJJ. Johnny Tama would join Juan Miguel Iturralde, one of Fernando Di Piero's black belts. Johnny stayed with Juan Miguel throughout his development, and Johnny also credits Rubens Charles as a major influence on him as a training partner. Johnny spent many years going back and forth to Chile where he competed and trained, Johnny was instrumental in the development of Jiu Jitsu in Chile.