The heart of a champion is rarely satisfied.
There is a yearning, a hunger, to always improve and do better.
Lillian Marchand has that heart.
The 19-year-old Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) member from Vernon won her first International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation world championship as a black belt, taking the 69 kilogram class at the recent Gi (the robe worn by athletes) World Championships May 28 to 31 in Long Beach, Cal.
While she’s happy and grateful to be crowned a world champion, it’s how she won that isn’t sitting well with the martial artist.
Marchand defeated Elisabeth Clay from Vernon’s sister city, Modesto, Cal., when Clay was issued a point-reducing penalty. That’s when Marchand took the lead in the match.
“I’m happy I won, and I want to keep improving, I’m just not happy with the way I won,” said Marchand, who turns 20 in late July. “I could have been more dominant. There’s so much more I could have done.”
Marchand won four fights in Long Beach, and her match against Clay was the third in the final of the last three major tournaments.
Each had defeated the other prior to the Long Beach worlds; Marchand using an armbar to submit Clay in the black belt middleweight division final at the 2026 International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation’s Pans tournament in Kissimmee, Fla.
Clay got her revenge a few weeks later, defeating Marchand with a kneebar move to win the 69kg final at Brasileiro, the Brazilian National Championship, in Barueri.
It’s been quite a year for Marchand since being promoted to black belt in 2025.
She became the No-Gi world champion, won Pans and Worlds (Gi), picked up medals at Brasileiro and the European championships, and won her debut professional superfight on a card in Florida.
Prior to promotion, Marchand celebrated Gi and No-Gi wins at Pans, Europe, Brazil, and Abu Dhabi in both 2024 and 2025.
Battling through injuries in Long Beach, and after a quick jaunt to Disneyland with family, Marchand is back in the North Okanagan for a well-deserved rest.
“Coming home keeps me humbled,” said Marchand, who is excited about becoming an aunt as sister Kara prepares to deliver her first child.
“I’ll keep busy by training and staying active.”
In her first week, she met with members of the OKIB council, who were thrilled to welcome the world champ back home.
“The Okanagan Indian Band would like to congratulate Lillian Marchand on her recent 2026 Black Belt Middleweight Gi World Championship win,” said Chief Dan Wilson. “At only 19-years-old, Lillian’s dedication and determination is paying off…”
Marchand also took the time to return to the place where her journey started, a trek that has seen her leave her cherished OKIB land with a move to San Diego to become one of the dominant performers in her chosen sport.
She visited NOS (North Okanagan Shuswap) BJJ and MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in Vernon, owned and operated by Mario Deveault, Marchand’s first instructor in the field.
“I went and had a visit with Mario and showed my medals to the kids,” said Marchand. “It was weird how what Mario said to me all of those years ago, about how I could do so well in the sport, is put into perspective 15 years later.”
There are photos of a young Marchand wearing gold medals from kids competitions in Gi and N0-Gi BJJ on the NOS website.
After her visit home, Marchand will return to San Diego where she trains and works with her ATOS Jiu Jitsu clubmates and friends. The second half of 2026, she said, will focus on No-Gi events including:
• Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship: Sept. 25 and 26 at the Las Vegas Convention Center
• European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship: Oct. 28 to Nov. 1, Rome
• World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship: Dec. 10 to 12, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.