Ricardo Diogo, also known as “Rey” Diogo was one of the first Carlson Gracie jiu jitsu team representatives to come to the United States where he established his own academy based on his master’s teachings.

Brazilian born Caio Terra is currently one of the most accomplished jiu jitsu black belts in the world with several world titles. In 2007 Caio was invited by Cesar Gracie to come and settle in the US and become Gracie Eltite’s grappling coach, more recently he was invited by MMA fighter Carlos Condit to help him prepare for his UFC title shot against GSP. Cesar Gracie came out in public, making himself vocal. BJJ Heroes got in contact with Caio Terra for a short interview to hear his version of the facts.

Ivan Gomes was one of the top vale-tudo (no-holds-bared) fighters of the past century, Gomes dominated the scene in the 1960/70s, defeating legendary fighters such as Waldemar Santana, Euclides Pereira finishing his fighting career in 1977 with a record of 86 NHB fights and no defeats.

One of the top Brazilian jiu jitsu teams in the world, the Atos Jiu Jitsu academy is led by Andre Galvao and Ramon Lemos, both former training partners at the Brasa academy in Sao Paulo.

Marc Laimon is a renowned grappling coach who holds the rank of black belt in Brazillian jiu jitsu, being also the founder of the Cobra Kai academy. Marc Laimon has worked on the ground games of several MMA fighters, including Bas Rutten, Oleg Tatakrov, Mark Kerr, Johny Hendricks and many others, while producing well known jiu jitsu black belts such as Sim Go and Chris Holdsworth. Marc Laimon was also an instructor on the famous MMA reality show TUF (The Ultimate Fighter).