By BJJ Heroes on December 05th, 2010

Fredson Paixao

Fredson Paixao is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under master Osvaldo Alves. A former World BJJ Champion with numerous other important titles in Jiu Jitsu, Fredson Paixao was also famed for going from purple belt straight to black belt without stopping at brown belt. A natural athlete, Paixão also picked up a career in MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) first fighting in local shows such as Jungle Fight, then moving to the WEC and later hitting the big stage – UFC.

Fredson Paixao in Detail

Full Name: Fredson Paixão Melo

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Reyson Gracie > Osvaldo Alves > Fredson Paixao

Main Achievements/Record:

3x World Jiu Jitsu Champion (2001, 2002, 2005);
8x Brazilian Jiu Jitsu National Champion (1997, 1998 and 1999 as purple belt, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004 as black belt);
Copa Osvaldo Alves Champion (2000);
Desafio Olivertur de Lutas Casadas (2002 – victory over Robson Moura)

Weight Division: Peso Pena (featherweight) 70kg-154lbs

Favourite Position: Wristlock

Team: Osvaldo Alves/Gracie Barra

Fredson Paixão Biography

Fredson Paixao was born on the 13th of May 1979 in Parintins a town close to Manaus in the State of Amazonas. He first heard of Jiu Jitsu in 1992 after a friend told of this new gym he was training at, this friend also invited Paixao to train, but Fredson had preconceived ideas about the efficiency of grappling and preferred the striking aspect of martial arts influenced by his favourite Bruce Lee movies (even though he didn’t actually train any striking martial art/combat sport). With the years passing, more and more of Paixão’s friends joined the Jiu Jitsu club, and one day, in 1994 he was invited to go and help restructure that same club. He helped paint and re-mat the arena and in the process ended taking a class after an invitation from the coach (Orley Lobato).

The first tournament Fredson Paixão entered he reached the semi finals, being tapped by a blue belt via ezequiel choke. He was a white belt at the time with only 4 months training but reaching the semi finals of a mixed division (whites and blues) showed he had potential, and in fact, Fredson didn’t tap again for several years.

Almost two years later, he came to Rio de Janeiro to compete at the World Championships as a blue belt under his instructor, Orley, who fought for Osvaldo Alves’s academy. Unfortunately (or rather fortunately for Fredson), the team already had the 2 team member quota filled for his weight division, so Master Osvaldo Alves invited Paixao to fight in the purple belt division, a belt promotion immediately accepted by the “Manauara”. Having tremendous belief in himself, Fredson Paixao made de decision not to come back to Manaus and stay in Rio de Janeiro, the Meca of Jiu Jitsu, in an attempt to become the best fighter he possibly could. He stayed at a friend’s house for a while, and later moved to his master’s (Osvaldo Alves) flat where he lived for several years, training day and night.

Fredson Paixão took 3 Brazilian National gold medals on a row as a purple belt, from 1997 until 1999, and many expected to see Paixao be at the podium of the brown belt division in 2000, but Master Osvaldo had other plans as he decided to promote the prodigy to black belt straight from purple belt by the end of 1999.

Fredson went on to have an extremely successful career in BJJ winning the Brazilian Nationals 5 times and the Mundial 3 times as a black belt fighting for both Osvaldo Alves and Gracie Barra (from 2001 onwards). From 2004 Paixao started dedicating more time to MMA training, making his debut that same year against a very tough and experienced Rany Yahya, winning the fight by decision. His MMA career has been a success as he has hit the biggest Mixed Martial Arts organization in the World, the UFC.