Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes (Gracie Barra)

Roberto Magalhaes, also known as “Roleta”, is regarded as one of the All Time Greats in competitive Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ). A 4x World Champion, and a black belt under Carlinhos Gracie, Roleta was famed for his creative guard game being broadly recognized as the creator of the Inverted Guard.

Roberto Roleta in Detail

Nickname: Roleta actually means Roulette, the name was probably atribuited because of his guard.

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Carlos Gracie Junior > Roberto Magalhaes

Main Achievements:

• 4x World Champion (1996, 1997, 1998, 2000);
• 3x World Silver Medallist (1998 – open weight, 2x 1999 – weight and open weight);
• 4x Pan American Champion (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999);
• Brazilian National Champion (1996)

Weight Division: Meio-Pesado (88kg/194.5lbs)

Favourite Position: Inverted Guard

Team/Association: Gracie-Barra

Roberto Roleta Biography

Roberto Magalhaes was born in Aracajú, State of Sergipe, north of Brazil. He started training martial arts at the age of 12 and spent 5 years in the Japanese martial art before joining a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu class. His brothers already practiced BJJ, but Roberto was adamant that the Karate was the way forward.

It was only after watching a class that Mr Magalhaes got interested in the grappling art. He was 17 years old at the time and he says that while seeing a local BJJ class he noticed the instructor showing a move that could of saved him a while back in a street brawl (a fight he lost). He decided to ad Jiu Jitsu to his arsenal and joined a gym ran by Joe Moreira.

He stayed with Joe Moreira reaching the purple belt with this instructor while winning a few local tournaments and still training Karate. But he reached a point in which he understood that in order to excel at Jiu Jitsu, he needed to dedicate his heart and soul to the Brazilian martial art, and so he moved to Rio de Janeiro’s Gracie Barra, led by Carlos Gracie Junior, one of the most famous academies in Brazil.

During this period he also found that trusting on what he was being shown technique wise would not be enough. He wasn’t a big guy and if everyone was learning the same techniques, the feeling was the most athletical guy would always have the advantage. Trusting his creativity he started thinking of new positions, this became his obsession developing them 24/7. He stated on his website that often he would think of a position in the middle of the night and grab a piece of paper to write it down so he wouldn’t forget. This perseverance ended in Roberto creating one of the most revolutionary guards in the history of Jiu Jitsu, the Inverted Guard.

In 1996 Roleta (as he was called by then) was given his black belt with the intent of fighting in the World Championships that year. The big duel between Carlson Gracie’s team and Gracie Barra was on the horizon and Carlson Gracie had an Ace in the Meio Pesado category by the name of Walid Ismail who had been undefeated for a few years. Carlos Gracie wanted to use his own “secret weapon” in Roleta Magalhaes, and the plan worked! Walid was surprised by Roleta’s “strange” new position and ended sweepped by the end of the fight and got Wallid’s back winning the bout between the two and later achieving the Gold Medal in the very first World Championship, a deed he would savour 3 more times in his career.

Roberto Magalhaes continued his rampant career through the late 1990′s and the early 2000′s getting the reputation of the best guard in Jiu Jitsu during that period, a very impressive title since the guard is probably BJJ’s greatest contribution to Martial Arts, while also achieving academic prowess by doing his masters in Industrial Engenieering. He retired after his glorious competitive period dedicating himself to teaching BJJ in both Brazil and the United States were he resides today.

Roleta Magalhaes vs Rodrigo Minotauro Nogueira (1999 Mundial, Absolute Division)

“Roleta” Magalhaes vs Eduardo Conceicao “Jamelao”

Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes vs Fernando “Margarida” Pontes