By BJJ Heroes on March 21st, 2010

Romulo Barral (Gracie Barra)

Romulo Barral is one of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fighters in the “Meio Pesado” weight division. Tipped as “The Number 1 BJJ fighter in the world” in 2007 by Gracie Mag, Romulo Barral maintained this high class black belt status in the years that followed with consistent medals at the top BJJ tournaments in the world reaching the BJJ Heroes Top 10 Competitors of All Time ranking. Originally from Belo Horizonte in Brazil, Romulo Barral established his own successful jiu jitsu academy in the United States, proving that he was also a talented coach.

Romulo Barral Jiu Jitsu

Full Name: Rômulo Claudio Barral

Nickname: Rominho. The suffix “inho” in Portuguese is usually used as a gentle and warm way of saying someone’s name. It can also mean “little (… the person’s name)”, Rominho means “Little Romulo”.

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie Sr. > Carlos Gracie Junior > Vinicius Magalhães > Romulo Barral

Main Achievements (BJJ/Grappling):

World Champion (2012, 2009, 2007)
World Silver (2011, 2010 weight & absolute, 2009 absolute, 2007 absolute)
World Bronze (2006)
Pan American Champion (2007 weight & absolute)
Pan American Silver (2009)
Pan American Bronze (2013, 2013 absolute, 2006)
Brazilian National Champion (2006, 2007)
World Nogi Champion (2009)
European Open Champion (2013)

Weight Category: Meio Pesado (88kg-194lbs)

Favourite Position/Technique: Collar Grip Spider Guard and Triangle

Team/Association: Gracie-Barra

Romulo Barral Biography

Romulo was born on the 5th of April 1985 in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Like every youngster he loved Martial Arts movies, so much that he enlisted in a Tae Kwon Do academy when he was 8 years old and continued his studies of the Korean Martial Art, achieving a Black Belt. he eventually stopped training when he was 19.

“Rominho” started training Jiu Jitsu when he was 15 at the Gracie Barra BH, his first coach there was Cristiano “Titi” Lazarinni and Vinicius Magalhaes also known as “Draculino”.

Mr Barral’s true intentions behind enrolling in Jiu Jitsu were to learn enough to start fighting Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), a wish that came through in 2004 when he was invited to fight at the “Arena BH”, a successful debut won by “Mata Leão” (RNC).

A strong believer in the benefits of the gi game (Kimono) for Submission Wrestling and MMA, he never stopped training with the Gi, even when preparing for these sort of events, and on the second semester of 2005 he was awarded his jiu jitsu black belt by the Gracie Barra legend, Vinicius “Draculino”.

His Jiu Jitsu prowess has awarded him numerous victories at a World and Continental stage, victories that didn’t pass unnoticed by many MMA aces who invited Romulo do be their BJJ coach, fighters like Dan Henderson, King Mo, Jason “Mayhem” Miller among others have had the privilege to train and be taught in the gentle art by Romulo.

Romulo Barral moved to the United States in the early 2010′s where he taught at Alberto Crane’s school in the Los Angeles area. He then opened his own Gracie Barra academy in Northridge, California.

Romulo Barral vs Demian Maia (Brazilian Nationals 2006)