BJJ Fighter Database

Wellington Luís, commonly known as Wellington “Alemão”, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Cicero Costha, and member of the Jiu Jitsu New School Brotherhood Team, an academy that spawned from the Projecto Social Lutando Pelo Bem (PSLPB) camp on October 2015. Alemão made a career competing in the lower belt divisions of the sport, where he became known as one of the best lightweight prospects of his generation.

Stephen Maxwell, commonly known as Steve Maxwell, is a fitness coach, physical educator, as well as the first American born Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Relson Gracie. Known as one of the pioneers of the gentle art in the East Coast of the United States, Maxwell ran the first certified Gracie Jiu Jitsu Academy in the region, while also developing the first Brazilian jiu jitsu tournaments in the Coast.

AJ Sousa is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Pablo Popovitch, who became known to jiu jitsu’s mainstream audience after participating in Lloyd Irvin’s Kumite, a web series/tournament designed to find who the best brown belt in the sport was, back in 2013. Since then AJ Sousa has cemented his status as one of the top competitors in the world, with wins at the Miami, Las Vegas and Boca Raton IBJJF Opens, as well as a fantastic performance at the 2015 edition of the Abu Dhabi World Pro.

Gustavo Pires, commonly known as “Siri”, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Junior, and one of the top Gracie Barra competitors in the sport’s super-heavyweight division with medals at the Pan American, No Gi World, World Masters and Brazilian National Championships. Founder of the Gracie Barra Fullerton academy, Gustavo Siri is also known for his coaching abilities, having been crucial in the development of important grapplers such as André Campos and Bruno Rocha.

Isaque Paiva is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Massao and Daniel Shinkai, representing the Saikoo Jiu Jitsu Academy. Paiva is widely regarded as one of the top grappling featherweights of his generation, and one of the few competitors to have remained in his original regional academy, while competing at the highest level in the sport. A South American, Brazilian National, Asian Open, Rio Open and Sao Paulo Open champion, Isaque is know for his submission wins over big names such as Bruno Frazatto and Fabio Caloi.

Marcos de Oliveira, also known as “Santa Cruz”, is a former judo and wrestling competitor, having achieved Brazilian national squad honors in both sports. Oliveira is also a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under the illustrious Ricardo Libório, having conquered important titles such as the Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu World Pro and Brazilian National Champion. Among Marcos de Oliveira’s long list of achievements, he is also known as the founder and leader of the Abu Dhabi Top Team, an academy with strong ties to the American Top Team and GFTeam.

Fresh news for the upcoming 5th and 6th editions of the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI) events, one of the leading competitions in the sport of submission wrestling/jiu jitsu.

Lucas Rocha is a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under “Zé Radiola”, being one of the most well respected competitors to have come out of the Gracie Barra – Recife academy, a school that has produced several elite grapplers such as Otávio Sousa, Bruno Alves, Braulio and Victor Estima, to name a few. After a stellar campaign in the lower belt divisions, where Lucas earned World, Pan American and Brazilian National titles, Rocha moved to the United States, establishing himself as the head coach of Gracie Barra Arcadia in California, while still competing at the highest level.

Lucas Barbosa, commonly known as Lucas “Hulk”, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under André Fabiano, who became known among the mainstream grappling community competing for Márcio Rodrigues’ team. Lucas Hulk’s breakthrough in the sport occurred in 2014 after his dominating performances throughout the “THE TEAM” episodes, a web based show produced by Copa Pódio in which he participated as a member of Leandro Lo’s squad. Lucas Barbosa’s talent was later cemented with wins at Abu Dhabi’s World Pro, the IBJJF World Championships as well as the Brazilian Nationals.

Garry Tonon is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Tom deBlass and Ricardo Almeida, having earned important medals for his team (Renzo Gracie Academy – NJ/Ocean County), including titles at the IBJJF World and Pan American Championships. Known as a No Gi specialist, Tonon earned his reputation through various accomplishments in prestigious grappling events, particularly in the submission only format such as: Metamoris, Polaris and Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI). Garry Tonon has also worked extensively with coach John Danaher at RGA – NYC.

Joaquina Bonfim is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under the illustrious coach “Zé Radiola”, leader of Gracie Barra – Pernambuco, an academy that has produced a long list of talented grapplers, such as Lucas Rocha, Otávio Sousa or Victor Estima. One of the main female black belt competitors to have come out of her state, Joaquina has cinched important titles on a national and international level, such as Brazilian National Champion (CBJJ/IBJJF), National Pro Champion (UAEJJ) or World Champion (CBJJE).

Manuel Ribamar, also known as “Riba”, is a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Rodrigo Pinheiro and Cicero Costha, being regarded as one of the top middleweight competitors of his generation in the sport. Born in the state of Amazonas – Brazil, Ribamar has had a few different coaches going up the ranks, but it was at Cicero Costha’s PSLPB academy that his grappling style truly developed, earning him titles at the World and South American Championships.

The wait is finally over and Polaris delivers yet again an amazing show. As predicted the event had exciting matches throughout, a result of some fantastic …

Jamie Cruz is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Renzo Gracie, being regarded as one of the top grappling instructors in the state …

Márcio Rodrigues is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Irami Gomes Rocha, and the founder of Equipe Márcio Rodrigues from where he has developed several high end athletes such as Lucas “Hulk” Daniel, Ygor Rodrigues as well as Yago and Ana Rodrigues. Master Márcio Rodrigues is also a reformed convict who turn his life around through jiu jitsu and used his knowledge to develop a social project focussed on the sport, with the purpose of taking kids away from the drugs and violence of some of Rio de Janeiro’s troubled favelas.

Alan Marques, commonly known as “Gumby”, is a figure of great importance for the development of Brazilian jiu jitsu in the USA. A black belt under Ralph Gracie, Gumby became the co-founder of OnTheMat (OTM), a company that revolutionized jiu jitsu’s industry through their unbiased and innovative approach to the sport through both journalism and retail. Alan Marques is also the founder of Heroes Martial Arts, one of the prime grappling academies in San Jose, California.

Emily Kwok is a Japanese born Canadian, who holds the rank of black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Ricardo Almeida. Known as a pioneer of the sport and a great ambassador for women’s jiu jitsu, Kwok has won numerous titles such as World Jiu Jitsu Champion (gi and nogi). She is also known for her work with Marcelo and Tati Garcia.

Louis Vintaloro is a judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Royler Gracie, being one of the pioneers of this grappling style in New Jersey, particularly in the northern area of this American state. Vintaloro is also known as the founder of the Performance Jiu-Jitsu, an academy in which big names of the sport started their careers, names such as Dominyka Obelenyte and JT Torres.

Sebastian Lalli is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Carlos Lima, originally from Buenos Aires – Argentina. A prestigious ambassador of the sport in the South of Brazil where he established “Equipe 1”, one of the biggest teams in the region, Lalli is also a former world champion (gi and no gi) as well as one of the main figures within the Checkmat academy, a team he helped establish in 2008 together with the Vieira brothers and Chico Mendes.

Victor Honório is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under José Honório Filho and a member of GF Team. On the 9th of May 2015, Honório turned many heads his way after reaching the 2nd place of Copa Pódio’s Heavyweight GP, one of the main professional events in the jiu jitsu circuit, as a fairly unknown brown belt. Since then Victor has been widely recognized as one of the most talented ultra heavyweight grapplers of his generation.