Vinicius Lessa

Vinicius Alves Lessa Paula, commonly known as Vinicius Lessa in the sport of jiu-jitsu, is a professional grappler and a black belt under Claudio Calasans & Álvaro Borges Junior, who worked extensively with coach André Papini during his colored belt career. Vinicius Lessa first made waves in jiu-jitsu after his 2021 win at the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Tour (AJP) as a brown belt, a good form that he proved consistent as a black belt, particularly while competing on the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit.

Vinicius Lessa Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Vinicius Alves Lessa Paula

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Reyson Gracie > Osvaldo Alves > Sergio Lisboa > Erivaldo Junior > Claudio Calasans > Vinicius Lessa

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Brasilia Open (2022)
• 1st Place IBJJF Rio Fall Open (2022)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Rio Summer Open (2023)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2021 brown)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, ABD (2021 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Open NOGI (2019 brown)

Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard

Weight Division: Super Pesado (100,50 kg / 222.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Esporte Dez / Calasans Camargo

Vinicius Lessa Biography

Vinicius Lessa was born on December 09, 1997, in Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, where he grew up.

Jiu-jitsu appeared in Vinicius’ life in his mid-teens through the influence of a couple of friends – Jonas Melo and Davi Melo – who were purple belts and taught the martial art, locally.

Although he enjoyed training under the Melo brothers, shortly after he started Lessa became interested in competing which required a more tournament-driven class. For that reason, he became a student of André Papini at the Solara social project, a satellite academy of team Cicero Costha, one of the biggest jiu-jitsu talent producers in Brazil.

With time Vinicius became more and more invested in the sport, to the point where jiu-jitsu was where he spent every single spare time in his day. Seeing his dedication, coach Papini started sponsoring Vinicius, paying for trips to competitions and paying for the tournament fees, as he did with a selected few in his team who showed more willingness to train and compete.

In April 2021, Vinicius Lessa traveled to Abu Dhabi to compete at the World Pro of the AJP federation. While in the UAE, Vinicius met and befriended one of his idols, former AJP World Pro, IBJJF World, and ADCC champion Claudio Calasans. The two got on very well and by the end of the week, Calasans invited Vinicius to visit his training center in São José dos Campos (São Paulo, Brazil).

When back in Brazil, Vinicius visited São Paulo and trained with Calasans at his academy. The trip was supposed to be a short one, but Lessa kept postponing his return to Alagoas as he was thoroughly enjoying the quality of training experienced at Calasan’s team. As time went by, Vinicius was eventually invited to be part of Claudio’s squad and represent their team in future events, an offer accepted by Lessa.

Vinicius arrived a Calasan’s team as a brown belt but his tournament results quickly propelled him to the next stage. Lessa was promoted to black belt by Claudio Calasans and fellow Calasans coach Álvaro Borges Junior on November 23, 2021.