Joao Pedro Menezes

João Pedro Menezes de Barros, commonly known as João Menezes or by the nickname “Mano Brown”, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Josyclay Gomes & Isaque Bahiense who competes in the professional circuit both in the gi and no-gi. Menezes first made waves in the sport as a colored belt while representing team Dream Art in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) league, where he conquered many important titles.

João Pedro Menezes Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: João Pedro Menezes de Barros

Nickname: João is sometimes referenced as Mano Brown by his friends and training partners due to his physical resemblance with the iconic late 1990s-early 2000s Brazilian rapper, Pedro Paulo Soares Pereira, AKA Mano Brown.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Junior > Ryan Gracie > Guilherme Gobatti > Josyclay Gomes > João Pedro Menezes

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2024 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2023 purple, 2024 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2023 purple, 2024 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2022 blue)

Main Achievements (Juvenile):

• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2018)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Guard

Weight Division: Peso Médio (82,30 kg / 181.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Dream Art

João Pedro Menezes Biography

João Pedro Menezes was born on July 22, 2003, in Taboão da Serra, São Paulo, Brazil, and grew up in the Jardim Rosana neighborhood.

In 2016, a friend who trained at a local social project convinced 12-year-old Menezes to try jiu-jitsu. Although he had never practiced a competitive sport, João connected with BJJ from the start and became an avid student of the aforementioned social project under the guidance of Josyclay Gomes.

Once Menezes tasted competition, he knew he wanted to pursue jiu-jitsu as a career. This desire was exacerbated when he competed in his first IBJJF tournament as an orange belt in 2017, the Kids South American Championship, where he placed second.

Struggling to compete regularly and make himself known due to a lack of funds João Pedro eventually struck some luck when he was accepted into a professional jiu-jitsu squad, Dream Art. While training with this workgroup, Menezes finally had structured training focused on competition and could compete abroad for the first time.

João Pedro arrived at Dream Art as a blue belt where he was promoted to purple by coach Isaque Bahiense. From the end of 2023 until mid-2024, Menezes represented team Fratres where he was promoted to brown belt. He returned to Dream Art in the second half of 2024 when he received his black belt (December 2024).