Alexandre Cavaliere

Alexandre Cavaliere da Silva is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Roberto Correa (Gordo) and Paulo Perrota (Rabicó), who also worked extensively with coaches Murilo Bustamante, José Honório and Alexandre Paiva (Gigi). Regarded as a hot prospect while climbing the ranks of BJJ in the colored belt divisions, Cavaliere’s talent was almost lost as he abandoned the sport in 2013 for financial reasons. His big comeback tournament – a gold medal at the UAEJJF Grand Slam in Rio de Janeiro (2016) immediately placed him as one of the top middleweights in the world, an idea cemented by more high profile wins in the years that followed.

Alexandre Cavaliere Jiu Jitsu

Full Name: Alexandre Cavaliere Gomes da Silva

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Hélio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Jr > Roberto Correa > Alexandre Cavaliere

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place UAEJJF Grand Slam, RJ (2016)
• 1st Place IBJJF Salvador Fall Open (2018)
• 1st Place Gracie Pro Challenge (2017)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Open (2018)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Rio BJJ Pro (2018)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Curitiba Open (2018)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Brasília Open (2017)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Brasília No-Gi Open (2017)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Rio Fall Open (2019**)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2011 purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Rio Open (2010 purple)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Cross Collar Guard

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

Team/Association: Alliance

Alexandre Cavaliere Biography

Alexandre Cavaliere was born on August 09, 1987 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Very active in sports from a very young age, Alexandre started swimming as a 6-year-old, later wandering to basketball, soccer (football) and karate.

During the late 1990’s Murilo Bustamante was already regarded as a big ‘vale-tudo’ star, particularly in the South Zone (Zona Sul) of Rio de Janeiro, where Cavaliere lived. This admiration, shared by the local community, led Alexandre’s stepfather to enroll him in Bustamante’s well-known kids’ jiu-jitsu classes in the Leblon neighborhood when he was 9 years old.

Training under Murilo’s guidance up until his 13th birthday, it was with Carlson Gracie Academy (which became Brazilian Top Team [BTT] in the meanwhile), that Cavaliere had his first competitive experiences, conquering the prestigious Copa Company title, and an honorable 2nd place at the Brazilian Nationals as a yellow belt.

Unfortunately for jiu-jitsu, Alexandre ended up abandoning the sport in his early teens. During this post-BJJ period, Cavaliere’s life took a turn for the worst, riddled with disruptive behavior and constant fighting on the streets, which lasted until his 19th birthday, a time when Cavaliere decided to return to grappling and clean up his act.

At the time of his tide changing realization, Alexandre was living in the western area of Rio (Recreio dos Bandeirantes), far away from BTT’s headquarters. For that reason, he decided to join the neighboring academy of Master José Honório’s (Victor Honório‘s father). It was at this gym that Cavaliere truly connected with jiu-jitsu again, returning to competition.

Alexandre’s return to martial arts encompassed BJJ and kickboxing, which fueled the desire to compete in mixed martial arts (MMA). With that in mind, and considering Roberto Correa (Gordo) had a strong MMA team at the time, Cavaliere decided to switch all his training to Gordo’s academy, including his jiu-jitsu which was then handed to coach Correa and Paulo Perrota (Rabicó).

While training BJJ under Gordo and Rabicó, Alexandre became increasingly interested in grappling, and eventually made a transition of commitment fully to jiu-jitsu. It was also under these two coaches that Alexandre worked from blue to black belt, the latter being awarded on December 2014.

During his belt progression, Alexandre beat some of the best names of his belt division, people such as Paulo Miyao, Ronaldo Cândido, Alan Nuguete and many more. Although well respected in his sporting circle, in 2013 Cavaliere was forced to abandon his international sporting career, due to the lack of financial support. He made a comeback with the help of his old instructor, Murilo Bustamante, in 2016 on time to shock the BJJ world with a brilliant performance at the UAEJJF Rio Grand Slam, where he beat some of the best grapplers in the sport.

In 2017 Alexandre Cavaliere established a good friendship with coaches Gigi Paiva, Michael Langhi and Fábio Gurgel of Alliance, a bond that strengthened during the IBJJF European Open that year. Alexandre was then invited to train with the 11-time world champion team, an offer that was too tempting to refuse, becoming one of the team’s middleweights that year.

Cover photo by Focados No Tatame.