Andrew Tackett

Andrew Tackett, also known as Pirulito, is a professional grappler and a jiu-jitsu black belt under Rodrigo Cabral (Brucutu) of the Brazilian Fight Factory gym, an affiliate of team Checkmat. Tackett became a household name on the no-gi jiu-jitsu circuit while competing both in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and in the submission-only scene as a colored belt due to his winning mentality and submission-oriented game. The notoriety gained as a teenage athlete was a direct result of his exciting performances at events such as the ADCC Open, IBJJF World No-Gi Championships, Finishers Only, and WNO, to mention a few. Andrew is also the middle brother of another big name in this sport, ADCC Trials winner William Tackett.

Andrew Tackett Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Andrew Henry Tackett

Nickname: Tackett is also known as “Pirulito” by his teammates, a term that means “lollypop” in Portuguese. The nickname dates back to when Andrew joined the BFF gym, attributed in jest by his coach, Rodrigo Cabral because he was skinny and with a prominent head.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti (Jacaré) > Leonardo Vieira (Leozinho) >Rodrigo Cabral (Brucutu) > Andrew Tackett

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place ADCC WC Trials (2024)
• 1st Place ADCC Las Vegas Open (2022**)
• 1st Place Midwest Finishers 185 lbs (2022)
• 3rd Place Who’s Next Tournament (2022)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2021** purple, 2022 brown)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Well Rounded

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

Team/Association: Brazilian Fight Factory

Andrew Tackett Biography

Andrew Tackett was born on May 1st, 2003, in Orange County, California, USA, though he grew up in Austin, Texas, a city he moved to as a toddler, alongside his family.

Fate would have it that Andrew’s father was a big fan of combat sports, and when a jiu-jitsu gym opened near the family’s residence in 2009, he was quick to sign himself and sons William (the eldest) and Andrew (the middle son) to the gym (Team Rabadi).

William Tackett soon became invested in the competitive side of the sport, a love quickly followed by Andrew as well. This drive to be better at this aspect of jiu-jitsu drove the Tacketts to search for a more competition-oriented academy, finding what they were looking for at the Brazilian Fight Factory, a team run by Rodrigo Cabral, also known as “Brucutu”.

Under the guidance of Cabral, the Tackett brothers quickly became recognizable figures by fans of the sport, both for their success on the mats and for their aggressive and crowd-pleasing style, leading their generation of grapplers with their highly dynamic approach to the game.

On December 17, 2022, after a prosperous brown belt campaign, Andrew Tackett was promoted to black belt by coach Rodrigo Cabral.

NOTE REGARDING ANDREW TACKETT’S RECORD

As you might have noticed on other BJJ Heroes profiles, we, traditionally, only account for adult black belt matches as these are widely regarded as the pro-division of the sport. That being said, Tackett was a very precocious athlete and began competing against black belts during his teens.

As so many important matches for Andrew’s career took place in 2022, prior to his black belt promotion, such as ADCC Trials, ADCC Open, Who’s Next, WNO matches, and more, we have decided to add Tackett’s clashes in the pro-division during those 12 months. Readers should keep note that all of Andrew’s 2022 matches were performed as a brown belt.

Cover photo taken by Dominik Borowczyk, follow Dominik’s work on Instagram at @borojitsu.