Caio Vinicius

Caio Vinicius Lima Santos is a professional grappler and a jiu-jitsu black belt under Felipe Pena (Preguiça) who represents the FP Gold Team / Gracie Barra Academy coalition. Caio Vinicius first made waves in the sport in the colored belt divisions of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) global circuit where he conquered many important titles including World and Brazilian Nationals gold medals both in the gi and no-gi (submission-grappling) facets of the sport.

Caio Vinicius Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Caio Vinicius Lima Santos

Nickname: Caio is often called “Bebê Gigante” or simply “Bebê” which stands for Giant Baby or Baby. The tag started when Vinicius was competing in the Junior and Juvenile divisions of BJJ as he was already the same size as the adults and often competed in the adult categories (and won). Given his size and childlike demeanor, the nickname came about.

Lineage:  Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Junior > Vinicius Magalhães (Draculino) > Marcelo Azevedo (Uirapuru) > Felipe Pena (Preguiça) > Caio Vinicius

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2022* brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2019 purple)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2022 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NOGI (2018 / 2019** purple)
• 1st Place BJJ Bet Selection Tournament (2022)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2022 brown)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2017 blue, 2019 purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2020 purple)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, RIO (2020 purple)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2018 / 2019* purple, 2021 brown)

Main Achievements (Juvenile):

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2016)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position / Technique: Well Rounded

Weight Division: Pesado (94,30 kg / 208.0 lbs)

Team / Association: FP Gold Team / Gracie Barra

Caio Vinicius Biography

Caio Vinicius was born on April 10, 1999, in Campo Verde, Mato Grosso, Brazil, where he grew up and where he first began training jiu-jitsu through a social project at the age of 14.

Prior to Caio’s jiu-jitsu training, he had tried judo as a child, briefly. BJJ was the first sport Vinicius took seriously, despite having no previous knowledge of this sport / martial art, prior to his first class.

The initiation to grappling was undertaken by Marcos José de Souza “Marcão” in Campo Verde, but after a mere 6 months, Vinicius moved to Foz do Iguaçu, where he continued training under Marcos Broa.

Coach Marcos Broa immediately spotted Caio’s talent and incentivized him to pursue a professional career in the sport. As a purple belt, it became clear that Broa’s gym could not accommodate Vinicius’s growth and aspirations in the sport. This fact led Caio to join Felipe Pena “Preguiça” and his professional squad of sponsored athletes at FP Golden Team.

Under the supervision of Pena, Vinicius experienced much-improved sporting results with repeated medals on an international level. The quality of his performances led Felipe Preguiça to promote the young Mato Grosso native to brown and later, black belt, the latter taking place in a ceremony on September 2022.