Eduardo Avelar

Eduardo Avelar de Carvalho is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Leandro Escobar (Tatu), who also worked extensively with coach Luis Carlos Tabinha under the Soul Fighters / Double Five grappling team banner, an association he represented from his childhood all the way up to his professional status. Avelar earned the reputation of being one of the top lightweights of his generation while competing in the lower belt divisions of the sport, where he conquered important tournaments of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) world circuit.

Eduardo Avelar Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Eduardo Avelar de Carvalho

Nickname: Eduardo is referenced as “Zero Nove” by his training partners, which means “09” in Portuguese, a reference to a character of the Brazilian movie Elite Squad. The character had a stoic disposition, much like Avelar, who, even as a young competitor, never celebrated his wins, a trait that earned him the nickname as an orange belt.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Crézio de Souza > André Almeida >Leandro Escobar > Eduardo Avelar

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals NOGI (2023)
• 2nd Place IBJJF American Nationals (2021)
• 2nd Place IBJJF South American Championship NOGI (2019**)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2023)
• 3rd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2020)
• 3rd Place IBJJF American Nationals (2021* / 2023)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF South Brazilian Championship (2019 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF South Brazilian Championship NoGi (2019 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Team Nationals (2018 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Kids (2012)
• 1st Place IBJJF European Open Juvenile 2 (2016** blue)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2019 brown)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NOGI (2018 brown)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile (2014 blue)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard

Weight Division: Peso Leve (76,00 kg / 168.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Double Five

Eduardo Avelar Biography

Eduardo Avelar was born on February 19, 1997, in the neighborhood of Rio Comprido, in the north zone of Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro.

A sporty kid from an early age, Eduardo practiced an array of sports during his childhood, activities such as football (soccer) and skateboarding, eventually finding his way to jiu-jitsu at the age of 8, which he started at the same gym where he already trained judo.

Avelar trained judo and jiu-jitsu simultaneously for a few years, with BJJ’s tuition being led by coach Luis Carlos. Eventually, Eduardo’s judo coach had to leave the school, with the young Rio de Janeiro native devoting all his extra-curricular time to perfecting his ground fighting skills from then on.

At the age of 16, Eduardo Avelar started traveling outside of his home state to compete in jiu-jitsu, with his first international win coming at the age of 17, in Portugal, at the European International Open, one of grappling’s top events. A tournament he won in his weight and the open-weight classes as a blue belt, a performance that led him to seek the professional route.

Luis Carlos, a black belt under Rafael Formiga – co-founder of the Soul Fighters team, led Eduardo Avelar all the way up to his brown belt, at which point Avelar’s tuition was shared with Leandro “Tatu” Escobar, one of the Soul Fighter’s team’s senior coaches and leader of the Soul Fighters Headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.

As a brown belt, Eduardo had one of his brightest periods, earning medals at the South American, Brazilian Team National and World Jiu-Jitsu Championships, after which he earned his black belt from the hands of coach Tatu, while standing on the podium of the “mundial”, in June 2019.