Italo Moura

Italo Moura is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Cicero Costha and Murilo Santana, as well as a representative of the Cicero Costha (PSLPB) / Unity Academy coalition in the sport’s international circuit. Moura became widely recognized as one of his generation’s top lightweights both in the gi and nogi variables, after his numerous accolades in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit and in professional jiu-jitsu outlets such as Kasai Pro, Fight IQ.

Italo Moura Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Italo Moura de Azevedo

Nickname: N/A

Lineage 1: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Marcelo Behring > Waldomiro Perez > Roberto Godoi > Marco Barbosa > Cicero Costha > Italo Moura

Lineage 2: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Marcelo Behring > Mario Yamasaki > Murilo Santana > Italo Moura

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place CBJJE World Championship (2020)
• 2nd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2020)
• 2nd Place CBJJE Brazilian Nationals (2020)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Open NoGi (2019)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2017 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pans Championship No-Gi (2016 / 2017 purple, 2018 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF European Open (2017 purple)
• 1st Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro (2017 / 2018 purple)
• 1st Place UAEJJF Grand Slam, LDN (2019 brown)
• 1st Place UAEJJF Grand Slam, LA (2017 purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2016 purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF European Open (2018 purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2016 / 2018 purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship Juvenile (2014 blue)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2017 purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pans Championship No-Gi (2016* purple)

Favorite Position/Technique: Crab-Ride / Berimbolo

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

Team/Association: PSLPB Cicero Costha / Unity Jiu-Jitsu

Italo Moura Biography

Italo Moura was born on December 15, 1997, in São Simão, growing up in Luiz Antônio, two neighboring municipalities in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.

Interested in martial arts from a very young age, by the time he was 9, Italo was already a karate practitioner with tournament experience. It was only 3 years later, by his father’s influence, that Moura joined a local Gracie Barra jiu-jitsu school, during his 2009 school holiday.

Vitorio “Furão” was Italo Moura’s first grappling coach at the aforementioned Gracie Barra affiliate. The young athlete would later switch to the Academia Núcleo gym, where he worked under the guidance of Rhuando Cavalcante, earning his blue belt from Cavalcante.

By the time Italo was a blue belt, a few of his higher-ranked teammates opened a “PSLPB Cicero Costha” school affiliate, and Italo followed their lead, working with coach Mauricio Antunes, as well as Rafael Naves, Willian Von Sohsten, Aquila Lanza, Ramon Delsin and Higor Paterra at this new gym.

It was through this connection that Moura met and befriended the legendary instructor Cicero Costha, particularly thanks to Rafael Naves, who took Moura to São Paulo for a competition in 2012. Naves and Italo stayed at Cicero’s team headquarters for a few days, training in preparation for the said tournament, an event that propelled Italo to seek a life as a professional grappler. Fueled by his first stay at the PSLPB Academy, Moura returned to train there with every chance he had, particularly during prolonged public-school holidays. After Moura finished high-school, he decided to move to the state capital, São Paulo, to become a full-time athlete under a scholarship with Cicero.

Although not part of the team, the Cicero Costha had a long-standing friendship with black belt Murilo Santana, as he and the team’s leader trained in the same team for many years. During one of Santana’s frequent training sessions at the PSLPB headquarters, Italo met the well-known competitor and, soon to be, founder of the Unity Jiu-Jitsu Academy in New York, USA.

In 2016 Italo started doing his training camps at Santana’s NYC gym, ahead of any the major tournaments in the America circuit. Having a solid base from where to train while preparing for the biggest tournaments in the sport, was a key asset in Moura’s development, who, after a series of strong performances as a brown belt, was promoted to black belt by coaches Murilo Santana and Cicero Costha, on June 2019.

Italo Moura NoGi Highlight