Leonardo Neves

Leonardo Freitas Piratininga Neves, commonly known as Leozinho Neves, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Renato “Perninha” Veras and Richard Neves (Leonardo’s father). Neves first made waves in the sport of BJJ as a colored belt while representing GF Team in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Tour (AJP) leagues, where he won numerous medals. Leonardo Neves also worked with New School BJJ in London, England, a team he joined as a black belt.

Leonardo Neves Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Leonardo Freitas Piratininga Neves

Nickname: Leozinho, which, in Portuguese, is an endearing way of saying Leonardo. The nickname also derives from Neves’ father’s admiration for Leonardo “Leozinho” Vieira, one of the best featherweight grapplers in history, whom Neves was named after.

Lineage: Luis França > O. Fadda > Monir Salomão > Julio Cesar > Renato Verás > Leonardo Neves

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF London Spring Open (2025)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, IST (2025)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2022 purple)
• 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, IST (2024 brown)
• 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, ABD (2023 brown)
• 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, LDN (2023 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Championship (2022 purple)

Main Achievements (Teen / Juvenile):

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2019)
• 1st Place IBJJF European Championship (2019 / 2020**)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2017 / 2018)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2019)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Ezekiel choke

Weight Division: Peso Pena (70,00 kg / 154.5 lbs)

Team/Association: GF Team

Leonardo Neves Biography

Leonardo Neves was born in February 2003, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but moved to a local beach town named Saquarema when he was a toddler.

Neves practiced many sports recreationally while growing up, from soccer to surfing, judo, and even swimming, but he was always incentivized by his father, BJJ black belt Richard Neves, to practice and compete in jiu-jitsu. A little-known fact is that Leonardo was named after the legendary grappler, Leozinho Vieira, whose father, Richard, was a big fan of in the late 1990s.

Leozinho Neves started training jiu-jitsu at the age of 4, and by the time of his 12th birthday, he was already focused on becoming a professional athlete, under the influence of Jaime Canuto, his workgroup’s most successful competitor.

At the age of 15, Leo Neves left Saquarema to train full-time at the headquarters of GF Team (Matriz) under the instruction of Julio Cesar Pereira. Although in Rio de Janeiro’s Matriz, coach Renato Veras, also known as Perninha, remained as Leonardo’s instructor (as he had from the time he was a white belt). Perninha and Leozinho’s father promoted Neves through all belts from white to black belt, which the latter received in a ceremony that took place on July 22, 2024.

In 2025, Leonardo Neves moved to London and started training at New School BJJ in the city’s south neighborhood of Brixton.