Leonardo Silva

Leonardo Silva Guimarães, commonly known as Leo Silva is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Gutemberg Pereira and Dante Leon, who trained extensively with Master Julio César Pereira. One of the top representatives of the GF Team in the sport’s international circuit, Silva gained notoriety while competing in the lower belt divisions of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit, where he conquered important medals, particularly at the World and Pan Championships.

Leonardo Silva Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Leonardo da Silva Guimarães

Nickname: N/A

Lineage:  Luiz França > Oswaldo Fadda > Monir Salomão > Júlio César > Gutemberg Pereira / Dante Leon > Leonardo Silva

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Brazilian Team Nationals (2017 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF Washington DC Spring Open (2019 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF New York Fall Open (2019 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Cincinnati Open (2019** brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Rio BJJ Pro (2016 purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2018 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2018/2019 brown)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Modern Jiu-Jitsu

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

Team/Association: GF Team

Leonardo Silva Biography

Leonardo Silva Guimarães was born on May 6, 1994, in the city of Itaboraí – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The interest for martial arts sparked early on in Leo’s formative years and by the time he was 7 years old, he was already an avid practitioner of tae kwon do (TKD).

Growing up in the golden era for Brazil in mixed martial arts (MMA), a time when his countrymen rule the sport in promotions such as Price Fc and the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), Silva started day-dreaming of becoming an MMA fighter as well. This propelled him to quit TKD after a few years, to follow muay Thai.

At the age of 16, Silva accepted an invitation from a friend to a jiu-jitsu group class at a neighboring outdoors field, where a group of local boys regularly got together to drill a few grappling positions under the supervision of an adult. Leonardo enjoyed the dynamics of grappling and soon enrolled in a local GF Team Academy, where he could have a more structured curriculum, working under the supervision of Luiz “Mestre Branca”.

At GF Team, Leo Silva fell in love with jiu-jitsu and decided he would dedicate himself to BJJ. In trying to become the best version of himself, Silva soon joined a different gym as the small GFT affiliate did not offer a full-time training schedule. His time with this new team was equally short-lived, as Leonardo did not find the training to be up to the standard that he had envisioned for himself in order to become a World Champion. Seeking that goal, Leo moved to the neighboring city of Niterói – well known for being much more advanced, jiu-jitsu wise.

Once he settled in the Guanabara Bay city, he joined the local Gracie Humaitá Academy (Alessandro Nunes), where he stayed for the best part of 4 years. Silva’s relationship with his coach at GH was not without its ups and downs and, as a purple belt, Leonardo left the academy. The exit coincided with an invitation by Master Julio Cesar Pereira, for joining his team (GFT), offering him a place to stay at the famous “Cachanga” (GFT’s fighter house), which Leo accepted.

After Leo earned his brown belt from Master Julio, he was offered by Gutemberg Pereira a chance to be part of the team’s affiliate – GF Team TREVO. An offer accepted by Silva. It was at GFT TREVO that Leo Silva would later be promoted to black belt, on August 2019.

Cover photo by Gutemberg Pereira.