Matheus Luna

José Matheus Macedo de Lira Luna, commonly known as Matheus Luna, is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Ricardo Feliciano (Pantcho) and Lucas Leite of the Checkmat Team, who worked extensively at the Barreto Brothers Academy in Natal, RN – Brazil, namely with Bruno and Thiago Barreto. Matheus and his twin brother Mathias Luna ascended to the top of jiu-jitsu’s competitive rankings as purple and brown belts, cementing that status during their very first year competing in the professional circuit.

Matheus Luna Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: José Matheus Macedo de Lira Luna

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Leonardo Vieira > Lucas Leite / Ricardo Feliciano > Matheus Luna

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Dallas Summer Open (2019)
• 1st Place IBJJF Tel Aviv Open (2019**)
• 1st Place IBJJF Lisbon Open (2019**)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2019 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2019 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2017 purple, 2019 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2017 / 2018 purple)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Guard Passing

Weight Division: Meio Pesado (88,30 kg / 195.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Checkmat

Matheus Luna Biography

Matheus Luna was born on February 21, 1995, together with his twin brother Mathias Luna, in Recife, the capital of Brazil’s northeastern state of Pernambuco, moving to Natal – state of Rio Grande do Norte at the age of 8.

Growing up both brothers were extremely sporty, playing a variety of ball sports, from football (soccer) to handball, to volleyball and basketball throughout the school system. At the age of 16, however, influenced by a neighbor who had started grappling at a local social project, Matheus joined jiu-jitsu, a sport that immediately consumed Luna.

At the local social project, Matheus met coaches Fábio Rodrigues and Júlio e Rodrigo Salustino, who taught there, but it didn’t take long before the Luna brothers started becoming more serious about their intentions in the sport, then joining the Barreto Brother’s Academy (Thiago and Bruno), one of the most successful gyms in the region.

Luna went from white to purple belt under Thiago and Bruno Barreto, however, in 2017 the brothers accepted an offer by coach Ricardo Feliciano – a member of the Checkmat association to which the Barreto brothers were affiliated, and moved to the United States, a country that provided the best tournament circuit in the world, where the Luna’s had more opportunities to earn a living from this sport.

Matheus would earn his brown belt from Pantcho and in 2018 join the academy of another famed Checkmat coach, Lucas Leite, spreading his training between both gyms. It would be Leite and Feliciano who promoted Matheus and his brother, Matheus, to black belt on August 24, 2019.