Yan “Pica-Pau” Lucas

Yan Lucas, commonly known as “Pica-Pau” is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Pirillo Roriz, and one of the top representatives of Gracie Barra – Ceará. “Pica-Pau” made a name for himself in the lower belt divisions of the sport, with wins at tournaments such as the IBJJF World Championship and the American Nationals, winning against big names of the sport such as Mahamed Aly, Isaac Doederlin, Hiago George, and many others.

Yan Lucas Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Yan Lucas Cordeiro Paiva

Nickname: “Pica-Pau”, which translated to Woody Woodpecker. Lucas was awarded the nickname due to his restless attitude as a kid, as well as his flashy hairstyle, which resembled that of the famous cartoon.

Lineage: Takeo Iano > Francisco Sá > Ricardo Pinho > Pirillo Roriz > Yan Lucas

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2024)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2018)
• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2020*)
• 1st Place IBJJF South Brazil Championship (2022)
• 1st Place IBJJF South Brazil Championship NOGI (2022**)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, RJN (2018 / 2019 / 2020)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2017 / 2024 / 2025)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2022)
• 3rd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2019)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals (2017**)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard

Weight Division:  Peso Médio (82,30 kg / 181.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Gracie Barra

Yan Lucas Biography

Yan Lucas was born on May 23, 1995, in Fortaleza – the capital of the Brazilian state of Ceará.

Being the son of a Saulo Ribeiro black belt – Herevaldo “Papa-Léguas” (P.L. is the Portuguese name for Looney Tunes’ Road Runner), Yan was introduced to jiu jitsu from very early on, though his first group class came at the age of 11. With a jiu-jitsu base already outlined by his dad, Yan’s first structured classes were given by Pirillo Roriz, a friend and former training partner of Lucas’s father.

“Pica-Pau” soon made a name for himself in the sport, particularly in the state of Ceará, a location not often covered by jiu jitsu’s mainstream media. This lack of coverage allowed Lucas to arrive at the 2015 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship as an unknown brown belt competitor, taking the world by storm and winning the highly competitive featherweight division.

After his win at the World Championship in California, Yan Lucas remained in the country for a while longer to compete at the American Nationals where he shocked the world once again by winning his weight and the open weight division, defeating the absolute world champion Mahamed Aly (who was a super-heavyweight) in the final.

Upon his victorious US tour, Yan Lucas returned to his home state, competing for a while longer as a brown belt until the 20th of February 2016, the time when he was promoted to black belt by his long-time coach, Pirillo Roriz.

Cover photo credits to BJJPix.com.

Yan Lucas vs Valterdan