BJJ Fighter Database

Master Francisco Sá is a jiu jitsu red belt and one of the main instigators for jiu jitsu in the region of Ceará, Brazil. Francisco Sá, who was graded as an instructor by Takeo Iano, established his academy in Fortaleza in the 1960’s, an academy that flourished with the combined effort of himself and his son Carlos Pinto Sá (also known as “Sazinho”) becoming a beacon of excellence in that Northern Brazilian state.

Vanessa Oliveira is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Master Julio Cesar from Grappling Fight Team, and one of the top female competitors in the women’s middleweight division having medalled in important tournaments such as the World Jiu Jitsu Championships, the Pan American, Brazilian Nationals and Rio Open.

Fabio Santos is a 7th degree (7º grau) jiu jitsu coral belt and a black belt under Rickson Gracie who was also a pupil of the legendary Rolls Gracie for many years. Fabio Santos was also one of the first BJJ black belts to come to the United States of America to settle a jiu jitsu academy. The Fabio Santos Academy in San Diego – California is one of the most respected BJJ academies in the world, having formed several high class BJJ black belts. Master Fabio Santos is also a veteran competitor with several important titles.

One of the best jiu jitsu competitors of the 1980’s & 1990s, Crezio de Souza competed for the Carlson Gracie Team in BJJ and MMA he was also part of Brazil’s wrestling team for the Havana Pan American Games (1991) and qualified for the Olympics in Barcelona (1992). A true legend of the sport, the man from Petropolis also medalled in the Brazilian BJJ nationals in 2002 at the age of 40, being the first man to do so in the adult division.

Frederico Tisi is mostly recognized for being the first Italian to receive a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu. A true globetrotter of BJJ, Frederico Tisi found himself travelling all over the world in order to receive adequate jiu jitsu instruction in a time when BJJ was scarce in Europe. Frederico Tisi is also the founder of Tribe Jiu Jitsu, one of the most famous academies in Rome, he is also the founder of the “Unione italiana Jiu Jitsu” an Italian jiu jitsu federation which represents IBJJF in the Italian Republic.

Mestre Alvaro Barreto is a jiu jitsu red belt (faixa vermelha) and one of the most important figures in BJJ, being also the brother of João Alberto Barreto and Sergio Barreto, two illustrious figures of the sport. Alvaro Barreto became a certified instructor at the famous Gracie Academy by the age of 17, years before he opened his academy where he instructed and graduated great figures of the sport.

A great figure in Brazilian jiu jitsu, Master Francisco Mansor has had tremendous influence in bringing jiu jitsu to the world. The founder of the Kioto BJJ academy, Master Francisco Mansor was also part of the exclusive group of 6 men to have earned their black belts from the late Great Master Helio Gracie.

An avid competitor for the Grappling Fight Team academy, Vitor Henrique Oliveira is a jiu jitsu black belt under Master Adilson Lima “Bitta”. Vitor Henrique is also one of the few representatives of the famous Rio de Janeiro based team (GFT) outside Brazilian soild, more precisely in Ohio, United States of America.

Igor Rodrigues, also known as “Baixinho”, is a jiu jitsu lack belt under Marcos Chuck who trains and competes for the Checkmat academy in Rio de Janeiro. Originally from the region of Buzios, Igor became a Capoeira master before turning to BJJ. His biggest achievements to this date in grappling have been his titles at the Brazilian nationals.

Reyson Gracie is a 9th degree red belt in jiu jitsu. Being the third son of Gracie jiu jitsu founder, Carlos Gracie, Reyson helped to spred the jiu jitsu gospel around Brazil, namely in Manaus (state of Amazon) and Bahia where he became the president of the local jiu jitsu federation.

Ben Baxter is a jiu jitsu black belt graduated by the iconic Wellington “Megaton” Diaz who trains and competes for the Rafael Lovato Junior academy. Ben is regarded as one of the top competitors in the United States having medalled in many important tournaments

Travis Lutter is a jiu jitsu black belt under Carlos Machado and a former professional MMA fighter, famous for his win of The Ultimate Fighter (season 4) tournament and his run in the UFC’s middleweight division. Before his MMA career, Travis led a very successful grappling one with medals at important tournaments such as the North American ADCC trials and the World Jiu Jitsu Championships.

Vitor Toledo, also known as “Gigante” is a jiu jitsu black belt under Erivaldo Junior with a long list of achievements in the black belt medium heavy weight division. Since moving to the Atos team Toledo started making a bigger impact in the main events of the BJJ calendar, namely two silver medals at the Pan American & the World Pro Cup (2012). Vitor is also the cousin of another established black belt, Eduardo Toledo.

Pedro Hemeterio was one of Carlos and Helio Gracie’s best students through the 1940s and 1950s decades. Hemeterio was also the first student of the gracie academy to achieve the 9th degree in jiu jitsu – red belt. Originaly from the state of Ceará in Brazil, Hemeterio also spent time in Sao Paulo where he helped develop the sport there.

Relson Gracie is the second oldest son of the late Grand Master Helio Gracie, he is also a jiu jitsu coral belt (8th degree) who pioneered the sport, being its messenger in the archipelago of Hawaii (where he was the first to establish a Gracie Jiu Jitsu academy). Relson was also the first Gracie representative to truly embrace surfing, a trend that was followed by many of his family members and BJJ practitioners throughout the world.

An accomplished Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt with numerous medals in some of the most prestigious grappling tournaments in the world, Victor Costa is also the founder of Koral Fight Co. a jiu jitsu brand of kimonos and fightwear.

Rogerio Poggio is a renowned 4th degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Master Tolita “Pitoco” Jordan, who is one of the founders of the famous Infight jiu jitsu team. Poggio has also led a successful competitive career with wins at tournaments such as the Mundial, the South American championships and the Brazilian nationals.

An important figure in the history of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Mr Craig Kukuk is widely recognized as the very first American born black belt in the sport, having learned directly from the Gracie family through Rorion Gracie and later Royler Gracie who awarded Kukuk his black belt.

David Juliano is a BJJ black belt competitor in the feather weight division, who often competes for Atos Jiu Jitsu. David has won important titles at black belt such as the South American title, the European Open and many other tournaments at a national and international level.

Koji Shibamoto is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo black belt who is regarded as one of the top grapplers in jiu jitsu’s rooster weight division. A former competitor for the Tokai University judo team, who also represented Japan at international judo tournaments, Koji Shibamoto turned his focus to BJJ in the mid 2000’s where, under the instruction of Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa, he became one of the most acknowledged Japanese fighters of his generation.