Felipe Mota, commonly known as “Gargamel”, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Octávio “Ratinho” Couto and Vinicius Campelo of the Akxe Academy in Rio de Janeiro. A former Rio International Open Champion and IBJJF World Championship silver medalist, Felipe Mota is also known as one of the jiu jitsu pioneers in Scandinavia, particularly Norway.
“Carlão” Barreto is an iconic figure in both jiu jitsu and vale-tudo/no-holds-barred (NHB). A black belt under Sergio “Bolão”, Barreto defended the flag of jiu jitsu and the Carlson Gracie Academy inside cages and rings across the world against various styles of combat, defeating big names such as Kevin Randleman, Ben Rothwell, Dan Bobish and numerous others.
Djalma Spindola is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Rodolfo Azevedo and Admilson “Juquinha” Brittes. Spindola earned the rank after a glorious campaign at brown belt, where he medalled at important tournaments such as the Pan American Championship, Brazilian National Championship, South American Championship.
Aldo Januário, commonly known as “Caveirinha” is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Junior, who is widely recognized as one of the top grappling coaches in the world. A pioneering figure for the sport in the city of Belo Horizonte – Brazil, Caveirinha developed some of the top competitors in the grappling world. people such as Rafael dos Anjos, Philipe Della Monica, Rodrigo de Freitas, Gustavo Saraiva, Igor Araújo, and many others.
Suyan Queiroz is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Master Carlson Gracie, and one of the main lightweight competitors of the late 1990s/early 2000s era, having beaten big names of the sport such as Jefferson Moura, Leonardo Peçanha, Leonardo Santos, Raphael Abi-Rihan among many others. Queiroz is also revered for his work in Abu Dhabi, helping establish one of the most important grappling programs on the jiu jitsu world.
Luigi Mondelli is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under André “Deco” Almeida, being widely recognized as one of the top grappling instructors in the US. Mondelli has also been praised for his work with mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes from both American Top Team (ATT) and John Hackleman’s “The Pit”, with the mediatic Glover Teixeira being his most well known pupil. Luigi Mondelli is also the founder of Kore Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, an association that works to reintegrate jiu jitsu with the techniques of judo and wrestling.
Ricco Rodriguez is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Jean Jacques Machado, and an important figure in the history of the sport, being the first U.S. national to earn an ADCC gold medal (1998), and the 2nd American to earn a world title in Jiu Jitsu (1997). Rodriguez was also an important figure in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) where he became the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion, though his career is also a controversial one, being the first MMA fighter ever to be suspended by the athletic commission for the use of cocaine.
Elan Santiago is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under the illustrious Mauro Chueng, being known in the world of grappling for his incredible work as a coach, where he developed competitors such as Lucas Lepri, Tiago Rocha, Gabriel Goulart, Rodrigo “Akilis” and many others. Santiago is also recognized as a pioneer in the Brazilian region of “Triângulo Mineiro” and for his involvement with the social project of “Sonho do Beija-Flor”.
Tanner Rice is a jiu jitsu black belt under “Cobrinha”, who became known as the first American born athlete to be promoted by the respected Alliance coach. Rice earned the rank at the age of 19, after winning the 2012 IBJJF world title, being at the time the youngest US native to achieve this deed. Later that year, in his black belt debut, Rice defeated two of the sport’s biggest names cementing his name as one of the most talented athletes in his division.
Hiago George is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under the illustrious Cícero Costha as well as Fabio Medeiros, being also one of the most accomplished featherweight competitors of his generation. Hiago made a name for himself competing mainly in the Brazilian grappling circuit, where he conquered numerous important titles.
Karen Antunes is a jiu jitsu black belt under Mayko Araújo, being also one of the top athletes in the sport’s female lightweight class. Antunes paved her way to the big leagues of the sport in the lower belt divisions, where she conquered 3 IBJJF world titles among many other important placements. However, it was her performance at the prestigious Five Super League tournament on August 2015
After an amazing year where he won two black belt world titles, we got together with Gabriel “Fedor” Lucas and asked him some questions about his jiu jitsu life.
A take on some of the struggles of female athletes in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu, from lack of sponsorship to advice from some of the leading figures of the sport regarding the subject.
The “Jiu Jitsu Dirty Dozen” is a name often used to describe the pioneers of the Brazilian grappling style outside its country of origin. Find out who these extraordinary gentlemen were here.
Isaac Doederlein is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Rubens Charles “Cobrinha”, who also trained extensively with Wellington “Megaton” Dias during his first years in the sport. Doederlein made a name for himself in the sport’s lower belt divisions, from blue belt onwards, making use of a highly dynamic ground game, one that earned him numerous medals and loyal fans across the grappling globe.
Mansher Khera, also known as “Munch” is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt of Sikh descent, being the first grappler produced from white to black belt by the legendary Marcelo Garcia. Khera arrived at the black belt division midway through 2015 being already regarded as one of the hottest prospects in the sport, mainly due to his incredible lower belt campaigns where he earned four World No-Gi titles (2013 and 2014 weight + absolute). He immediately cemented his status as one of the top lightweights in the world with solid performances at tournaments such as the IBJJF Boca Raton Open and the World No-Gi Championship.
Wander Braga is a Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) black belt under Jorge Pereira, being one of the most well known competitors in the BJJ and vale-tudo (NHB) circuit during the mid 1990’s and early 2000’s decades. Wander Braga is also revered for his coaching success, having co-founded the famous Big Brother team and formed high calibre grappling competitors such as Gabriel Gonzaga.
Ataíde Junior is a judo and Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Armando Wridt, being the founder of Constrictor Team, a grappling academy that has produced high level jiu jitsu and mixed martial arts (MMA) competitors such as Rani Yahya, Paulo Thiago, Francisco “Massaranduba” Trinaldo, Renato Moicano, Adriano Moraes and many others.
Gabriel Arges is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Romulo Barral and Felipe “Preguiça”, who also trained extensively with Marcelo “Uirapuru”, competing for the Gracie Barra Academy. Arges made a name for himself in the lower belt divisions of the sport, particularly during his purple and brown belt campaigns (2013-2015) where he conquered important titles such as IBJJF World Champion (Gi/No-Gi), European Open Champion, as well as Pan America and American National Champion.
Steve da Silva, commonly known as “Suga Pop” is a legendary figure in the music and dance industries as well as in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu, a martial art for which he was one of the pioneering black belts in the Northern Hemisphere, helping promote the Nova Uniao Academy on US soil.
