Very insightful interview with Europe’s most decorated Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt, the Danish powerhouse Alexander Trans. Trans goes over the recent world championship, his future for the neighbouring ADCC as well as life of a BJJ’er in the UAE and fighting team mates.
One of the best grapplers of her generation, Luiza Monteiro is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Rodrigo Cavaca, who’s career in the sport is commonly associated with the Projecto Social Lutando Pelo Bem team of Cicero Costha. One of the top athletes in jiu jitsu’s women’s division, Monteiro conquered numerous medals in a variety of weight classes, from featherweight to medium heavy.
Born in New Jersey, USA, Dillon Danis is an accomplished Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Marcelo Garcia of the Alliance Academy, being part of a fruitful generation of grapplers produced by the well respected Marcelinho, from his New York based gym. Dillon Danis made a name for himself at the start of 2014 through his incredible brown belt campaign that year.
Edwin Najmi is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Romulo Barral of the Gracie Barra academy (Northridge branch), a gym that has produced many talented grapplers, including Beneil Dariush, Pedro Araújo, Gabriel Larges, to name a few. One of the most talented grapplers of his generation, with a crowd pleasing submission orientated jiu jitsu style, Edwin Najmi climbed the belt ranks, stacking wins at the sport’s most revered tournaments, such as the World Championship, European Open and Pan American Championship.
Dominyka Obelenyte is a lithuanian-american grappler, being the first female Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under the legendary Marcelo Garcia. Regarded as a true grappling phenomenon since her early teens Dominyka Obelenyte proved her star quality by consistently winning at the highest level of the sport, being one of the youngest ever world champions in an adult division (14 years of age), a deed only surpassed by Luzia Fernandes.
Carlos Rollyson is a Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) coral belt (7th degree) who earned his black belt from Master Carlson Gracie, having also a black belt in judo, which he achieved while training under Takise Ueda. After the passing of his BJJ mentor, Rollyson decided to leave the Carlson Gracie Academy, joining the multiple time world champion team, Alliance Jiu Jitsu. Carlos Rollyson is also one of the most high ranked jiu jitsu figures in South Florida.
Crunching numbers on the world jiu jitsu championship (2015). Who is the best submission artist, are women more accurate finishers than men in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu? Points BJJ vs submission only jiu jitsu. This and more in this here article.
André Motta is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under André Pederneiras of Nova Uniao, being one of the team’s top grappling competitors throughout the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, alongside legendary black belts such as Victor “Shaolin” Ribeiro, Robson Moura, Leo Santos and many others. Throughout André Motta’s career, he was mostly known for his incredibly technical spider guard game, a game that earned him many praises and medals, a guard that was only passed once in his career as an adult black belt.
Rosângela Conceição, is a historic Brazilian jiu jitsu figure, being the very first female world champion in the sport. Conceição is also a legendary figure in judo and freestyle wrestling having been part of the Brazilian national Olympic squad for both sports, being regarded as the most accomplished female wrestler ever produced by the south american country.
Vinícius Cruz, is a historic figure in Brazilian jiu jitsu, having medalled on multiple occasions in important tournaments such as the Copa Company, the World Championship, the Pan American Championship and many others. A former member of the Carlson Gracie Academy, Vinícius Cruz is often associated with the “loop choke”, a technique he perfected during the 1990’s applying it often in competition.
Parents who are Brazilian jiu jitsu enthusiasts often wonder, “when is it the right time to start my kid on BJJ?”. There are many factors to this equation, but BJJ Heroes contacted a psychologist with years of experience dealing with toddlers, children and teenagers to answer the question. Find more here.
Carlos Rosado is a Brazilian jiu jitsu red belt, the highest grade possible in BJJ, being not only the youngest man to ever receive the honour in the sport, but also the only red belt ever awarded by the late Master Carlson Gracie. Regarded by many as the best student from Carlson Gracie’s first generation of black belts, Carlos Rosado is also the founder of the Rosado Jiu Jitsu Academy.
João Pedro “Somalia” is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Jonathas “Monteirinho” Couto and Eduardo “Jamelão” Conceição of Checkmat academy. Somalia burst into the grappling scene after winning two world titles at brown belt, later becoming a Pan American champion on his first year as a black belt, cementing his name as one of the top grapplers of his generation.
Watch Copa Podio’s Heavyweight GP livestream for free here! One of the most important tournaments on the jiu jitsu calendar, Copa Podio gathers some of today’s top talent in the Brazilian jiu jitsu heavyweight division. This evening’s heavyweight GP is brought to you free of charge, curtsey of Copa Podio’s management.
Luan Carvalho is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Master Cláudio Joanino of the Nova União academy in Macaé. One of the rare examples of a competitor who reached success at black belt, having gone through his coloured belt career in obscurity, Luan turned a few heads his way after his 2015 Pan American Championship performance where he defeated the decorated veteran Rodrigo Caporal. Carvalho would carry on in good form that year winning the Rio Fall Open and at the Brazilian Nationals, defeating two former champions, Michael Langhi and Juan Caio Kamezawa while cementing his name as one of the top lightweights of his generation.
Monique Elias has been the latest high end competitor to announce her withdrawal from competitive jiu jitsu. With new promotions arriving with the promise to revolutionize the sport, it is up to us, the fans to help these promotions develop our sport. How do we do it?
One of the main figures of the Alliance academy during the 1990s, Felipe Neto, also known as Zicro, was the first black belt to accompany Romero Cavalcanti to the United States, helping Master Jacaré establish the Alliance HQ on American soil. Zicro would later open his own Alliance branch in Florida.
Gabriel Rollo is one of the top lightweights in the Brazilian jiu jitsu lightweight division of his generation, having medalled in important grappling tournaments such as the South American, World, Pan American Championships as well as the European Open. Learn more about this Checkmat black belt here.
Jonnatas Gracie is one of the rising stars in Sao Paulo’s jiu jitsu, having burster into main stream of jiu jitsu’s media, after a hard fought ADCC trials, having reached the semi finals of one of the toughest grappling events in the world. We took some time for a short interview with the new BJJ phenom.
Mackenzie Dern is one of the best female grapplers in Brazilian jiu jitsu today, her impact in the sport over the past two years has passed by unnoticed, until now. With BJJ moving towards professionalization, Mackenzie and her star power can be a fantastic asset to promoters as explained on this article.
