Male Jiu Jitsu Competitors

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.

One of the main people behind the organization of the World Professional Jiu Jitsu Cup event, Fernando Paradeda is also a well accomplished jiu jitsu black belt under the legendary Ze Mario Sperry, having been one of the strongest BJJ competitors for Brazilian Top Team in the early 2000’s.

Samy Al Jamal is a 4th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and one of the highest ranking BJJ coaches of Arabic origin. He has been one of the great propellers for the sport in countries such as Jordan and Palestine where he made BJJ available by starting the very first grappling and MMA academies in these countries (Source MMA), opening it also to women and the under privileged, forming, very possibly, the first women’s BJJ team in the Middle East and the first MMA academy in Palestine.

Rodrigo Fajardo is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the illustrious Gustavo Muggiati who fights for the Gracie Barra – Curitiba team camp. Rodrigo Fajardo has been a top competitor for the medium heavyweight division since the mid 2000’s conquering several important tournaments including the European Open, the Brazilian national championship and the south American championship.

Walter Mattos is a historic Jiu Jitsu figure and one of the broadcasters for Jiu Jitsu in the southern region of Brazil, being alongside his friend Ze Mario Sperry, the founder of Sul Jiu Jitsu one of the biggest academies in the area, responsible for producing great fighters such as Fernando Paradeda.

With affiliated academies all around the world, Equipe Fabricio has become one of the most well represented teams in BJJ today. The team’s leader, Fabricio Martins is a black belt from the Osvaldo Alves academy in Rio de Janeiro, Martins has managed to produce very strong talent and is highly requested for seminars around the world due to his coaching prowess.

Considered to be one of the top grappling coaches in Japan, Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Master Alexandre Paiva, an achievement accomplished in 2002. Mitsuyoshi Hayakawa is also the leader of the famous Tri-Force academy in Tokyo, Japan.

Ivaniel Oliveira is one of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts of his generation in the rooster weight division. A pupil of the renowned Cristiano Carioca, Ivaniel has won important tournaments such as the World Cup (WLPJJ & CBJJO) and the Rio International Open (CBJJ), though his difficulty in getting a visa for the USA prevented him to compete at the highest level (the Mundial) for a long period of time.