Thiago Saboia

Thiago Robson Saboia Sousa, commonly known in the grappling world as Thiago Saboia, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Michael Langhi who worked extensively with Fabio Gurgel and represents the Alliance Team in the sport’s international circuit. Saboia was one of the main figures of the squad’s 2024 crop of new black belts, widely regarded as one of the best produced by the multiple-time International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) world champion academy in the last decade after it produced 12 medals at the World Championships in the brown belt division that year.

Thiago Saboia Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Thiago Robson Saboia Sousa

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Alexandre Paiva > Fernando Tererê > Rubens Charles > Michael Langhi > Thiago Saboia

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Sao Paulo Open (2024)
• 2nd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2024)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Sao Paulo BJJ Pro (2024)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2022 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF European Championship (2023 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2023 / 2024 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Sul Brasileiro Championship (2024 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2022 brown)
• 1st Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2021 blue)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2024 brown)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2022 purple)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NOGI (2019 blue)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Sul Brasileiro Championship (2024* brown)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2021 blue)
• 3rd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2021 blue)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard

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

Team/Association: Alliance

Thiago Saboia Biography

Thiago Saboia was born on January 30, 2001, in Teresina the capital city of the Brazilian state of Piauí.

Growing up, Thiago was always interested in sports, competing in swimming, futsal (indoor soccer), and karate before jiu-jitsu. The love for martial arts, however, started with judo. An activity he began at age 7. When he was 8, he tried jiu-jitsu for two sessions and enjoyed it. His father, however, was against the idea and he ended up not pursuing the Gentle Art at that point. He revisited the thought in December 2016 at a local social project under the guidance of Luiz “Majorzao” and Rômulo Morais.

Saboia quickly dove into the sport’s competitive arena and developed the ambition of becoming one of the top athletes in jiu-jitsu. When he was a blue belt, he moved to Sao Paulo to train under Michael Langhi and Fábio Gurgel at the Alliance Academy headquarters to achieve his goals.

At Alliance, Thiago Saboia developed into one of the top colored belts in the world with medals at the European, Brazilian, and World circuits. His good form earned him his black belt in June 2024 from Michael Langhi.