Thiago Sá Fortes

Thiago Sá Fortes is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Ricardo Vieira, and a top-level competitor in the IBJJF tournament circuit, representing the Checkmat academy. Thiago earned his black belt at the beginning of 2014, after winning the Rio Open and the Brazilian Nationals as a brown belt, Thiago hit the ground running and immediately made a name for himself by winning the European Open and the Las Vegas Open in his first year as a black belt.

Thiago Sá Fortes Jiu Jitsu

Full Name: Thiago Sá Fortes Silva

Nickname: n/a

Lineage: M. Maeda > C. Gracie > H. Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Ricardo Vieira > Thiago Sá

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF European Open (2014)
• 1st Place IBJJF European Open NoGi (2017)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NoGi (2018)
• 1st Place IBJJF Santa Cruz BJJ Pro (2015)
• 1st Place IBJJF London Open (2015)
• 1st Place IBJJF Las Vegas Open (2014)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2015)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2018)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2018**)

** Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Rio Open (2012* brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Brazilian Nationals (2013 brown)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Single Leg X-Guard

Weight Division: Meio Pesado (88kg/194lbs)

Team/Association: Checkmat BJJ

Thiago Sá Fortes Biography

Thiago Sá Fortes was born on the 5th of March, 1990 in Alfenas, state of Minas Gerais – Brazil, but grew up in the south of the state, in a small town called Perdões. As a child he practised a bit of Karate and Capoeira, but not seriously. Another sport he played was football, and it was walking to his football practice that he started paying attention to a Jiu Jitsu school near the soccer pitch.

Thiago was 12 at the time, and every day after football practice, he would stop by the same Jiu-Jitsu academy and watch the people training. One day he decided to ask his father the enrol him in Jiu Jitsu too. No one believed he would stay in Jiu-Jitsu for long, his friends even mocked him for it, but very soon after this Thiago decided to quit football for good and dedicate all his spare time to the mats.

A purple belt named Cristiano was Thiago’s first coach in a very small gym that had usually a handful of students in class. Training consistently and with full dedication, Thiago soon realized that he was quickly ‘outgrowing’ this gym, even though he was still in his early teens. He decided to look for a tougher academy. In Thiago’s search for a new place to train, he met Maximiliano Campos, a very talented competitor who also taught BJJ in a nearby town. Thiago’s desire to grow in the sport was such that even at such a young age, he decided to move towns so he could be closer “Max” Campos’ gym. He was awarded his purple belt by Campos when he was 16 years old.

In 2012 Thiago (as a brown belt) decided to try and make it as a professional athlete. With that in mind he moved to Rio de Janeiro where some of the best training and competitions occur. There Thiago joined Ricardo Vieira‘s gym (Fightzone). Vieira welcomed Thiago and opened the doors of his academy to the Minas Gerais native, allowing him to live at the famous Copacabana gym for over a year. It was “Rico” who awarded Thiago his black belt on January 2014, after a sequence of good results. In his first competition as a black belt, Thiago got his first black belt gold medal, at the important European Open (IBJJF), one of the top tournaments in the world.

Thiago Sa Fortes vs Unknown
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