Daniel Wanderley

Daniel Wanderley, also known as “Cachorrão” or Big Dog, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Gutenberg Melo commonly known for his involvement in the development of mixed martial arts (MMA) stars such as Anthony Pettis, Erik Koch and Ben Askren at the Roufusport MMA academy. As a competitor Wanderley has also ventured into MMA, while achieving important medals in jiu jitsu, particularly in the “over 30” category (masters) where he won the Pan American No-Gi Champion and placed 2nd in the World No-Gi Championship.

Daniel Wanderley Jiu Jitsu

Full Name: Daniel Souto Wanderley

Nickname: Daniel is called “Cachorrão” which stands for Big Dog in Portuguese slang. The nickname started on the mats while sparring at his coach’s academy. At the time Daniel had both his hands occupied trying to control his training partner, he proceeded to use his mouth to untie a lapel and pass it to one of the hands. A friend that was watching found it amusing and said he resembled a dog. Soon enough his teammates started calling Wanderley “Big Dog”.

Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Gutenberg Melo > Daniel Wanderley

Main Achievements:

IBJJF Pan American No-Gi Champion (2010/2011 Master 1)
IBJJF American Nationals Champion (2016/2018 Master 2)
IBJJF American Nationals No-Gi Champion (2018 Master 2)
UFC Fan Expo/Grapplers Quest No-Gi Advanced Champion (2013)
IBJJF Atlanta Spring Open Champion (2018 Master 2)
IBJJF New York Open Champion (2013 Master 1)
IBJJF Dallas Open Champion (2013 Master)
IBJJF Denver Open Champion (2018 Master 2)
IBJJF Chicago Summer Open Champion (2015 Master 2)
IBJJF Chicago Summer No-Gi Open Champion (2015 Master 2)
Grapplers Quest – UFC Fan Expo Champion (2013)
NAGA Expert Div. Champion (2016)
IBJJF World No-Gi Championship 2nd Place (2014/2010 Master 1, 2017 Master 2)
IBJJF Las Vegas Summer Open 2nd Place (2014 Master 1)
IBJJF Atlanta Winter Open 2nd Place (2018 Master 2)
IBJJF San Francisco Open 2nd Place (2018 Master 2)
IBJJF Chicago Spring International Open 2nd Place (2018 Master 2)
IBJJF World No-Gi Championship 3rd Place (2012 Master 1)
IBJJF Chicago Winter No-Gi Open 3rd Place (2013 Master 1)
IBJJF Las Vegas Summer No-Gi Open 3rd Place (2014 Master 1)
IBJJF Chicago Summer No-Gi Open 3rd Place (2014* Master 2)
IBJJF Chicago Spring International Open 3rd Place (2018* Master 2)

* Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Closed Guard

Weight Division: Peso Leve/Meso Médio

Team/Association: Equipe Carlson Gracie

Daniel Wanderley Biography

Daniel Wanderley was born on the 19th of February, 1980 in Recife – PE, Brazil where he grew up.

At the age of 12 Daniel started training martial arts, first through capoeira and later with karate, although he never pursued a career in neither.

In 2000, shortly after his 20th birthday, Wanderley decided to try a jiu jitsu class at Gutenberg Melo’s academy, influenced by some friends who already trained there. Training under one of Carlson Gracie‘s best known black belts and a jiu jitsu pioneer in the region of Pernambuco, Daniel went through the ranks in just under 6 years.

In 2005 Daniel went to visit his mother who had moved to Chicago, IL. There Wanderley met Master Carlson Gracie with whom he lived for 3 months. On his return to Brazil, (February 2006), Daniel received his black belt.

While living with Master Carlson Gracie in 2005, Daniel Wanderley took part in Stephan Bonnar’s camp ahead of his legendary fight with Forrest Griffin (The Ultimate Fighter 1 Finale), a camp that was led by both Carlson Gracie and Duke Roufus.

Having worked previously with Roufus, in 2013 Daniel Wanderley travelled to Milwaukee to train at the Roufusport academy, trying to improve his own MMA game. While training there Duke Roufus liked his style and asked him to take on the jiu jitsu coach role at the academy, in time to help prepare Anthony Pettis for his title glory, on UFC 164 over Ben Henderson (a win by armbar).

When Anthony Pettis was invited to take part in “The Ultimate Fighter: A Champion Will Be Crowned” (TUF 20), “Showtime” brought Daniel as his team’s grappling coach.

Photo credit to Joey Hill.

Daniel Wanderley vs Oliver Patrovski