Gabriel Procópio Fonseca, commonly known as Timbó, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under the illustrious Ricardo Marques as well as a representative of the Brazilian Top Team (BTT) in the sport’s international circuit. Although well respected in Brazil, Procópio broke through to a world-wide audience after his move to the United States of America in 2017, a time when he started being a common face on the main podiums of the international BJJ tour.
Gabriel Procópio Fonseca Jiu-Jitsu
Full Name: Gabriel Procópio da Fonseca
Nickname: Timbó is a type of poisonous herb that can kill livestock if digested. Gabriel grew up on a farm and was a very active kid, his wildness and constant pestering of the local farmworkers led them to nickname him “Timbó”, a name that later carried over to his BJJ circle of friends.
Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Sérgio Bolão > Ricardo Marques > Gabriel Procópio
Main Achievements:
- 2nd Place IBJJF Masters World Championship (2019)
- 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NoGi (2013)
- 2nd Place IBJJF American Nationals NoGi (2017)
- 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NoGi (2014)
Main Achievements (IBJJF Open):
- 1st Place IBJJF Miami Winter Open (2020)
- 1st Place IBJJF Boston Spring Open (2018)
- 1st Place IBJJF Long Beach Open (2018)
- 1st Place IBJJF Miami Fall Open (2019 Master 1)
- 1st Place IBJJF Miami Spring Open (2019** Master 1)
- 1st Place IBJJF Orlando Summer Open (2019 Master 1)
- 1st Place IBJJF Orlando Summer Open NoGi (2019 Master 1)
- 2nd Place IBJJF Rio Winter Open (2016)
- 2nd Place IBJJF Miami Fall Open (2019)
- 2nd Place IBJJF Orlando Summer Open NoGi (2019* Master 1)
- 3rd Place IBJJF Orlando Summer Open (2019* Master 1)
- 3rd Place IBJJF San Jose Open (2018)
- 3rd Place IBJJF NY Spring Open (2018)
- 3rd Place IBJJF Los Angeles BJJ Pro (2018)
Main Achievements (Colored Belts):
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2009 purple)
- 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NoGi (2011 brown)
- 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NoGi (2010 brown)
- 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2011 brown)
- 3rd Place IBJJF Rio Open (2010 brown)
* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute
Favorite Position/Technique: Half Guard
Weight Division: N/A
Team/Association: Brazilian Top Team (BTT)
Gabriel Procópio Fonseca Biography
Gabriel Procópio da Fonseca was born on April 16, 1989, in Juiz de Fora, one of the main cities in the state of Minas Gerais.
With a very active, sporting, life from the early stages of his childhood, Gabriel practiced a number of sports, from futsal, handball, basketball, and to a larger extent, football (soccer), which he played extensively at a competitive level.
At the age of 12, Procópio asked his mother if he could join a martial art. His mother’s only condition was that there would be no striking in his chosen discipline, leaving him with two local choices – judo and jiu-jitsu. Both offered strong competitive outlets, ticking one of Gabriel’s most important aspects, though jiu-jitsu carried more weight in the self-defense department and thus it ended being the chosen style.
In 2001 Gabriel entered Ricardo Marques‘ gym, one of the best coaches in the nation, who would be responsible in the future for developing high-end competitors such as Bernardo Faria, Leo Saggioro, Diego Gamonal, and Waldyr Filho. Procópio joined Marques’ academy and remained there from white to black belt while becoming one of the rising competitors state-wide and later on a national level.
Procópio earned his black belt in December 2012, after 3 medals at the Brazilian Nationals as a brown belt.
During 2015, amidst a university strike in Brazil, Bernardo Faria made Procópio aware of a BJJ coaching vacancy at Josh Koscheck’s Dethrone Basecamp Academy in Fresno, California. Given Gabriel’s spare time due to the strike, he accepted to work at Dethrone on a short term contract, this being Gabriel Procópio’s first US experience.
After spending 3 months working in Fresno, Procópio returned to Brazil to finish his degree. In 2017, after his graduation, Gabriel was invited for a full-time position coaching at Dethrone, where he worked for the following 2 years. In 2019, however, he took over the program at the Brazilian Top Team academy in Juno Beach, Florida.
Gabriel Procópio vs Michael Martinez
