Luiz Felipe Santos

Luiz Felipe Assis dos Santos, commonly known as Felipe Santos or by his nickname Filipinho, is a jiu-jitsu athlete and a black belt in this martial art under Rodrigo Thiago, who worked extensively with Douglas Rufino and Sandro Vieira while climbing the ranks of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF). Felipe Santos is also another successful athlete from the Favela do Cantagalo, a Rio de Janeiro slum famous in the BJJ world for its production of many well-known competitors such as Fernando Terere, Natan Chueng, Alan Finfou, to name a few.

Felipe Santos Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Luiz Felipe Assis dos Santos

Nickname: Filipinho is an endearing way of saying “Little Felipe” in Portuguese slang. The name dates back to when Santos was a toddler and cared for by a child-minder with a biological son with the same forename. As Santos was the youngest and smallest of the two, he was labeled Little Felipe.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Alexandre Paiva > Rodrigo Thiago > Felipe Santos

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF European Championship (2024 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2022 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2019 blue, 2023 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2024 brown)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2021 purple, 2023 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2021 purple)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, RJN (2018 blue)
• 3rd Place IBJJF South American Championship NOGI (2021 purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2024 brown)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Back Attacks

Weight Division: Meio Pesado (88,30 kg / 195.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Alliance

Luiz Felipe Santos Biography

Felipe Santos was born on October 08, 2001, in the Cantagalo neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. This neighborhood is one of the most famous Brazilian slums in the jiu-jitsu world, as it was the birthplace of many of the sport’s former champions.

Influenced by many of his friends who trained jiu-jitsu at the local community center – where many of Cantagalo’s grappling phenoms had started years before him – Felipe Santos began practicing the Gentle Art. By his admission, in an interview given to BJJ Heroes in October 2024, the students’ free meals at the end of each BJJ class were another strong argument for his initial engagement with the team.

At this non-profit jiu-jitsu project, Filipinho met his first instructor, Douglas Rufino (Trator), a figure who became a major influence on Santos’ development in the sport. Guided by Rufino, and Sandro Vieira, Felipe represented the Fightzone team in Copa Cabana (Checkmat affiliate) for many years, but despite his good results, Santos struggled to earn a living from the sport. That changed once he was offered a coaching role at the Alliance Academy in Rio de Janeiro, a time when he was a brown belt.

The decision to teach at Alliance coincided with Santos’s representing the BJJ Eagle as an athlete in the tournament circuit. In July 2024, the Alliance Leblon team leader, Rodrigo Thiago, promoted Felipe to black belt.

Luiz Felipe Santos’ Adult Rank Promotions:
Black Belt: July 24, 2024 (Rodrigo Thiago)
Brown Belt: May 16, 2022 (Douglas Rufino & Sandro Vieira)
Purple Belt: July 7, 2020 (Douglas Rufino & Sandro Vieira)