Rider Zuchi

Rider Zuchi is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Leandro Lo, who worked extensively with a number of other illustrious grappling coaches, including Augusto Ferrari, Fábio Negão, Diogo Nascimento, and more while representing the Ns Brotherhood as well as the Lotus Club teams. Rider’s reputation as one of the top athletes of his generation was boosted while competing in the brown belt division (2019) of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit, where he conquered Brazilian National titles in both Gi and No-Gi. He later cemented that reputation with his standout black belt debut performance at the Copa Podio Grand Prix.

Rider Zuchi Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Rider Zuchi Samelo do Amaral

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rickson Gracie > Marcelo Behring > Waldomiro Perez > Roberto Godoi > Marco Barbosa > Cicero Costha > Leandro Lo > Rider Zuchi

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2022)
• 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, RJ (2022)
• 2nd Place IBJJF European Open (2023*)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2021*)
• 2nd Place Copa Podio Heavyweight GP (2019)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, RJ (2020)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2022 / 2023 / 2024)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2023)
• 3rd Place CBJJ South Brazilian Nationals (2022 / 2023)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals No-Gi (2019 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2019** brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Curitiba BJJ Pro Championship (2019** brown)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2019 brown)

Favorite Position/Technique: Knee Through Guard Passing

Weight Division: Super Pesado (100,50 kg / 222.0 lbs)

Team/Association: Ns Brotherhood m

Rider Zuchi Biography

Rider Zuchi was born on May 25, 1996, in Santana, a small town in the northern region of the Brazilian state of São Paulo, where he grew up.

During his childhood Zuchi played in a few school-related activities, being particularly adept at football (soccer), but it wasn’t until he was 15 years old that he would truly embrace the sporting lifestyle, through jiu-jitsu.

Back in 2011, Rider’s father was invited to participate in a jiu-jitsu class by one of his friends. The patriarch decided to take his enthusiastic teenage son along with him. Both fell in love with the sport/martial art immediately, becoming training partners from then on.

Rider’s first instructor was Giannini Carlos of a Lotus Club Academy affiliate in Santana, who promoted Zuchi up until his blue belt. After his grading, given that the young athlete already wanted to pursue a sporting career in BJJ, Rider started going to Lotus’ team headquarters to get his instruction from the team leader Fábio Negão.

Coach Fábio was a big influence on the young São Paulo native throughout his career. As a purple belt, however, Rider hit a slump in his evolution, which translated into his competitive record. Unsatisfied with the way his career was progressing, Zuchi decided to start training at Leandro Lo‘s gym – New School Brotherhood, one of the most successful grappling programs in the state. It was Lo who promoted Rider Zuchi to brown belt.

In 2019, Augusto Ferrari took over the Ns Brotherhood classroom from Leandro Lo, Rider then briefly became a student of Ferrari while having Lo his strongest reference. Later that year, Rider traveled to the South of Brazil to compete in Copa Podio. While in the region, Zuchi decided to compete at the IBJJF Porto Alegre Open, but as he was due to receive his black belt it was decided that he would be promoted prior to this event so that he could earn points for the top upcoming tournaments of the federation. As such, on November 26, 2019, Zuchi was promoted to black belt by Diogo Nascimento, who tied the belt around Rider’s waist at the behest of Leandro Lo.