Ruan Alvarenga

Ruan Alvarenga is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Iran Brasileiro (Alvarenga’s father), from Minas Gerais, Brazil, who worked extensively with Marcelo Garcia at the Alliance Academy in New York City. A no-gi specialist, Ruan Alvarenga first gained notoriety to a wider audience after he conquered the Brazilian ADCC Trials (2019) as a brown belt. He has since cemented his status as one of his generation’s foremost grapplers with important wins in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit.

Ruan Alvarenga

Full Name: Ruan Tiago Alvarenga

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Takeo Iano > Iran Brasileiro > Ruan Alvarenga

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship NOGI (2021)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2018 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2019 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NOGI (2018 purple)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile NOGI (2015)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2017 purple)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile NOGI (2017 purple)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile (2014)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2017 purple)

Favorite Position/Technique: Well Rounded

Weight Division: Peso Pena (70,00 kg / 154.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Alliance / Academia Pantera Negra

Ruan Alvarenga Biography

Ruan Alvarenga was born in July 1998, in Divinópolis, a small town located in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

At the age of 4 young Ruan formally initiated his grappling training at his father’s jiu-jitsu academy. Alvarenga is the son of Iran Brasileiro Alvarenga, one of the top instructors in the state and the man responsible for the early development of big names of the sport such as Rousimar Palhares, Marcelo Garcia, Paulo Rezende, and Rodrigo Ranieri.

Although practically raised in the gi, Ruan had plenty of no-gi influences when growing up. One of those being Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares, a submission-wrestling specialist who was one of Iran Brasileiro’s prime students for many years. Palhares lived in the Alvarenga residence and passed on a lot of his love for no-gi down to young Ruan.

Another big reference for Ruan was Marcelo Garcia, the former student of Iran who became a worldwide reference in the sport during the 2000s-2010s decades. When interviewed by BJJ Heroes for his profile, Alvarenga explained that he consumed Garcia’s epic ADCC performances religiously as a teenager, through his DVD player, almost to exhaustion.

Luckily for Ruan, he got to meet and work with his idol. In fact, the Garcia family – Marcelo and Tatiana – helped Ruan with his international career from early on, bringing the young talent to the United States and sponsoring his stay. Ruan’s first trip took place when he was just a purple belt.

Marcelo Garcia and Iran Brasileiro, both mentored the evolution of the young prospect together from that initial contact. On January 18, 2021, Ruan Alvarenga was promoted to black belt by his father, Iran Brasileiro.