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William Abreu

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William Abreu is a former folkstyle, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestler, who is also a jiu-jitsu black belt under Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, as well as the head grappling coach of the Black House Academy in Miami Beach, Florida. Abreu made a name for himself in wrestling during his high school career, later turning his attention towards BJJ where he earned important titles from the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit, particularly in no-gi BJJ.

William Abreu Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: William Abreu

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Francisco Toco > Roberto Abreu > William Abreu

Main Achievements (BJJ):

  • 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2015 Masters)
  • 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2015* Masters)

Main Achievements (BJJ Colored Belts):

  • 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2011 blue, 2013 brown)
  • 1st Place IBJJF European Open NoGi (2012** purple)
  • 1st Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro Trials (2010 blue)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Miami Open (2011 blue)
  • 1st Place IBJJF Pan American NoGi (2011 blue)
  • 3rd Place IBJJF Miami Open (2011* blue)

* Absolute
** Weight and absolute

Main Achievements (Wrestling):

  • FL Greco, Freestyle & Folkstyle Nat. Team member (2002)
  • FL Freestyle All-Star Team member (2002)
  • 1st Place FL Folkstyle National Qualifier (2002)
  • 1st Place FL Greco-Roman State Championship (2002)
  • 1st Place FL Greco & Freestyle National Qualifier (2001, 2002)
  • 3rd Place FL Freestyle State Championship (2002)
  • 3rd Place US Southeast Regional Championship (2001, 2002)

Favorite Position: Passing

Weight Division: Pesado (94,30 kg / 207.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Black House / Fight Sports

William Abreu Biography

William Abreu was born on March 1, 1983, in Miami, Florida, USA, moving to New Orleans, Louisiana, at the age of 4.

Competitive sports became a part of William’s life during middle-school, a time when he started playing basketball. It was only later in life, during his mid-teens, after returning to his native Miami, that Abreu first joined a wrestling mat.

William’s path in wrestling was an unconventional one. He started at the age of 15 at the Miami Beach Senior High, but 1.5 years into the program he grew disenchanted with the coaching and decided to leave. Still very interested in the sport Abreu decided to continue on his own, skipping school or leaving early to attend practice at other schools. In an interview with BJJ Heroes from August 2020, Abreu said of those days: “I gathered money however I could to compete, and traveled by bus or hitchhiked, but never enough for a hotel, so I slept outside. During the 2001 national qualifier, a coach noticed I was alone and not eating much. At the end of the event, he also noticed me grabbing my belongings from behind the bushes. Realizing I was sleeping outside he offered me to stay with him and his team. That’s when everything changed for the better, I trained with him during the summertime. By the end of my junior year, I was doing well enough to be picked to represent Florida on the national level.

That coach was Nestor Varona, a man who was just starting his own club with local kids. By the time college came, William was picked up by the Upper Iowa University (UIU).

Taking a break from college during the Summer of 2007, William started teaching wrestling to a group of friends who practiced jiu-jitsu. It was during that time that he was first introduced to submissions by rolling around with his friends.

This period was followed by a motorcycle accident on August 7, that year, which kept Abreu from returning to school. The Florida native had fractured his lower back and earned a herniated a disc, while also needing abdominal surgery.

After an extensive recovery procedure of nearly two years, William started coaching kids wrestling, locally. It was through this program he came across Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. “I started the first kids wrestling club for Miami Beach. One day a student mentioned he also did jiu-jitsu and thought I was related to his coach. I asked why and he said we had the same last name and both wrestled“. That student’s BJJ coach was Cyborg Abreu, who was invited to watch practice, with William and Roberto eventually wrestling in class, “after the sparring he [Cyborg] invited me to train with him. 6 months later I became the wrestling instructor for him and the team.” the Floridian explained of the 2009 event.

William quickly became an important member of the Fight Sports workgroup, earning all jiu-jitsu belts from Cyborg, including his black belt, a rank he was promoted to in 2014.

It was also during 2014 that Abreu started coaching the kids at Black House Miami Beach, one of the most familiar MMA brands in the world. In 2016 William was offered the jiu-jitsu head-coach position, a job he accepted.

5050 Guard Instructional by Lachlan Giles

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