Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Team History, Fighter Stats, Biographies and News

Luis Sergio Roman is a Puerto Rican national who holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under James Boran. Originaly a Sambo athlete, Luis Roman turned to BJJ in the 1990’s and became a black belt in the early 2000’s.

Grand Master Joao Alberto Barreto (9th degree red belt in BJJ) is a legendary figure for Jiu Jitsu world wide. Graduated by Helio Gracie himself, Joao Alberto became one of the top competitors of the Gracie Academy in the 1950’s being unbeaten in Vale Tudo matches (the early MMA). Barreto was also part of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as a referee in the early stages of the famous organization.

André “Dedeco” Almeida is an American Top Team representative and the founder of Best Way BJJ. A 4th degree black belt in Jiu Jitsu under Ricardo Liborio, and one of the most respected instructors in the sport, Dedeco has graduated several great competitors of the sport such as Rafael Formiga, Leandro Escobar and Michael DeLuca.

Fabiano Silva is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Ricardo Liborio from the American Top Team (ATT), who also competes in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). Fabiano is also known as the head coach of the Temecula (USA) branch of ATT.

Salvatore Pace is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Carlos Lemos Jr and a BJJ Coach with international experience, having taught in both …

Bruno Ferreira is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt graduated by the inimitable Master Francisco Albuquerque (also known as Toco). Ferreira has medalled in several important events such as the Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian Nationals), the South American Championship and the Brazilian Teams Tournament.

The Companhia Paulista, commonly know as Cia Paulista, is a historical Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team enrooted in São Paulo,Brazil. Cia started as a small local team though it grew into one of the top Jiu Jitsu academies in the world since its birth in the 1980’s. Cia Paulista is famed for producing high calibre fighters such as Eduardo Santoro, Carlos Vieira, Roberto Godoi.

Interview with one of the biggest legends in Jiu Jitsu, Hannette Staack, 6 times world champion and one of the leaders of the Brazil 021 team in the United States and Brazil. Hannette talks about her busy schedule, her training habits, her day to day life, her social projects and the future of the sport. Get to know the woman behind the champion through this interview.

The first North American black belt awarded by master Claudio Franca, Garth Taylor is also one of the most accomplished BJJ competitors of his generation, having medalled several times in important Jiu Jitsu tournaments such as the Mundial and the Pan American. A black belt since December 2000, Garth is also an accomplished coach.

Luciana Machado is the proud owner of the famous M Kimonos Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Brand. MKimonos was arguably the first brand to become world famous in the BJJ world, a brand associated with big names such as Saulo Ribeiro, Vitor “Shaolin”, Royler Gracie and many others. The witty and outspoken Brazilian got together with BJJ Heroes and revealed a little about who she is and what the brand is all about.

Arguably the most successful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu team in history, the Alliance academy has a brilliant list of achievements with 6 World BJJ titles. Alliance suffered from internal problems at the turn of the century, seeing most of it’s black belt team leaving to form rival organizations, but managed to pull through and come back to life stronger then ever at the end of the 2000’s era.

Dustin “Clean” Denes is an American grappler who holds victories over big names in the sport such as Jeff Monson, Raphael Abi Rihan and Marcelo Garcia. A Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Marcus “Connan” Silveira, Dustin Denes spent a long time of his life competing and training inBrazilwith masters such as Ricardo De La Riva and Murilo Bustamante.

One of the founding members of the Brazilian Top Team academy, Bebeo Duarte is also a highly decorated black belt in Jiu Jitsu, having won important tournaments such as the Mundial (World BJJ Championships) and the Pan American. This Carlson Gracie black belt is also a manager for many important MMA fighters, such as Alexandre “Cacareco”.

Alexandre Puga is an important figure within the Alliance Rio de Janeiro team. A black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under the illustrious Alexandre Paiva, Puga became one of the main instructors at theAllianceacademy in 2001 having helped several top competitors raise their game.

Fabio Andrade, mostly known by his “war name” of Coringa, is a Jiu Jitsu black belt under Master Julio Cesar Pereira from the Grappling Fight Team (GFTeam). The experienced Fabio Coringa was responsible for establishing the first GFTeam branch inAustralia, making an important step in cementing the team at an international level.

Leandro Nyza is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Master Wendell Alexander, who was brought to Hawaii by former UFC Lightweight & Welterweight Champion BJ Penn. Nyza has since established himself and his academy as one of the strongest in the region.

Bruno Almeida Alves is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Zé Radiola from the Gracie Barra (Pernambuco) academy. Bruno piled up medals in some of the toughest BJJ tournaments in the world at the middleweight division such as the Mundial (World Championship), the European, the Pan American, amongst many others.

The first Swedish female black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Ida Hansson is also one of the top competitors of her generation, having fought throughout the world, medalling in some of the world’s most important grappling tournaments. Hansson fights out of the Checkmat team in Denmark (Arte Suave) one of the top high level BJJ academies in Europe.

David Onuma is a British martial arts expert who holds a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Ricardo Vieira and Rodrigo Cabral. David is also a certified instructor in martial arts such as Jeet Kune Do, Kick Boxing, Maphilindo Silat and even Combat Submission Wrestling (under Erik Paulson).

Ryo Ominami is a Japanese BJJ fighter and coach from the Gracie Barra team. A Jiu Jitsu black belt under Carlos “Escorrega” Lemos, Ominami has won important tournaments such as the Asian Open (IBJJF), the All Japan Championship and even the NAGA in Chicago.