Considered by many as the best guard in the Gracie family, Rilion Gracie was tremendously influenced by his brothers Rolls and Crolin. Rilion also taught the Gracie Jiu Jitsu style half way around the world having opened schools in Europe, North and South America. Today Rilion is still sought out by several big names in the sport for technical advice.
Rolker Gracie is an important figure in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, being the 4th son of Helio Gracie and one of the main figures within the Gracie Humaitá organization, arguably the most historical of BJJ academies, from where he has influenced the technical growth of many world champions.
Rodrigo Ranieri is a World Jiu Jitsu Cup gold medallist (2006) and a top super featherweight grappler. A BJJ black belt under master Paulo Cesar Rezende, Ranieri (also known as “Mike” or “Mike Tyson”) moved to the United States where he has competed extensively in his weight class and open weight classes all around the country.
Samir Chantre is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Alan Moraes, though much of his training has been supervised also by world champion Caio Terra. Samir Chantre has an extensive competitive record in which he obtained medals at important tournaments such as the World Nogi Championships, the Brazilian Nationals and the European Open. Samir also has a brother, Dahas Neto, who is a BJJ black belt.
A jiu jitsu black belt from the Nova Uniao team, Bernardo Pitel was consistently since the early 2000’s one of the most active competitors in the Pluma weight division. The man from Brasilia, and student of Joao Roque has managed to medal in some of the world’s most important tournaments such as the Pan America, the Mundial and the Brazilian Nationals.
“Treta” as she is usually called, is a jiu jitsu world champion and a black belt for the Ryan Gracie team. Formerly with Cicero Costha (from Barbosa BJJ), Talita Nogueira switched camps to become one of the most successful fighters in women’s Jiu Jitsu in 2011, with a win at the Mundial and a win at the ADCC trials in Brazil.
Tom Abdo is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under former world BJJ Champion Luiz Guilherme “Guigo”. Though not a regular competitor, Tom Abdo has also achieved great success in tournaments with several titles in the Sao Paulo State Championships and even a Silver Medal at the Jiu Jitsu World Cup.
The Gerbil, as he is usually called in the Jiu Jitsu community is a black belt in BJJ under the legendary Gracie Barra competitor Roberto “Gordo” Correa. Jeremy Gerbil Arel is also a household name amongst Jiu Jitsu’s internet community through his several online instructionals and his active participation in some of the most important grappling forums on the web, something he has done since his early BJJ days.
Louie Cercedez is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the famous Roy Harris (one of the first American BJJ black belts). With an extensive Martial Arts background, Cercedez also ventured into the early staged of Mixed Martial Arts, having fought on shows when MMA was still in its embryo stage against fighters such as Javier Vazquez and Yves Edwards.
Andre Quiles is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the Leozinho Vieira with strong ties to the MMA team Chute Boxe, for whom he fought many. Quiles has won several important titles in Jiu Jitsu, such as Sao Paulo State Champions (7 times) and South American Championchip.
Fernando Monteiro is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the great master Francisco Mansor. The former Niteroi league champion has trained BJJ since 1977, and is one of the most experienced members of the prestigious Brasil 021 team.
Gastão Gracie Filho was a red belt in BJJ and the brother of Carlos, Oswaldo, George and Helio Gracie, all of which form the founding members of the Gracie Jiu Jitsu style. He moved to Sao Paulo where he helped further develop the sport there in the 1930’s.
Oswaldo Gracie was one of the founding members of Gracie Jiu Jitsu, whom together with brothers Carlos, Gastao, George and Helio, transformed the landscape of martial arts forever in Brazil. Oswaldo is often seen as the better fighter of the original 5 brothers, he went on to promote Gracie Jiu Jitsu in the state of Minas Gerais.
This charismatic black belt from the Alliance Jiu Jitsu team has medalled in some of the world’s most Important competitions such as the Mundial, the European Open and the Pan American, he is also an important figure for BJJ in the country of Ecuador where he resides and where has established an Alliance affiliate academy.
Carlos Henrique is a 5th degree black belt under master Francisco Mansor who has medalled in important tournaments such as the International Masters & Seniors, the Pan American & the Brasileiro (Brazilian Nationals). Carlos Henrique is also one of the leaders of the Brazil 021 team, an important team that has raised champions such as Hanette Staack.
One of the ADCC 2011 starlets, the American Justin Rader is an accomplished Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Rafael Lovato Jr and the Gracie Humaita team who has won important tournaments such as the World Nogi Championships, Grapplers Quest and the Pan American Jiu Jitsu championships.
Guga is a BJJ black belt from the Checkmat academy with several important medals under his belt, such as the Rio Open and the World Cup as a black belt, and a world title in the brown belt division, Luis Gustavo is one of the most successful competitors from the fightzone camp in Rio de Janeiro.
Amin Touati “Camelinho” is a Jiu Jitsu black belt under the legendary Royce Gracie since June 2011. From Stockholm, Sweden, Amin Touati moved to Dubai in the UAE and helped grow the sport of BJJ in that Arab country.
A professional MMA fighter with an extensive background in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Gunni Nelson is one of the main figures of a new and successive generation of European (Gunnar is Icelandic) BJJ black belts that has managed to achieve excellent results at an international level.
Davi Ramos is one of the top Jiu Jitsu lightweight competitors in the world. Born in Rio de Janeiro and taught by master Cesar Guimaraes from Top Brother and he is also part of the Atos team from Rio Claro. His strong and dynamic BJJ game have made him one of the most interesting fighters to watch in a division stacked with talent.
