John Danaher is a New Zealand born BJJ black belt under Renzo Gracie who is considered one of the best grappling and MMA instructors in the World, having worked extensively with UFC welterweight champion, George Saint Pierre. Danaher gained notoriety as a jiu jitsu & MMA coach, though he also completed a Masters Degree in Philosophy.
He is the Vice-President of the Arizona State Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (AZSBJJF) and a top instructor from Nova Uniao. Gustavo was also part of a generation of fantastic fighters from the late 1990’s that terrorised the BJJ mats all over the world at the time.
Today teaching Jiu Jitsu in the USA, Marcos Cerqueira is a Black Belt under André “Negao” Terencio.
He is a Judo and BJJ black belt famous for his competitive spirit that has kept him at the top of his game for almost two decades. Today he is also the president of the Arizona BJJ federation and a successful BJJ coach.
A gifted grappler from Paragon BJJ. Jeff is famous for his deep half guard techniques and for having a very attractive fighting styles always going for submissions. He has also won important tournaments such as the Pan Ams, the No Gi World Championship and Grapplers Quest.
Gabriel Vella is one of Jiu Jitsu’s top fighters today. A Gracie Elite team fighter formerly linked with Ryan Gracie Team and Alliance.
One of the best Jiu Jitsu instructors in the world, the black belt graduated by Waldomiro Perez is the founder of one of the strongest teams in Sao Paulo, Brazil – The Macaco/Godoi (today Godoi Jiu JItsu).
abrielle Garcia, commonly referred to as Gabi Garcia, is a powerhouse competitor in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu’s female division, having the vast majority of important tournaments before even receiving her black belt rank. The Gaúcha (person from a southern region of Brazil) has since reached the degree of black belt under the illustrious ‘General’ Fábio Gurgel.
Ricardo Liborio is mostly known as the leader of the MMA academy American Top Team (ATT), but he is also considered, by many to be the best Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt formed by Master Carlson Gracie and an all around legend of the sport. Ricardo Liborio was also the very first world BJJ champion in the super heavyweight division (A division he won weighing little over 78kg-172lbs).
Renato Tavares is a representative of American Top Team in the US. Fighting since the 70’s Renato has been a top competitor for many years in different fighting sports such as BJJ (of course), submission wrestling and MMA while also being a top instructor.
A BJJ black belt from the famous Kimura-Nova Uniao, Kiki is a former BJJ World Champion and also a Brazilian National Wrestling Champion with a successful MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) career.
Caio Terra is a world Jiu Jitsu champion who competes under the Gracie Elite Team/Gracie Fighter Team. The Brazilian black belt has had a controversial career in BJJ, having left his first team and coach in less then amicable terms but having managed an amazing and rampant rise to black belt. He has also been known for his constant battles with Jiu Jitsu’s refereeing and more recently being outspoken about steroid use in the sport.
Octavio Couto, also known as “Ratinho” is a highly regarded Jiu Jitsu coach and a black belt under Romero Cavalcanti. He has been responsable for the growth of fighters such as Fernando Augusto, the Vieira brothers, Felipe Costa amongst many others.
He made history in BJJ by being the first American to win the Brasileiro in the black belt division. He is also a World Champion and one of the toughest competitors in his division today.
A 3 time World Champion and a 2 time ADCC Champion Werdum is a major fighter in MMA’s heavyweight division, having fought in three of the most important MMA organizations.
a top fighter from Nova Uniao, Marcelino has trained with some of the best BJJ fighters of all time and is an extremely accomplished fighter himself with multiple gold medals at the Brazilian National Championships.
Joe Moreira was one of the first non Gracie black belt to move to the United States. He also fought twice in the UFC and was coach to some of the early UFC stars such as Kimo and famous referee “Big John” Macarthy.
Eduardo Telles is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Fabio Gurgel and one of the most criative grapplers in the World. Famed for being a fan of the “Esquijitsu” (a nickname applied to his game which translates to: weird Jiu Jitsu) he created several attacks from the turtle position, a position that was deemed a weaker position by most grapplers before Telles created the turtle guard, revolutionizing what once was defensive ‘go-to’ move.
a historical Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, this 2x World Absolute World Champion has been a force to be reckoned with for over 10 years in the Black belt Divisions. Today he is one of the best BJJ coaches in the business for both sport Jiu Jitsu and grappling for MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) in the USA.
Eduardo Azevedo is a Ricardo Vieira black belt from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eduardo has travelled across Europe since 2002 teaching BJJ all over the old continent and today he is settled in the United Kingdom.
