Manuel António Pontes, commonly known as “Nelton” Pontes is a Portuguese grappler and a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Alex Machado of Gracie Barra – Lisbon. One of the top competitors in Europe, Nelton has conquered titles in important jiu jitsu events such as the Abu Dhabi World Pro and the European International Open, having also podium placed at the prestigious Copa Pódio’s Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Renato Forasieppi Canuto is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under his father Valdir “Tio Chico” Canuto, being also one of the top representatives of team …
Felipe Bezerra is a high level Brazilian judo competitor and a black belt in jiu jitsu under Bruno Barreto of Checkmat – RN (Rio Grande do Norte). Bezerra is one of the few athletes to compete in both grappling sports at the highest level, having conquered numerous medals at the Judo Nationals as well a IBJJF World and Pan American titles.
Bianca Basílio is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Caio Almeida, being also one of the top grappling competitors of her generation. A representative of the Almeida Jiu Jitsu academy, Basílio took the world by storm in the lower belt divisions of the sport by conquering some of the sport’s most praised events. This included the World, Pan American, South American and European titles.
Final ranking for Brazilian jiu jitsu’s main competitors in 2016, gathering the results from the main federations of the BJJ world. This is an unofficial ranking that tries to unify other of this sport’s listings.
Eliot Kelly is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Marcos “Yemaso” Torregrosa and one of the top super-heavyweight competitors in the sport, particularly in the Masters division where Kelly has won three Masters World medals (black belt). Eliot Kelly has also competed extensively in freestyle wrestling, having carried a lot of this sport on to his jiu jitsu game, making him one of the exponents of the American jiu jitsu style in the super-heavyweight division of the sport.
We are excited to bring you the news that Roger Gracie has finally decided to share the details of his grappling portfolio on to an online instructional channel. More news inside.
Nakapan Phungephorn is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt of Thailandese nationality who earned the rank from Master Pedro Sauer. Phungephorn is also the founder of the BETA academy (Washington, DC), and a historic figure in the North American grappling circuit during the 2000’s, when he won important titles, particularly at the Grapplers Quest promotion.
Nicholas Meregali is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Mario Reis and Jeferson Adan, as well as a representative of the Alliance academy in the sport’s competitive circuit.
Valdir Canuto, commonly known as “Tio Chico” is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Leonardo Costa, and a pioneer for this grappling style in São Vicente (Brazil). A well respected referee for the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), Valdir is also an accomplished instructor, having in his son Renato Canuto his most famous student.
Paul Ardila-Ibarra a jiu jitsu black belt under Roan Carneiro, and representative of American Top Team (ATT), Ardila-Ibarra is also one of the top ultra-heavyweights of his generation, Paul also represented the Alliance Academy while training under Bruno Malfacine’s guidance during 2015.
Full results and stats from this weekend’s most talked about event, the Studio 540 Superfight event that saw 3 high level submission only matches between Gordon Ryan and Felipe Pena, Garry Tonon and Kim Terra as well as Nick Ryan vs Kennedy Maciel.
This year’s brown belt division was one of the most competitive of all time, having produced high level entertainment for the fans and athletes clearly capable of making a mark in the black belt division. In this article we are going through the top 5 most recently promoted black belts.
As we reach the end of the year, BJJ Heroes went back through our professional events in search of the top money earners in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu. In this top 10 list, you will find out who are the best paid athletes in BJJ.
Adam Wardziński is a Brazilian jiu jitsu under Alan “Finfou”, who is widely regarded as one of the top medium heavyweight competitors in the sport of grappling. Adam Wardziński is also one of the first big names to emerge from Poland in the sport of BJJ.
Kristian Woodmansee is a jiu jitsu black belt under André Galvão, being also one of the top rooster-weight competitors of his generation. A reputation built in the lower belt divisions of the sport for academies such as Team Lloyd Irvin, Drysdale Jiu Jitsu and Atos Jiu Jitsu.
Thamires Aquino is a jiu jitsu black belt under Júlio César, being also one of the top female competitors of her generation while competing for Grappling Fight Team – out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Grappling Pro Championship 2 – The Heavyweights results. The 264lbs weight class has crowned it’s first king of GPC, find here the full results of each match.
David Avellan is an accomplished American grappler and a jiu jitsu black belt under Ricardo Teixeira, well known for his many battles in important no-gi tournaments such as the ADCC and Grapplers Quest, where he defeated legends of our sport such as Amaury Bitetti, Alexandre Ribeiro, Rafael Lovato Jr. and Tarsis Humphreys – to name a few.
A run down of the second edition of the innovative Grappling Pro Championship. This time the Naples – Florida based promotion is bringing a wild card of heavyweights (264lbs) who will compete to win the event’s heavyweight belt. Find out who the athletes are, and how they will be matches in this exciting tournament.
