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

AJ Sousa is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Pablo Popovitch, who became known to jiu jitsu’s mainstream audience after participating in Lloyd Irvin’s Kumite, a web series/tournament designed to find who the best brown belt in the sport was, back in 2013. Since then AJ Sousa has cemented his status as one of the top competitors in the world, with wins at the Miami, Las Vegas and Boca Raton IBJJF Opens, as well as a fantastic performance at the 2015 edition of the Abu Dhabi World Pro.

The 9th edition of the No Gi Pan American Championship took place on the 3rd of October, 2015 at the Nat Holman Gym (CCNY) in New York City, New York. One of IBJJF’s main tournaments of the year. Find out the results here.

On this article we will go through the male black belt divisions of the 2015 IBJJF No-Gi Pan American Jiu Jitsu Championship, and make our predictions on who the winners will be

Explaining the proposal and vision of UAEJJF (United Arab Emirates Jiu Jitsu Federation) for the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu. Their new National Pro series as well as Grand Slam, all part of the Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu Tour.

Gustavo Pires, commonly known as “Siri”, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Junior, and one of the top Gracie Barra competitors in the sport’s super-heavyweight division with medals at the Pan American, No Gi World, World Masters and Brazilian National Championships. Founder of the Gracie Barra Fullerton academy, Gustavo Siri is also known for his coaching abilities, having been crucial in the development of important grapplers such as André Campos and Bruno Rocha.

A run down through the evolution of Brazilian jiu jitsu’s uniform, also known as gi or kimono. From it’s design to the popular patches and styling trends we see on the mats today.

Isaque Paiva is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Massao and Daniel Shinkai, representing the Saikoo Jiu Jitsu Academy. Paiva is widely regarded as one of the top grappling featherweights of his generation, and one of the few competitors to have remained in his original regional academy, while competing at the highest level in the sport. A South American, Brazilian National, Asian Open, Rio Open and Sao Paulo Open champion, Isaque is know for his submission wins over big names such as Bruno Frazatto and Fabio Caloi.

One of the most accomplished female Brazilian jiu jitsu competitors to have ever entered a mat, Gabi Garcia is now set to make her mixed martial arts (MMA) début. More information inside.

Marcos de Oliveira, also known as “Santa Cruz”, is a former judo and wrestling competitor, having achieved Brazilian national squad honors in both sports. Oliveira is also a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under the illustrious Ricardo Libório, having conquered important titles such as the Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu World Pro and Brazilian National Champion. Among Marcos de Oliveira’s long list of achievements, he is also known as the founder and leader of the Abu Dhabi Top Team, an academy with strong ties to the American Top Team and GFTeam.

It seems as though the famed 4x jiu jitsu black belt world champion, Leandro Lo is about to leave the academy that brought him to the spotlight of jiu jitsu. More information inside.

Fresh news for the upcoming 5th and 6th editions of the Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI) events, one of the leading competitions in the sport of submission wrestling/jiu jitsu.

A rundown of the top jiu jitsu grapplers currently competing in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA), from the UFC to One Fc, among all cage fighting organizations. Top 15 jiu jitsu fighters in the sport.

A tribute to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, also known as “Minotauro” and “Big Nog”. A legend in the sport of mixed martial arts (MMA) and a great ambassador for Brazilian jiu jitsu in the fighting world.

Full results and video footage of the main matches of the Guatemala Open (GT Open), a competition that brought some of the top Brazilian jiu jitsu black belts in the world to Central America,

Lucas Rocha is a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under “Zé Radiola”, being one of the most well respected competitors to have come out of the Gracie Barra – Recife academy, a school that has produced several elite grapplers such as Otávio Sousa, Bruno Alves, Braulio and Victor Estima, to name a few. After a stellar campaign in the lower belt divisions, where Lucas earned World, Pan American and Brazilian National titles, Rocha moved to the United States, establishing himself as the head coach of Gracie Barra Arcadia in California, while still competing at the highest level.

Lucas Barbosa, commonly known as Lucas “Hulk”, is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under André Fabiano, who became known among the mainstream grappling community competing for Márcio Rodrigues’ team. Lucas Hulk’s breakthrough in the sport occurred in 2014 after his dominating performances throughout the “THE TEAM” episodes, a web based show produced by Copa Pódio in which he participated as a member of Leandro Lo’s squad. Lucas Barbosa’s talent was later cemented with wins at Abu Dhabi’s World Pro, the IBJJF World Championships as well as the Brazilian Nationals.

Garry Tonon is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Tom deBlass and Ricardo Almeida, having earned important medals for his team (Renzo Gracie Academy – NJ/Ocean County), including titles at the IBJJF World and Pan American Championships. Known as a No Gi specialist, Tonon earned his reputation through various accomplishments in prestigious grappling events, particularly in the submission only format such as: Metamoris, Polaris and Eddie Bravo Invitational (EBI). Garry Tonon has also worked extensively with coach John Danaher at RGA – NYC.

An insight to the academies producing the largest amount of high level competitors in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu, basing the results on competitive achievements in the sport’s most important tournaments, at the purple and brown belt level.

Joaquina Bonfim is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under the illustrious coach “Zé Radiola”, leader of Gracie Barra – Pernambuco, an academy that has produced a long list of talented grapplers, such as Lucas Rocha, Otávio Sousa or Victor Estima. One of the main female black belt competitors to have come out of her state, Joaquina has cinched important titles on a national and international level, such as Brazilian National Champion (CBJJ/IBJJF), National Pro Champion (UAEJJ) or World Champion (CBJJE).

Manuel Ribamar, also known as “Riba”, is a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Rodrigo Pinheiro and Cicero Costha, being regarded as one of the top middleweight competitors of his generation in the sport. Born in the state of Amazonas – Brazil, Ribamar has had a few different coaches going up the ranks, but it was at Cicero Costha’s PSLPB academy that his grappling style truly developed, earning him titles at the World and South American Championships.