A list off top athletes of the black belt divisions who train under the Alliance banner. Male and female competitors from all weights and all decades since the foundation of this famous Jiu Jitsu team. If you are looking for the history of the Alliance academy, please refer to the ‘Academies’ section on the menu.
Sergio “Malibu” was one of the most recognizable figures in Jiu Jitsu during the 1980s and 1990s. One of the main advocates for the surfing/jiu jitsu lifestyle crossover, and former Pan American and Brazilian National Jiu Jitsu Champion, Malibu was a student of Rolls Gracie and Rickson Gracie who became highly involved with the start of the Master Academy of Romero Cavalcanti.
Gianni Grippo is widely regarded as one of the leading figures of the ‘Berimbolo Generation’ of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, having built that reputation in the lower belt divisions of the sport where he conquered 6 world titles (4 with the gi and 2 without). Grippo competed for the Renzo Gracie Academy up until brown belt, when he switched to Marcelo Garcia’s Alliance, continuing his grappling career at the multiple time world champion academy.
Fabio Caloi is a Jiu Jitsu world champion competitor and a black belt under Fabio Gurgel. Fabio, also known as ‘Fabinho’ Caloi, belongs to an elite generation of grapplers developed by the Alliance Academy, a generation that raised waves in the lower belts of the sport, continuing in great form through the black belt divisions.
A Brazilian native of Japanese descent, Juan Caio Kamezawa, was regarded by the end of 2012 as one of the hottest Jiu Jitsu prospects in the world, since then the Fabio Gurgel and Luciano Nucci (Casquinha) black belt from the Alliance academy has confirmed this status.
Rodrigo Conceição, more commonly known as Rodrigo “Aquiles” (also spelled Akillis or Achilles), is one of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belts in the lightweight division who competes for the Alliance Academy, Rodrigo Aquiles is also part of an incredible tradition of BJJ competitors from the Cantagalo slums in Rio de Janeiro, an area of the city that has produced several big names of the sport.
One of the top Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitors of an exciting new generation of featherweight fighters to have appeared in BJJ post 2010, Victor Genovesi is also the son of marathon runner Dani Figueiredo and one of the top BJJ coaches in the world, Alexandre Paiva with whom Victor has trained since his teenage years.
Fabio Clemente is an historical figure for jiu jitsu in New York (Manhattan), having opened one of the very first BJJ academies in the region, a team that has run successfully since the mid 1990’s. Fabio Clemente earned his black belt under Rigan Machado, and was a member of the Machado Association before he joined the Alliance team in the late 1990’s; He was also responsible for bringing Marcelo Garcia to the US.
Ian Mcpherson is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Master Romero “Jacaré” Cavalcanti and one of the top competitors from the Alliance HQ academy in Atlanta, Georgia, USA where he also learned a great deal from “Cobrinha”. Mcpherson made a name for himself by winning the World BJJ Championship and the Pan American as a brown belt back in 2010.
Michel Langhi is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under the legendary Rubens Charles “Cobrinha” and one of the most gifted guard players in BJJ’ featherweight division. Being the brother of lightweight world champion Michael Langhi, Michel (often regarded as “Langhinho”) became a starlet of his own merit after successive impressive wins in the lower ranks where he won tournaments such as the World Championships, the Pan American and the Brasileiro.
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.
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.
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.
Leonardo Nogueira is one of the many aces from Alliance’s Jiu Jitsu camp. A BJJ black belt under Fabio Gurgel, Mr Leo Nogueira has an extensive competitive record with many important trophies on his cabinet, his first big mark in the black belt division came as he won a gold medal at the Brazilian Nationals in the open weight division (2011).
Rodrigo “Brucutu” Cabral is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Leo Vieira from Rio de Janeiro. One of the greatest “undiscovered” talents from Brazil, Rodrigo’s career has been plagued with injuries, though he recovered in 2011 on time to win the Brasileiro (Brazilian National). Cabral has also international experience, having competed in Europe and the United States where he spent time as a coach England.
Gabriel Goulart is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt from the Alliance team. A close friend of Lucas Lepri, Gabriel Goulart started training due to the influence of the 2007 BJJ lightweight world champion, and his talent has shined through on many occasions having been pointed out as one of the biggest up and comers by Jiu Jitsu’s media in 2010 being rewarded with his belt by his master Fabio Gurgel still in 2010.
A historical figure at the turn of the century for Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Castello-Branco fought some of the best fighters of his generation. He is also one of the main figures of the Alliance BJJ team and one of the founding members of Brasa.
A young competitor from the Alliance team, this Brazilian National champion has been one of the main forces of the Super Pesado and Pesadissimo weight divisions since he received his black belt in 2008. Today he is considered one of the best fighters out of a star studded Alliance camp in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Léo Leite, is one of the most successful Judo players to have wondered into the world of BJJ. A Brazilian National Judo Team representative Leonardo Leite is also a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under “Gigi” Paiva from Alliance, having won 2 world BJJ championships and 3 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu National gold medals.
Another talented fighter from the illustrious Alliance jiu jitsu team, this BJJ black belt under Jamelao is also one of Brazil’s top wrestlers, having competed in the Brazilian National Olympic Team.
“Gigi” is often considered an unsung hero in Jiu Jitsu’s history. A former world champion in the sport, he has also produced some of the most important competitors of our days and formed one of the biggest teams on the planet.