Today’s Pioneers of the Sport features fourth degree black belt and five time world champion Saulo Ribeiro. Considered one of the best BJJ competitors of all time, Ribeiro received his BB from Royler Gracie on November 27th, 1995. He went on to win his first of five world titles in 1997… and he rest is history. In the below match, Saulo takes on Fabio … Continue reading →

I’m ultra excited about this one! For today’s Pioneers of the Sport, we feature one of the most notable names in BJJ during the late 90’s early 2000’s… Antonio “Nino” Schembri! Nino is probably one of my favorite BJJ’ers during this time period; his relentless aggressive style shaped generations of super flexible competitors and champions alike. Additionally, one can argue that Nino is the true … Continue reading →

    Confucius… Plato… Roger Bacon… Annie Sullivan… James Escalante… In the same vein as the aforementioned, today’s “Pioneers of the Spot” segment features the famed instructor/head of Alliance… Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti. Jacare is a 7th degree coral belt, who received his BB from the late Rolls Gracie. As a member of the “Famous Five,” his training partners included Rickson Gracie, Carlos Gracie Jr., Mauricio Gomes, … Continue reading →

  Today’s “Pioneers of the Sport” features the youngest and arguably the most technical son of Grandmaster Carlos Gracie… Rilion Gracie. Rilion may be a lesser known name outside of Brazil and some parts of the US, but his impact to Jiu Jitsu and the proliferation of the “aggressive” guard game can be felt around the world. Rickson once said that Rilion is “the best … Continue reading →

  I usually hate starting off a thought by quoting Merriam-Webster, but in this case it is appropriate to do so… Merriam-Webster defines Pioneer as “a person or group that originates or helps open up a new line of thought or activity or a new method or technical development.” Caio Terra exemplifies this notion of opening new thought. While his impact to BJJ may not … Continue reading →

Pioneers of the Sport: Royler Gracie vs. Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (1997) In this week’s “Pioneers of the Sport” we feature two of the most dominating fighters in the Pena (Featherweight) division during the late ‘90s through the mid 2000’s… Royler Gracie (Gracie Humaita) and Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro (Nova União)! Receiving his black belt early that year, Shaolin at 18 years old was a huge underdog … Continue reading →

Today, we feature an amazing match between two legendary competitors, Jean Jacques Machado and Wallid Ismail. Recently receiving his coral belt form Rickson Gracie, Jean Jacques has always been a pioneer of the sport. Jean Jacques along with his brother Rigan, were the first black belt missionaries to spread the word of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the United States. Additionally, JJ was the first “big … Continue reading →

Pioneers of the Sport: Roberto Magalhaes vs. Saulo Ribeiro II This week, we feature the rematch between Roleta and Saulo. In their first match, Roleta was able to tap Saulo in under 2 minutes with his tricky guard work. Now, Saulo is out for revenge… Enjoy the match and the techniques from both Pioneers of the Sport! Last week’s match

Today, we feature a vintage match (CBJJE Brasileiro, 1996) between two legends of the sport… Roberto “Roleta” Magalhaes (Gracie Barra) vs. Saulo Ribeiro (Gracie Humaita). A lot of people know who Saulo Ribeiro is, but Roleta is a lesser known name amongst the newer grapplers. For those who enjoy watching the newer fighters (Mendes Brothers, Rubens Charles “Cobrinha”, Abmar Barbosa, Ryan Hall, and Roberto “Cyborg” … Continue reading →