From the mats
Articles
Stories and guides on Brazilian Portuguese, Jiu Jitsu history, and the culture behind the art.
Portuguese & SlangFighters
The Best Nicknames in Jiu Jitsu (and What They Mean)
The alligator. The little cobra. The sloth. Shoe Face. Jiu jitsu doesn't just produce champions — it produces the best nicknames in sports, and almost all of them are little Portuguese lessons in disguise. Here are the all-timers, what they actually mean, how to say them, and the very Brazilian culture of the apelido.
FightersCompetition
Who Is Leandro Lo? The Champion of Five Divisions
Leandro Lo won eight world titles in five different weight classes — a feat no other black belt has matched — with a fast, fearless style that made him the people's champion of his generation. His life was cut short in 2022, but his jiu jitsu changed the sport forever. This is his story.
FightersCompetitionMMA
Who Is Rodolfo Vieira? The Black Belt Hunter
Before he was a UFC middleweight, Rodolfo Vieira was the scariest man in the gi: an IBJJF World and ADCC champion whose pressure passing flattened a generation of black belts and earned him the nickname "The Black Belt Hunter." Here's his story — the overweight Rio kid, the 2011 run, the Buchecha rivalry, and the move to MMA.
FightersCompetitionGracie Family
Who Is Roger Gracie? The Greatest of All Time
Roger Gracie won ten world titles with the techniques you learn in your first month — mount and cross choke — and submitted his way through the 2005 ADCC like it was open mat. Grandson of Carlos Gracie, the man who co-founded the art, he is the standard answer to jiu jitsu's GOAT question. Here's why.
FightersCompetition
Who Is Marcus Buchecha? BJJ's Most Decorated Champion
Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida is the most decorated black belt world champion in jiu jitsu history: 13 IBJJF World titles, six of them in the open-weight absolute division. And his famous nickname? It comes from the Portuguese word for "cheek" — by way of a Brazilian funk singer. Here's the full story.
Portuguese & Slang
What Does "Porrada" Mean in Jiu Jitsu?
You hear it in every Brazilian-run academy: "hoje tem porrada." It's one of the most Brazilian words there is — a piece of street slang for a hard hit that grapplers turned into a badge of honor. Here's what porrada literally means, where it comes from, how to pronounce it, and how to use it without embarrassing yourself.
HistoryGracie Family
The History of Gracie Barra: The World's Largest BJJ Team
Gracie Barra started as a single academy in the Barra da Tijuca neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro in 1986. Under founder Carlos Gracie Jr., it grew into the largest jiu jitsu organization on earth — more than 1,000 schools on six continents, champions like Roger Gracie, and the federation that runs the sport itself all trace back to it.
FightersMMA
Charles Oliveira: Jiu Jitsu Phenom and UFC Record Breaker
From a São Paulo favela to the top of the UFC, Charles "do Bronx" Oliveira turned jiu jitsu into a record-breaking career and became the most beloved submission artist in MMA history.
FightersCompetition
Who Is Rafael Mendes? The Featherweight King
Rafael Mendes is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt widely regarded as the greatest featherweight competitor of all time. A six-time IBJJF World Champion and two-time ADCC champion, he dominated the featherweight division throughout the early 2010s and helped popularize the berimbolo and leg drag that define modern jiu jitsu.
HistoryCompetition
The History of ADCC: Grappling's Greatest Stage
ADCC stands for the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, and its Submission Fighting World Championship is the most prestigious no-gi grappling tournament in the world. Founded in 1998, its champions include legends like André Galvão, Marcelo Garcia, and Gordon Ryan.
HistoryGracie Family
Origins of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu: From Judo to the Gracies
Every art has an origin story, but few are as improbable as this one: a Japanese judo master travels halfway around the world, settles in the Amazon, and teaches a frail Brazilian teenager a fighting system that his family will spend the next century turning into one of the most respected martial arts on earth.
HistoryMMAGracie Family
UFC 1 and the Gracie Family: The Night That Changed MMA
On November 12, 1993, a slim Brazilian in a white gi walked into a cage in Denver and quietly dismantled three larger men in a single night. He didn't throw a single meaningful punch. By the time he was done, the martial arts world had to admit it had been wrong about almost everything.
Portuguese & Slang
What Does "Oss" Really Mean in Jiu Jitsu?
Walk into any BJJ academy and you'll hear it within five minutes. But ask ten training partners what "Oss" actually means and you'll get ten different answers. Here's the full breakdown — including one detail that trips up almost every American grappler.