Rafael & Gui Mendes: How the Mendes Brothers Changed Jiu Jitsu
Ten black belt world titles, the berimbolo, and an academy that changed what a jiu jitsu school looks like — the story of Rafael and Gui Mendes, from Rio Claro, Brazil to AOJ in Costa Mesa.
Ask anyone who has watched high-level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in the last fifteen years to name the athletes who changed the sport, and two names come up fast: Rafael Mendes and Guilherme "Gui" Mendes. Between them, the Mendes brothers collected ten IBJJF black belt world titles, redefined modern guard play, and then — instead of coasting on their legacy — built one of the most influential academies on the planet: Art of Jiu Jitsu (AOJ) in Costa Mesa, California.
This is the story of how two kids from a small city in São Paulo state became the faces of modern jiu jitsu — and why their journey is inseparable from the Brazilian Portuguese language and culture the art was born in.
From Rio Claro to the World Stage
Rafael and Gui Mendes grew up in Rio Claro, a modest city in the interior of São Paulo, Brazil. They didn't come from money, and jiu jitsu wasn't handed to them — they found the mats as kids and trained under Ramon Lemos, the coach who would eventually tie black belts around both of their waists and remain their mentor through every world title run.
What set the brothers apart early was obsession with detail. While most competitors drilled techniques, the Mendes brothers dissected them — breaking positions down into grips, angles, and weight distribution long before "systems-based jiu jitsu" became a buzzword. That microscopic approach became their trademark, first as competitors and later as teachers.
Rafael Mendes: Six-Time Black Belt World Champion
Rafael Mendes is widely considered one of the greatest featherweights — and one of the greatest competitors, period — in the history of the sport.
His résumé at black belt includes:
- 6× IBJJF World Champion at featherweight (2010–2016)
- 2× ADCC Champion (2009 and 2011 at 66 kg)
- IBJJF Hall of Fame inductee
- ADCC Hall of Fame inductee — recognition from both of the sport's premier organizations, in the gi and without it
- A legendary rivalry with Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles that pushed the featherweight division to new technical heights
Rafael's competitive style was years ahead of its time. He is one of the athletes most responsible for popularizing the berimbolo — the inverted, spinning back-take from De la Riva guard — and for turning the leg drag into a systematic guard-passing weapon rather than a one-off move. Watch any modern lightweight match and you'll see his fingerprints on it.
Gui Mendes: Four-Time Black Belt World Champion
Guilherme "Gui" Mendes, the older of the two, built an equally elite career at light featherweight:
- 4× IBJJF World Champion at black belt
- IBJJF Hall of Fame inductee
- Multiple world titles through the colored belt ranks before that
- A reputation for surgical precision — less flash than his brother, but relentless pressure and near-flawless technique
Gui stepped away from active competition while still at the top of the division, and that decision tells you everything about the brothers' second act: they weren't done with jiu jitsu — they were just getting started as teachers.
Art of Jiu Jitsu: The Academy That Changed What a BJJ School Looks Like
In 2012, the brothers opened Art of Jiu Jitsu Academy in Costa Mesa, California. From day one, AOJ looked like nothing else in the sport — clean white mats, minimalist design, and a culture built on discipline, detail, and respect. It looked less like a fight gym and more like a place where a craft is studied. That was the point: jiu jitsu as art, not just combat.
AOJ became famous for two things:
- One of the best kids programs in the world. The academy's youth pipeline is legendary, producing a generation of technically brilliant young athletes.
- A championship adult competition team, home to world-class competitors such as Tainan Dalpra, Johnatha Alves, Cole Abate, and Jessa Khan.
Today the brothers split the mission in two. Gui runs the academy — the day-to-day of the Costa Mesa headquarters and the competition team that carries the AOJ flag onto the world stage. Rafael focuses on the AOJ brand, expanding what the academy built into a global presence — from AOJ+, the online platform that teaches their systems to students worldwide, to the brand's growth far beyond Costa Mesa. Different roles, same standard: the detail-obsessed jiu jitsu that built world champions.
Lineage: Where the Mendes Brothers' Jiu Jitsu Comes From
In Brazilian jiu jitsu, lineage is identity — every black belt traces an unbroken chain of teachers back to the art's origins in Brazil. The Mendes brothers' lineage runs:
Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie → Carlson Gracie → Andre Pederneiras → Ramon Lemos → Rafael & Gui Mendes
From Maeda, the judoka who brought the art from Japan to Brazil, through Carlos Gracie, the legendary Carlson Gracie, and Nova União co-founder Andre Pederneiras, down to Ramon Lemos in Rio Claro — and now onward through the black belts the brothers have promoted at AOJ, Tainan Dalpra among them. Their lineage isn't a museum piece; it's a living chain that keeps growing on white mats in Costa Mesa.
Portuguese Vocabulary for the Mendes Brothers' Legacy
Here's something that gets lost in highlight reels: the Mendes brothers' jiu jitsu grew up in Brazilian Portuguese. The techniques they refined have names, rhythms, and teaching cues that started on Brazilian mats:
| Portuguese | English | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| passar a guarda | to pass the guard | The heart of the Mendes passing system |
| pegar as costas | to take the back | The berimbolo's entire purpose |
| arrasto | drag | As in leg drag — Rafael's signature pass |
| treino | training session | What AOJ students live for |
| campeão mundial | world champion | Between the brothers: ten times at black belt |
If you train jiu jitsu, you're already speaking Portuguese — berimbolo, De la Riva, guarda — whether you realize it or not. Learning the language deepens your connection to the art the same way the Mendes brothers' story does: it takes you back to where jiu jitsu comes from.
Every word above — and hundreds more — is taught with native-speaker audio and mat-ready phrases in the Fala BJJ app.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many world titles do the Mendes brothers have?
At black belt, Rafael Mendes won six IBJJF world championships at featherweight and Gui Mendes won four at light featherweight — ten black belt world titles between them, plus Rafael's two ADCC titles.
Who promoted Rafael and Gui Mendes to black belt?
Both brothers received their black belts from Ramon Lemos, their lifelong coach from Rio Claro, Brazil.
What is the Mendes brothers' academy called?
Art of Jiu Jitsu (AOJ), founded in 2012 in Costa Mesa, California. The academy is known for its white-mat minimalist aesthetic, elite kids program, and world championship–winning competition team.
What techniques are the Mendes brothers known for?
The berimbolo, the leg drag passing system, and modern De la Riva guard play. Rafael in particular is credited with popularizing the berimbolo at the sport's highest level.
Are the Mendes brothers in the Hall of Fame?
Yes. Both Rafael and Gui Mendes are IBJJF Hall of Fame inductees, and Rafael is also an ADCC Hall of Fame inductee for his two ADCC world titles.
What is the Mendes brothers' lineage?
Mitsuyo Maeda → Carlos Gracie → Carlson Gracie → Andre Pederneiras → Ramon Lemos → Rafael & Gui Mendes.
What do the Mendes brothers do today?
Gui Mendes runs the AOJ academy and its competition team in Costa Mesa, while Rafael Mendes focuses on expanding the AOJ brand globally, including the AOJ+ online platform that teaches their systems worldwide.
Why Their Story Matters to Every Student of Jiu Jitsu
The Mendes brothers represent something bigger than medals: proof that the deepest jiu jitsu comes from treating it as a lifelong study. From Rio Claro to Costa Mesa, from world finals to building an academy where four-year-olds learn their first treino, Rafael and Gui carried Brazilian jiu jitsu — and the Brazilian culture and language underneath it — to a global audience without losing what makes it Brazilian.
That's the same spirit behind learning Portuguese as a jiu jitsu practitioner. The art speaks Portuguese. The more of it you understand, the closer you get to the source.
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