ADCC Spotlight: Marcus Almeida

Posted by Fanatics Authors on September 28, 2019

Ahead of this weekend's ADCC World Championships, we're taking a look at some of our BJJ Fanatics family members who have been invited to compete.

Next up is Marcus Almeida.

Almeida grew up in Sao Vicente, a small town in Sao Paulo, Brazil. His first love was soccer, but he wasn't a standout player. Looking for something he excelled in, Almeida next tried surfing, and enjoyed that.

However, he caught the BJJ bug in his mid-teens. His father enrolled Almeida's sister in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu so that she could defend herself. He was a protective father, so he accompanied her to her lessons. Later, he started taking lessons with her. Then, he started bringing Marcus along, as well.

Fortunately, Marcus enjoyed Jiu Jitsu and took to training with a passion. That passion translated to skill, and Almeida became a force to be reckoned with as he progressed through the lower belts. In 2010, Almeida received his black belt and moved to the United States along with his teammate Thiago Aragao.

In the United States, Almeida continued to experience the same success he had in Brazil as a colored belt.

Among those victories are four first place finishes at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro, two first place finishes at the IBJJF World Championships in No-Gi, seven first place finishes in the IBJJF World Championships, and two first place ADCC World Championships.

Almeida will compete in the +99 kg division of this year's ADCC World Championships.