Andre Galvao is a top grappler who achieved victories in major tournaments like IBJJF World, Pan, ADCC, and UAEJJF. Not only Andre is a great grappler, he is also a highly successful and reputable coach who is running his own academy and producing great athletes.
Here we will discuss some interesting facts about Andre Galvao’s personal, professional, and coaching life.
Table of Contents
- 1. Started from the Bottom and Reached at the Top
- 2. Struggled to Meet his End Meals
- 3. BJJ Accomplishments
- 4. Coaching Career and Foundation of Atos Jiu-Jitsu
- 5. Produced Hall of Famers and Top BJJ Champions
- 6. Best Competitor in ADCC History
- 7. Undefeated in Purple Belt Division
- 8. Promoted His Wife to Black Belt
- 9. Four-Times ADCC Super Fight Winner
- 10. Inducted into IBJJF and ADCC Hall of Fame
- 11. The most Anticipated 2022 ADCC Super Fight of Andre Galvao
- 12. Takeaways
1. Started from the Bottom and Reached at the Top
Andre Galvao started his athletic career with judo under Calasans Camargo. He offered Andre Galvao free Judo classes. Andre's brother was a BJJ Blue Belt when he started training BJJ.
Andre’s coach found that Andre has some extraordinary qualities and should be taught under great coaches. He felt his gym was not suitable for Andre. So he was sent to Fernando Terere’s academy which was the top-class academy of that time.
Andre flourished under the coaching of Terere. After 9 months of arduous training in the Purple Belt division, Andre was promoted to Brown Belt by Terere. Due to the dissociation of Terere from his academy, Andre went back to his old gym and was promoted to Black Belt by his coach Luis Carlos Dagmar.
Now Andre Galvao, who was a little poor boy with a strong will and big dreams became a World Champion, a great BJJ coach, and owner of the renowned BJJ academy, Atos Jiu-Jitsu.
2. Struggled to Meet his End Meals
Andre Galvao did not belong to a wealthy background. He started training in BJJ and Judo at the age of 12. But at the age of 14, his father lost his job. This loss increased Andre’s responsibility and he left training to support his family which includes his parents and five siblings. Andre Galvao resumed BJJ training after three years.
When Andre started training BJJ, he did not have money to buy Gi. (traditional BJJ training uniform) He went for training without having breakfast and did not know whether he would have lunch or not. He had a group of friends who often shared lunch together.
This group also included his coach Calasans Camargo, who is the father of Claudio Calasans who gave him his first Gi.
3. BJJ Accomplishments
Andre Galvao is one of the top BJJ fighters who earned a name in the grappling world with their efforts and great work in BJJ. He won all major BJJ championships in his Black Belt division including Pan, World, Grand Slam, and ADCC Championships.
Andre remained ADCC super fight champion for four years. He was the 2011 ADCC champion in both weight and absolute divisions. Here are the major achievements of Andre Galvao’s BJJ career.
| Event | Year |
|---|---|
| ADCC Super Fight Champion | 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 |
| IBJJF World Champion | 2005, 2008, 2014, 2016, 2017 |
| IBJJF Pans Champion | 2005, 2006, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2016 |
| ADCC World Champion | 2011 |
| UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro | 2012, 2013, 2014 |
| CBJJO World Cup | 2006 |
| IBJJF European Open Champion | 2015 |
| CBJJE World Championship | 2008 |
| Ultimate Absolute NYC | 2011 |
4. Coaching Career and Foundation of Atos Jiu-Jitsu
After leaving Fernando Terere Team (TT), Andre Galvao joined Brasa Club de Jiu-Jitsu. In October 2008, he decided to open his own gym along with his friend Ramon Lemos. Atos Jiu-Jitsu became a world-famous team that produces top light-feather and featherweight competitors.
Both founders of Atos Jiu-Jitsu have an evangelical background. So they decided to take their evangelical concept to the mat and named their academy Atos. “Atos” is a Portuguese word that means “Act”. This terminology came from “The acts of the Apostles” Book.
5. Produced Hall of Famers and Top BJJ Champions
Atos Jiu-Jitsu earned a name around the globe due to their top BJJ competitors who won World Championships various times. Guilherme Mendes was the first Black Belt of Atos Jiu Jitsu. Other Black Belts include Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa, Andreson Silva, Keenan Cornelius, Bruno Frazatto, Rafa and Gui Mendes, and Rodrigo Caporal.
Among these students, Rafa and Gui Mendes are IBJJF Hall of Famers. Various things changed with time as Keenan Cornelius left the team. The Mendes Brothers split Art of Jiu-Jitsu from Atos due to some business decisions.
6. Best Competitor in ADCC History
Andre Galvao proved himself as the greatest grappler of ADCC. He dominated both the weight class and open weight categories in 2011. He was ADCC runner-up in 2009 and bronze winner in 2007 in both weight and absolute categories.
In 2007 ADCC, Andre made it to the semifinal but lost against Robert Drysdale in absolute weight division and Pablo Popovitch in weight class and stood third in both weight classes.
In 2009, he reached the final and stood second. He lost against Braulio Estima and Alexandro Ribeiro in weight and absolute class respectively.
Finally, he won all his ADCC 2011 matches and received his first ADCC Gold medal in both weight and absolute division in ADCC 2011. Here is the ADCC 2011 competition history of Andre Galvao.
| Year | Event | Opponent | W/L/D | Methods | Weight Division |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | ADCC | Don Ortega | W | Points | 88KG |
| 2011 | ADCC | Gunnar Nelson | W | Pts: 3x0 | 88KG |
| 2011 | ADCC | Pablo Popovitch | W | Pts: 2x0 | 88KG |
| 2011 | ADCC | Rousimar Palhares | W | Pts: 9x4 | 88KG |
| 2011 | ADCC | Shinzo Ansai | W | RNC | ABS |
| 2011 | ADCC | Sergio Moraes | W | Pts: 6x0 | ABS |
| 2011 | ADCC | Murilo Santana | W | Pts: 0x0, Pen | ABS |
| 2011 | ADCC | Pablo Popovitch | W | Toe Hold | ABS |
7. Undefeated in Purple Belt Division
During his time in Terere’s Team when Andre was a Purple Belt, he was undefeated. He won World and CBJJO championships in both weight and absolute divisions in the purple belt category.
Andre won the IBJJF World, Pan, and Brazilian National championships and was honored to win the IBJJF Grand Slam. There was no tournament in his purple belt career when Andre did not win medals.
8. Promoted His Wife to Black Belt
Photo Credit: @galvaobjj
The most decorated female BJJ competitor Angelica Glavao is the wife of Andre Galvao. She was impressed by Andre during his fight in a local tournament in 2003. She started training BJJ at Alessandro de Souza Academy. In 2004, when she went to Rio de Janeiro to compete as a Blue Belt, she met Andre Galvao and got into a relationship with him. This relationship changed into marriage after 17 months.
Angelica left his Jiu-Jitsu training during his pregnancy. She did not join BJJ after the birth of their first baby. But when Andre Galvao launched his gym, Angelica joined Andre’s gym and was promoted to Black Belt. She is a top Black Belt fighter and now coaches the girl's team in Atos Jiu-Jitsu.
9. Four-Times ADCC Super Fight Winner
Andre Galvao is considered the greatest grappler in ADCC history. He is also four times winner of ADCC Super Fights. Here are the details of the ADCC super fights won by Andre Galvao.
| Year | Host | Opponent | W/L/D | Method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | China | Braulio Estima | W | RNC |
| 2015 | Brazil | Roberto Abreu | W | Pts:6x0 |
| 2017 | Finland | Claudio Calasans | W | Pts: 14x0 |
| 2019 | USA | Felipe Pena | W | Pts:2x0 |
10. Inducted into IBJJF and ADCC Hall of Fame
Andre Galvao was inducted into IBJJF and ADCC Hall of Fame. he was honored with the IBJJF Hall of Fame in June 2022. He was a five-time IBJJF World Champion and eight times IBJJF Pans Champion. He is one of the most decorated athletes in IBJJF history.
He expressed his feelings on social media and said:
“It's an honor to be part of the Jiu-Jitsu Hall Of Fame. In particular, it means so much to be entering the Hall with so many legends of the sport. I'll never forget the battles I had against many of them. Those wars taught me big lessons so I could be here today.”
“I'd like to thank God for this amazing moment in my life, thank to my wife for being such incredible supporter, my coaches, trainers and real friends I had along the way who always believed and never gave up on me.
No one gets here without pain. Jiu-Jitsu is like life. Thank you for making all of my dreams come true. Thank you Lord.”
Andre Galvao was the second athlete who was inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame in September 2022 after Roger Gracie. He is the six-times ADCC champion. In the 2011 ADCC, he won all his matches to take gold in both weight and absolute divisions. Furthermore, he remained four times ADCC Super Fight Champion.
11. The most Anticipated 2022 ADCC Super Fight of Andre Galvao
Four times Super fight champion and the greatest ADCC grappler, Andre Galvao faced Gordon Ryan in the 2022 ADCC Super fight. The fight was hosted by the USA on 17-18 September 2022. In this match, both champions who are competing have a big list of winning championships.
Andre Glvao who is a six times ADCC champion was against four times ADCC champion. Andre Galvao looked fired up from the beginning of the match. Gordon looked very organized and well-prepared while Andre was active and hyped.
Andre Galvao started the match with a takedown. Gordon Ryan actively applied a heel hook.
Andre tried to take down Gordon but Gorgen countered by strangling his leg and succeeded in taking back Andre. Andre tried to escape from the grip of Gordon and ended up in a full mount.
This full mount of Gordon proved the losing technique for Andre Galvao. Andre tried to escape but it was futile. Gordon finally succeeded to take the back of Andre Galvao.
Gordon went for an RNC. Andre did not lose hope and tried to resist the RNC by using his right arm. While his left arm was under the grip of Gordon’s left leg. Gordon managed to take his arm off his neck and applied RNC. Andre could not defend his title this time and Gordon submitted Andre with RNC.
12. Takeaways
Andre Galvao, founder of Atos Jiu-Jitsu started his journey from a poor boy to a successful grappler and great BJJ coach. He is the greatest ADCC champion and multiple times World and Pan champions. His academy Atos Jiu-Jitsu produced and still continues to train industry-leading Black Belts.
Photo Credit: @galvaobjj
Leave a comment
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.