Big Daddy Placido ‘Torture’ Santos Promoted To BJJ Black Belt

Placido Santos was promoted to black belt under John Danaher on Jan 14, 2026. He took just 11 months to achieve this feat while managing his big family. He trains regularly, mostly as Uke (receiver), and competes in various BJJ competitions, keeping his passion alive.

Placido Santos has just been promoted to black belt under his trainer and head coach, John Danaher. Santos received the brown belt under John on February 25, 2025, after securing the double gold at the IBJJF Austin Winter Open. He got the double celebration: one for winning the gold and the other for brown belt promotion from purple belt.

He is very famous as a Uke in training, and that is why he is commonly known as “Torture” for his tough role in BJJ training. A Uke is a training partner in BJJ who receives the techniques. Santos has worked a lot as a Uke with John in a variety of his BJJ training videos.

Santos has done a great job because he is a father of eight children, and despite giving time to his big family and other chores, he still managed to continue his BJJ training. This shows his passion for the game.

• Santos did not quit training hard after the brown belt and did not even take a year, and got the black belt under his long time coach, John, in just 11 months.
• Usually, it takes 1 to 3 years to get the black belt from being a BJJ brown belt grappler, but you have to work really hard for it.
• The black belt is a reward for Santos, and he continues to pursue his passion. He still grapples in big matches and does most of his training as a Uke with John and other coaches.

The head coach or main trainer of Santos is John Danaher, but various other famous BJJ grapplers have trained him, such as:

• Gordon Rayan

• Mr. Sal Bellia

• Mr. Scott Habermehl

• Giancarlo Bodoni

• Michael Zenga

After his promotion, Santos thanked many people for their help along his journey in an Instagram post. He said thanks to his wife, Sofia, for standing with him through thick and thin.

Talking about his coach, John, he said that he is a father figure for him, and has learnt a lot from him. He said that John has given a lot to him without any hope in return and is truly a great mentor.

He thanked Gordan Rayan for providing useful insights into the BJJ game, leading the way, and giving him courage.

He also mentioned Giancarlo Bodoni, thanking him for being a friendly mentor; Mr. Sal Bellia for investing time and effort; and Mr. Scott Habermehl for helping him be the best version of his life in his thankful Instagram post.

Lastly, Santos mentioned that Michael Zenga was thankful to him for trusting him from the start, believing in him, supporting him, and being a mentor and fatherly figure.