Cassio Felipe Costa - The Youngest Super Heavyweight BJJ Grappler

Cassio Felipe Costa is among the youngest super heavyweight BJJ black belt grapplers under Alexandre Xande Ribeiro, representing Six Blades Academy. Costa has competed in both Gi and NoGi jiu-jitsu tournaments, scoring high-ranked titles during his colored and black belt, such as the World Gi and NoGi Championship, Pan American Gi and NoGi Championship, and American Nationals. Costa completed his Physiotherapy degree from Creuma University in San Luis, Brazil.

Casso Felipe Costa was born on October 29, 1999, in the small state of San Luis, located in the northeast region of Maranhao, Brazil. Since childhood, he was quite athletic and loved to play sports. He was a huge football fan; he played the sport for many years, even after joining jiu-jitsu. When Casso was 10 years old in 2010, he joined jiu-jitsu training with her sister at the gym near his house, Gracie Barra Mix Martial Arts Academy. His interest in jiu-jitsu developed immediately, and he offered all of his time in this sport.

Costa’s first instructor at Gracie Barra was Ivaldo Alves, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu expert. He was promoted from white to brown belt in 2021. Costa also got his nickname Laranjinha at the gym because he was the only one with an orange belt, and his senior teammates started to call him Little Orange, which his friends, family, team members, and a few tournaments later used as well.

Costa has secured IBJJF World and Pan Championships medals during his colored rank in gi and no-gi tournaments. When Costa was 16, he met Victor Hugo, a BJJ black belt fighter, in the tournament, and they became good friends. Hugo saw the young boy’s potential and offered him the opportunity to come to the USA to pursue his grappling career. But Costa’s mother wanted him to complete his graduation first. In 2020, Costa completed his education, secured a degree in physiotherapy, and moved to the USA to chase his fighting dreams.

In 2020, after graduation, Costa moved to Austin, Texas, USA, and met his friend Hugo, who introduced him to Six Blades Academy. There, he was trained under Master Alexandre Ribeiro, who promoted him from brown to black belt in June 2022. For Costa, his trainers are genuinely a blessing. He said:

In the Six Blades Academy, Costa met the love of his life, Emma Reusing, the younger sister of top BJJ female athlete Kendell Reusing , who is also practicing jiu-jitsu. Within one year after being awarded a black belt, Costa has won multiple titles in weight and absolute divisions, such as IBJJF World Gi and NoGi, American Nationals, Pan Gi and NoGi, and other International Championships, showcasing his outstanding jiu-jitsu skills. In one of his interviews, he shared his journey after being promoted to black belt:

Cassio Felipe Costa is a professional jiu-jitsu grappler. He holds the professional record of 40 wins with 18 losses in BJJ. He has won most of his fights by submission using different techniques. In his interview, he said:

In the 2023 IBJJF Pan Championship finals, a ten-minute thrilling grappling fight was held between Cassio Felipe Costa and Erich Munis. Munis grabbed Costa’s Gi. Costa then went for a single-leg guard, but Munis came on top and turned it into a 50-50 position.

Munis aggressively sweeps his opponent, putting all his strength on him. When 5 minutes were left for the match to end, Costa again tried to come on top and got 2 points, but Munis was 5 points ahead of him. Munis attacked his opponent with an Arm in Ezekiel and won the fight.

In the 2023 Houston International Open finals, a ten-minute grappling match occurred between Cassio Felipe Costa and Marcos Junior. Costa began with a guard passing and locking his opponent’s shoulder, putting maximum pressure on his opponent. Costa won the match using one of his favorite positions, the armbar.

In the 2022 Austin International Open, the final match was held between Cassio Felipe Costa and Alexandre Rocha. In the beginning, only Costa grabbed his opponent with a side triangle armlock. He then holds him with a toe hold and arm lock. Eventually, Costa won the finals with an armbar.

Erich Munis vs Felipe Costa / World Championship 2023

Felipe Costa v Matheus Galvão / Austin Winter Open 2023

Felipe Costa vs Lucas Valle / Austin Summer Open 2023

Photo credit: @felipecostajj