Giancarlo Bodoni - The Alliance Coach, and The World Champion

1. Giancarlo Bodoni’s Details

2. Giancarlo Bodoni’s Biography

Giancarlo is a Black Belt under Lucas Lepri and represents Alliance Team. He has an exceptionally privileged lineage which includes big names like Rillion Gracie, Gutemberg Pereira, and Lucas Lepri. He is one of the quick-rising names in the grappling World of his generation.   

2.1. Linked with Martial Arts from Childhood

Giancarlo joined martial arts when he was 5 years old. He started his journey in martial arts with karate. Later on, he was also interested in Taekwondo. Before getting into BJJ, Giancarlo was involved in both sports and adopted these martial arts as extracurricular activities. 

2.2. Introduced to BJJ

Giancarlo was introduced to BJJ in his early teens because there was a gym near his school. He started to go to the gym to get the initial training in BJJ. After taking a few classes, Giancarlo was very much involved in BJJ. 

2.3. Met Rillion Gracie as his First BJJ Coach

Around the age of 12, Giancarlo started his BJJ practices with Rillion Gracie, a big name in BJJ and a member of the Gracies family. Until his twenties, he was training under Rillion Gracie.

2.4. Relocated to Brazil to Follow His Dream

To achieve his dream, Giancarlo relocated to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A city in Brazil where Jiu-Jitsu was initiated. In Brazil, he met with Gutemberg Pereira of the GF Team.

2.5. Became a Part of the GF Team

After meeting Gutemberg Pereira in Brazil, Giancarlo made a strong bond with him. He became a part of the GF Team in a few months. But his affiliation with the GF Team was a short journey.

Gutemberg left the GF Team and moved to the USA to join Toledo and also invited Giancarlo. Before completing one year of training, Giancarlo had to leave GF and moved to the USA again to join Toledo.   

2.6. Build a Bond with Toledo Workgroup

Giancarlo joined the Toledo workgroup and a strong bond was built. But this affiliation also proved temporary. After some time, Giancarlo moved to Charlotte, North Carolina along with his father.   

2.7. Got the Opportunity to Join Alliance

In Charlotte, Giancarlo got the opportunity to join Alliance Team. In Alliance, he got a chance to train with another big name in the grappling world, Lucas Lepri.    

2.8. Joined Bernardo’s Alliance Gym as an Instructor

Bernardo Faria who is a multiple times world champion was running his academy in Massachusetts. He invited Giancarlo to join his academy as a coach. Giancarlo accepted this offer and joined Bernardo’s Alliance Academy situated in Bedford.

2.9. Interaction with John Danaher

During his stay in Massachusetts, Giancarlo met with John Danaher who was making instructional videos. John Danaher mentioned that Giancarlo was a great competitor in Gi fights. But he was trying to become good at No-Gi.

He further mentioned that Giancarlo Bodoni is a very hard worker, polite, and well-spoken person. Giancarlo Bodoni was very committed to his work in the gym. He worked on every aspect of his fight.     

2.10. Joined John Danaher in Austin

When John Danaher ended up in Puerto Rico with his team, Giancarlo found it as a golden chance and started training in Austin. He did great work overcoming his weaknesses.    

2.11. Great Transition from Poor Defense to an ADCC Winner

John Danaher mentioned in his interview that Giancarlo was weak in guard passing, leg lock defense, and lower torso attacks. He reinvented himself in 10 months and all his struggles made a noise in 2022 ADCC.   

2.12. Fabulous performance in ADCC 2022

In ADCC 2022, Giancarlo submitted almost all his opponents. His final match was against Lucas (Hulk) Barbosa who defeated Giancarlo various times in the past. It was a difficult competition for Giancarlo as he can lose confidence in front of a person who defeated him various times.

Giancarlo submitted Luca (Hulk) Barbosa with RNC and became ADCC Champion. 

2.13. Defeated All Opponents ADCC North American Trials

One of his big achievements was Giancarlo Bodoni’s win against all his opponents in ADCC North American Trials.   

2.14. Giancarlo Suffered a Serious Injury

Like other martial arts, BJJ competitors are susceptible to various injuries. Giancarlo also got injured a few times. Among other injuries, a fracture of L5 vertebrae with dislocation of two discs was the worst one.

Giancarlo was also lucky he did not need any surgery and his injury healed with time. After the recovery period and healing, Giancarlo resumed BJJ training with a renewed spirit after the recovery process.   

2.15. Giancarlo’s Defeated Various BJJ Champions

Giancarlo won his Black Belt by defeating various legends. He shared the mat with Lucas Barbosa, Bruno Matias, Yuri Santos, Francisco Cuneo, and Felipe Costa.  

2.16. Teaching BJJ Through His Videos

Giancarlo is currently working with Faria Bernardo who is the founder of BJJ Fanatics. Along with teaching at Alliance Academy, Giancarlo also used BJJ Fanatics as a platform to provide coaching assistance through his instructional videos.  

2.17. Giancarlo’s Pro BJJ Career

Promoted to Purple Belt

Rillion Gracie was Giancarlo’s first BJJ coach who promoted Bodoni to the Purple belt.

Upgraded to Brown Belt

Lucas Lepri promoted Giancarlo with his Brown Belt in June 2018 when he was training in Alliance local gym.

Promoted to Black Belt

After achieving gold medals in the 2019 World No-Gi and 2020 American Gi, Giancarlo was promoted to Black Belt on October 18, 2020. He was Promoted by Lucas Lepri in a ceremony organized in Charlotte, NC.

2.18. Giancarlo Bodoni’s Historic Fights

Giancarlo Bodoni Vs. Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa

In the 2021 Pan No-Gi, Giancarlo Bodoni faced Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa. Both competitors showcased great sportsmanship.
At the start of the match, Bododni tried to take down Hulk but failed. It took almost 5 minutes to Bodoni to get the back of Hulk. But Hulk actively escaped from the grip. Bodoni did not lose balance and simultaneously applied Triangle Choke. But Hulk escaped and tried to mount Bodoni.

Both competitors were equally strong and tried hard to submit each other. Bodoni managed to apply full guard but Barbosa escaped by applying a deadly Heel Hook. Bodoni fluently moved to get his heel free.

At the end of the match, Bodoni acted smartly and did not let Hulk apply any move in the last few minutes. Bodoni won the match by Referee’s decision.

Giancarlo Bodoni Vs. Benji Silva

This fight was between Giancarlo Bodoni vs Benji Silva in the 2020 No-Gi Championship.
Both competitors fought with high compassion. In the first three minutes, both competitors failed to score any points. After three minutes, Bodoni took down Benji by double leg takedown. But Benji escaped before Bodoni scored.

Bodoni managed to strangle Benji from his back and then again took him down to score two points.

Giancarlo failed to balance this position and was taken down by Benji for two points.

Giancarlo countered by strangling Benji from the back and got four points for back control. At the end of the match, he submitted Benji to the RNC.

Giancarlo Bodoni Vs. Felipe Rocha

This match was between Giancarlo Bodoni and Felipe Rocha in the 2020 IBJJF Pan Championship.
 
At the start of the match, Giancarlo managed to apply full guard. With his firm grip on Felipe’s groin, he started moving toward his back. Giancarlo managed to take his back and scored four points for back control.

Giancarlo tried to grab his lapel of Felipe and applied a Collar choke but Felipe put down Giancarlo from his back. Giancarlo did not let him escape and applied a triangle choke. Giancarlo won the match by Triangle Choke submission. 

3. Giancarlo Bodoni's Main Achievements

3.1. Achievements in International Tournaments

Year	Event	Weight Division
2019	IBJJF World Championship NoGi	Absolute division
2020	IBJJF Pan Championship	Heavyweight/Absolute Division
2021	IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi	Heavyweight
2022	ADCC World Championship	Welterweight

3.2. Giancarlo’s Black Belt Achievements

Year	Event	Belt	Position
2020	IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi	Black Belt	2nd
2020	IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi	Black Belt	3rd
2021	IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi	Black Belt	3rd
2021	IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi	Black Belt	1st
2022	ADCC Championship	Black Belt	1st

3.3. Giancarlo’s Colored Belt Achievements

Year	Event	Belt	Position
2018	IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi	Brown Belt	3rd
2019	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Brown Belt	1st
2019	IBJJF World Championship	Brown Belt	2nd
2019	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Brown Belt	3rd
2019	IBJJF European Open	Brown Belt	3rd
2020	IBJJF Pan Championship	Brown Belt	1st
2020	IBJJF Pan Championship	Brown Belt	3rd

4. Giancarlo Bodoni Professional Record Break

4.1. Giancarlo Professional Record Break

58 Matches	40 Wins	18 Losses
By Points	8	6
By Advantages	2	2
By Submission	26	5
By Decision	2	5
By DQ	2	0

4.2. Giancarlo Submission Methods

Method	26 Wins	05 Losses
RNC	10	0
Armbar	3	0
Reverse Triangle	1	0
Triangle	1	0
Shoulder Lock	1	0
Short Choke	1	0
Choke from Back	1	0
Inside Heel Lock	3	0
Verbal Tap	1	0
Kata Gatame	1	0
Foot Locker	1	1
Guillotine	1	1
Straight Ankle Lock	1	0
Outside Heel Hook	0	2
Inside Heel Hook	0	1

5. Giancarlo Bodoni Fight History

6. Giancarlo Bodoni Top Fights Links

Photo credit: @giancarlobodoni