Nelson Monteiro - 7th Degree BJJ Coral Belt

Nelson Monteiro was a young teen when he got his interest in BJJ and started practicing Jiu-Jitsu. He convinces his father to send him to Gracie’s academy. Monteiro after earning a black belt and graduating as a physical education teacher went to the United States and started teaching BJJ to the students there.

The major turning point of Monteiro’s career took place when UAE’s king's son Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nayan walked through the doors of his academy.

He gave many favors to Monteiro out of which was his help to Monteiro to be a part of the greatest wrestling Tournament the ADCC (Abu Dhabi Combat Club).

Nelson Monteiro spent his childhood in Rio de Janeiro, a city in Brazil. At the age of 14, his interest in Jiu-Jitsu developed when he saw his friend defeat a great opponent in a street fight. He became passionate about learning BJJ as soon as he was introduced.

Soon after realizing his interest in BJJ, his father brought him to the most famous Jiu-Jitsu academy, Gracie’s Academy, run by two well-known and prominent figures in Jiu-Jitsu, Rolls and Carlson Gracie. That was the start of Monteiro’s career towards BJJ.

Gracie brothers were the first to introduce Nelson Monteiro to BJJ's techniques and methods. Though the academy was shared by both brothers, they worked separately and taught what they were good at. Carlson used to train his team on the other hand Rolls worked for his team. Nelson Monteiro was on the Rolls’ side and was mainly trained by his right-hand man his younger brother Carlos Gracie Junior.

After the death of Rolls’ Carlos took over and used to spend his time at Copacabana while training the team until he opened his academy in Barra da Tijuca, which he named Gracie Barra.

Carlos Gracie Sr. > Carlos Gracie Junior > Nelson Monteiro

Nelson Monterio’s lineage falls within the Garcies as he was promoted to black belt by Carlos Gracie Junior.

Nelson Monteiro's lineage can be easily tracked by Carlos Gracie Sr who is a known name in the Jiu-Jitsu world, who then passed his legacy to his son Carlos Gracie Jr and then passed on to the other BJJ learners.

Nelson Monteiro after the death of Roll’s Gracie continued his training under Carlos Gracie Jr. Under Carlos’s guidance, Monteiro gained a deep knowledge of BJJ and earned his first black belt in 1989, the same year he graduated as an education teacher.

Nelson Monteiro after completing his degree went to the US and started his career as a BJJ trainer, and started teaching BJJ from his garage, As soon as the number of students increased Monteiro decided to move to a spacious space where he could teach and then he chooses to set a camp in Del Mar.

Nelson Monteiro’s life took a tremendous turn in 1995 when one of his students Dr Serge Verne met the king of UAE’s son Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nayan in a sports club and brought him to Monteiro’s academy in Del Mar.

Sheikh Tahnoon was interested in martial arts and wanted to continue his training, he asked Nelson Monteiro to come along with him and teach him in his country.

Monteiro agreed and went with Tahnoon to UAE leaving Marcelo Pereira in charge of his students.

In 2005 Nelson Monteiro with Rafael Ramos opened the first-ever Jiu-Jitsu school of San Deigo Gracie Barra Encinitas Academy. The academy has no age specifications for admission, every adult and child has the opportunity to have a challenging and inspiring BJJ experience.

Nelson Monteiro as an instructor was very humble and dedicated to his training in Jiu-Jitsu with his students. He tries to impart every small detail of BJJ to his students by keeping them confident and strong. He tries to keep the atmosphere of his class friendly and positive so the students won't feel any kind of hesitation.

Tahnoon’s interest in mixed martial arts led him to invest in the sport. He first invested his money in Brazil an MMA production Pentagon Combat in the year 1997 which was organized and supervised under Nelson Monteiro. It was a very big event that had all the known personalities of MMA fighters. The main entrees of the event were Renzo Gracie vs Eugenio Tadeu who were the old BJJ rivalries.

The event was going very well until they both fought a rage. It all became a very dramatic scenario and was covered by almost all the news channels even the GNN news and became the national news in Brazil.

Nelson Monteiro on his stay in Abu Dhabi while coaching Sheikh Tahnoon, has also got the honor to coach a few martial arts fighters and some wrestlers. After the incident took place in Pentagon Combat, Tahnoon decided to sponsor an event in his own country, but his father refused his idea, he believed that MMA was a violent game and instead gave the idea to organize a BJJ event. The event was hosted by Nelson Monteiro, the event was a great success and instantly turned out to be the most important event for the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Grapplers.

In 2000, Nelson Monteiro went back to Brazil with his family after spending 4 years of his life in UAE. He continued serving as an instructor for the Gracie Barra Academy. He also continued his efforts to spread BJJ by conducting seminars worldwide.

• 2x World Champion International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Master’s Division
• World Championship International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Master’s Division (2nd Place)
• World Championship International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Master’s Division (3rd Place)
• 2x American National Champion International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Master’s Division
• 2x Pan Am Champion International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu(IBJJF)
• 7th Degree (Coral Belt) certified by International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), United States Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (USBJJF), Confederação Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu (CBJJF)

Photo credit: @nelsonmonteiroo