Roberto “Roleta” Magalhães - Owner Of Roleta Jiu-Jitsu

Roberto Magalhães, also known as Roleta, is a famous jiu-jitsu practitioner under Carlos Gracie Jr. He is the creator of various BJJ techniques, including the inverted guard. Roberto Magalhaes is now the owner of his own BJJ academy, Roleta Jiu-Jitsu. He competed and won the very first IBJJF World championship. Roberto Roleta Magalhaes is considered an inventor in the field of modern Jiu-Jitsu.

Magalhaes wanted to practice martial arts for defensive purposes. Therefore, he selected the Japanese defensive art, karate. In his early teens, he joined a gym to practice karate after school.

Magalhaes’s elder brother was a Jiu-Jitsu student, but Magalhaes thought that karate involved stronger self-defense techniques than jiu-jitsu. When he turned 17, he observed his brother’s coach teaching him some self-defense techniques that could be very helpful during a street fight. This became the reason he started training BJJ under his first Jiu-Jitsu coach, Joe Moreira. He received his purple belt from his first BJJ coach. He also won some major championships under Joe Moreira’s tutelage.

After winning some major championships, Moreira wanted to pursue his BJJ training in a more competitive environment. For this purpose, he chose Gracie Barra. He went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to train under the great BJJ coach, Carlos Gracie Jr.

Magalhaes was deeply inclined towards jiu-jitsu. He thought he was not explosive in BJJ and he wanted to do some different techniques. To fulfill his dream, he thought about different techniques at night. He also drew his innovative ideas on the paper to remember that technique. His struggle to do something new and different broadened his horizons, and he invented his famous inverted guard. The inverted guard is one of the most revolutionary guards of the martial arts.

After Magalhaes’s continuous success, Carlos Gracie Jr. promoted him to black belt in 1996.

In the year Roleta was promoted to black belt, the scheduled fight between Carlson Gracie Academy and Gracie Barra reached the height of fame. Carlson Gracie was represented by his student, Wallid Ismail who was undefeated till now. On the other hand, Carlinhos was represented by his new black belt, Magalhaes. Walid could not fathom the new positions of Roleta and was surprised. Roleta won the fight with points. This was one of the top fights of Magalhaes’s career.

Roberto Magalhaes is famous for the name Roleta. Roleta is the short form of the Portuguese word ‘Roulette,’ like a roulette wheel at a casino. Magalhaes’s nickname was actually a metaphor that describes his moves on the mat. As the first BJJ practitioner to employ inversions to reverse his opponents, Magalhaes’s fluid and unpredictable movements resembled the spinning of a roulette wheel.

Magalhaes is the father of two children, one daughter and one son. He wanted his children to choose their own paths and never forced them to pursue BJJ against their wishes.

Magalhaes demonstrated his best performance on the mat in the 1990s and 2000. He became one of the best fighters to execute the guard position. In 2000, after completing his studies in industrial engineering, he announced his retirement from jiu-jitsu and started his coaching career.

Roberto Magalhaes faced Wallid Ismail in the semi-final of the 1996 IBJJF World Championship. Magalhaes represented Gracie Barra while Wallid Ismail, an undefeated student of Carlson Gracie, represented Carlson Gracie Academy. This was one of the most hyped fights in the Mundial 1996.

The fight started with a pulling guard by Magalhaes. He applied full guard and Ismail tried to escape from that guard. Magalhaes quickly countered Ismail’s escape with his signature inverted guard. Throughout the match, Ismail remained unable to handle the unpredictable and unique positions and techniques executed by Magalhaes. After several minutes into the fight, Roberto Magalhaes took Ismail's back and scored four points for back control. He won the match by points.

Roberto Roleta Magalhaes faced Amaury Bitetti in the semi-final of the 1999 IBJJF World Championship. He applied pulling guard at the start of the match and ended up with a full guard position. Bitetti escaped from his guard when Magalhaes tried to apply a triangle choke. Magalhaes then tried to take back control. He maintained a strong grip on Bitetti’s Gi sleeve and turned him around.

Magalhaes once again applied a pulling guard. To escape from his guard, Bitetti stood up and after struggling hard he succeeded to escape. At the end of the fight, Roberto Roleta Magalhaes defeated Amaury Bitetti with points.

Roberto Magalhães faced Eduardo Jamelão in the Rio x São Paulo challenge in 2000. The match started with a fantastic takedown by Jamelao who scored two points for this takedown. Magalhaes applied full guard, gripped the Gi sleeve of Jamelao, and crossed his hand around his leg in such a way that Jamelao could not maintain his balance. But after a few moments, he regained his balance and secured the top position.

To escape from the full guard of Magalhaes, Jamelao stood up and freed himself. But Magalhaes gripped his Gi sleeve and tried to control him with his legs. He tried to strangle his head and arm with his legs but could not. On the other hand, Jamelao was in the top position and tried to dominate Magalhaes. He strangled his leg and later used his leg to push him. Magalhaes once again gripped Jamelao’s Gi sleeve and put him in the bottom position. Jamelao pushed him with his legs but Magalhaes succeeded in taking the back of Jamelao. Jamelao tried to escape as Magalhaes applied for kata gatame. Magalhaes won the fight after submitting Eduardo Jamelao with kata gatame.

LEGENDS OF JIU JITSU: Roberto ROLETA Magalhaes BJJ History Esqui-Jitsu Inverted Guard BJJ Pioneer

OLD SCHOOL BJJ MATCH: Roberto 'Roleta' Magalhães vs Amaury Bitetti IBJJF Worlds 1999

OLD SCHOOL BJJ: Roberto 'Roleta' Magalhães vs Murilo Bustamante Jiu Jitsu Match IBJJF 1998 Mundials

OLD SCHOOL BJJ MATCH: Roberto 'Roleta' Magalhães vs Leo Dalla BRASILEIRO 1999

Photo Credit: @roleta.bjj