Thalison Soares - Multiple Times IBJJF World Champion

1. Thalison Soares’ Details

2. Thalison Soares’ Biography

Thalison Soares is a BJJ Black Belt under Cicero Costha. He represented the Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem (PSLPB) which was led by Cicero Costha. Today, Thalison Soares is the founder and head coach of The Academy Byron Bay. Thalison Soares is one of the best Roosterweight fighters of Team PSLPB. He became a famous grappler even when he was a colored belt.

2.1. Thalison Soares’ Early Life

Thalison Soares was born in Manacapuru, Amazonas, Brazil on 21 May 1999. He was later brought up in Manaus.

2.2. An Active Athlete

Thalison was an active child. He took part in almost every extra-curricular activity in school. He was on the school’s football team. Other than football, he was an efficient swimmer from a young age.

2.3. Started BJJ But Soon Left

When Thalison turned 10, he came to know about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He instantly liked the sport and wanted to learn it. He joined a BJJ academy but unfortunately, had to leave the academy because of his parents’ separation. Thalison then moved to another town with his father and left BJJ.

He wanted to learn BJJ but little did he know that he would end up as a BJJ champion.

2.4. Re-Started BJJ After His Father’s Death

For almost two years, Thalison didn’t practice BJJ. It was because of his father’s health. Thalison then suffered the loss of his father as he died after 2 years. Though it was a great loss for Thalison but being a strong guy, he handled himself very well.

After his father’s death, Thalison came back to Manaus and decided to join a BJJ academy. It was a tough time for him to survive on his own, so he returned to Manaus.

2.5. Joined Laercio Junior and Robson Corriea’s Academy

At that time Laercio Junior and Robson Corriea had started a BJJ project where they invited people to enhance the sport of BJJ. They aimed to train practitioners to form a strong BJJ team. They even started free classes to grab the attention of people.

They met Thalison and offered him to join their class. Thalison himself was interested in BJJ, so he took the offer. He trained under the two Black Belts and sharpened his techniques that he had learned a long time ago.

2.6. Thalison Soares’s Struggle While Competing in BJJ Competitions

It was Laercio Junior and Robson Corriea who promoted Thalison to his Green Belt. They even encouraged him to compete in BJJ competitions. At that time Thalison practiced and competed in BJJ as a distraction to accept his father’s sudden death. He competed in every tournament that was conducted in the Amazonas. He wanted to compete in big tournaments but Amaonas didn’t have many opportunities.

To collect money, Thalison sold raffle tickets so that he could pay competitions’ entrance fees.

2.7. Moved to Sao Paulo to Train under Cicero Costha

Mr. Melqui Galvão, father of Mica Galvão, discussed with Thalison about moving to Sao Paulo as Sao Paulo had greater opportunities for young and struggling grapplers. It was then that Thalison thought of training under Master Cicero Costha.

Thalison had already decided to pursue BJJ professionally, he just wanted to refine his skills and to earn money by winning championships. Melqui Galvão helped Thalison a lot in moving to Sao Paulo, and he was the one who introduced Thalison to Master Cicero Costha.

Thalison’s mother supported him in his endeavor. When Melqui Galvão told Cicero Costha about Thalison, Costha agreed to train him after seeing the young talent and his mother’s consent.

2.8. Lived With the Team PSLPB

Thalison Soares was only 15 years old when he moved to Sao Paulo to train under the legendary Master Cicero Costha. Cicero Costha allowed him to stay at the team PSLPB’s “Fighter House”.

Team PSLPB (Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem) was led by Master Cicero Costha and the practitioners of the team used to stay at the “Fighter House”.

2.9. The Name “Little Miyao”

Living together with different fighters at the “Fighter House”,  gave Thalison a chance to learn from different other fighters. The Miyao brothers, Joao and Paulo Miyao, were also in the PSLPB team, due to which Thalison learned a lot from them. As his fighting style resembles the Miyao brothers, he was called “Little Miyao”.

3. Founder of The Academy Byron Bay

In 2017, Thalison Soares had learned BJJ which ultimately made him financially stable. He had built the name of an accomplished grappler. In 2019, while he was competing in BJJ competitions, Thalison decided to open his own academy. He then opened his own academy in New South Wales, Australia, “The Academy Byron Bay ”.

4. Thalison Soares’ BJJ Combats

4.1. International Debut

In 2016, Thalison made his international debut at the IBJJF World Championship. It was Thalison’s first international championship. He won the championship by flying colors. He won the first place in the 2016 No-Gi IBJJF World championship as a Blue Belt.

4.2. European Open Champion

The same year, 2016, Thalison won the first place in the IBJJF European Open Juvenile Championship.

4.3. IBJJF World Champion

Thalison became the IBJJF World Champion thrice in a row from 2017 to 2019 in the color belt division. He just wanted to be exposed to bigger championships and as soon as Thalison got the chance, he proved how efficient a fighter he is.

4.4. IBJJF World No-Gi Champion

Not only did Thalison aced in Gi matches but also in No-Gi. He won the first place IBJJF World No-Gi Championship twice in a row, in 2017 and 2018.

4.5. Promoted to Black Belt

In June 2019, Thalison Soares was promoted to Black Belt by Master Cicero Costha.

4.6. IBJJF Pan Pac Championship

In 2019, Thalison won the first place at the IBJJF Pan Pac Championship as a Black Belt.

4.7. IBJJF Pan Championship

Later in 2022, Thalison Soares became the IBJJF Pan Champion.

5. Thalison Soares’ Historic Fights

5.1. Thalison Soares Vs. Welerson Goncalves

Video Credit: @IBJJF

Welerson Goncalves is a BJJ Black Belt under Polengue Dias. Open Guard, being his favorite technique, he grabbed Thalison by the grips and scored an advantage point. Thalison then grabbed a hold of Thalison’s Gi pants, locked his legs and gained a dominant position. Thalison climbed on Welerson’s back and kept him in position via his legs wrapped out around Welerson’s legs.

Thalison then applied the submission. He then submitted Welerson via Choke from Back and became the 2022 IBJJF European Open Champion.

5.2. Thalison Soares Vs. Kristian Woodmansee

Video Credit: @IBJJF

Kristian Woodmansee is a BJJ Black Belt under Andre Galvao. During the start of the match, Kristian was the one on top of Thalison but within seconds, Thalison transitioned into a dominant position. This is the exceptional game of Thalison. He gives his opponent no time to adjust rather he goes for the transition and later submission.

Kristian resisted the submission, he tried to lift Thalison to break his grips but once Thalison had applied the submission he did not back off. He then submitted Kristian via Choke from Back in just 4 minutes and 37 seconds.

5.3. Thalison Soares Vs. Matheus Rossi

Video Credit: @IBJJF

Thalison Soares faced Matheus Rossi in the quarterfinals of IBJJF Pan Championship 2022. As soon as Matheus got on the top, Thalison immediately spun under him grabbing his Gi. Thalison wrapped himself around Matheus so well that gave Matheus little to no movement. And that is why Thalison is sometimes termed as Berimbolo King. Thalison then transitioned to the footlock position and submitted Matheus Rossi via Botinha in just 1 minute and 34 seconds.

6. Thalison Soares’ Championships

Year	Event	Weight Class	Position
2022	IBJJF Pan Championship	Rooster Weight	1st
2019	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Rooster Weight	1st
2022	IBJJF European Open Championship	Rooster Weight	1st
2023	IBJJF European Open Championship	Rooster Weight	1st
2019	UAEJJF Grand Slam, Moscow	Rooster Weight	2nd

7. Thalison Soares’ Championships (Medals)

7.1. Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Moscow

7.2. Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Championship

7.3. Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London

7.4. Europe Continental Pro Jiu-Jitsu Gi Championship

7.5. North America Continental Pro Jiu-Jitsu Gi Championship

7.6. Netherlands National Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championship Gi and No-Gi

7.7. Slovenia National Pro Jiu-Jitsu Gi Championship

7.8. Abu Dhabi Grand Slam

7.9. Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro

7.10. Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Los Angeles

7.11. British National Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championship

7.12. Europe Continental Pro Jiu-Jitsu

7.13. Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu Tokyo

8. Thalison Soares’ Main Achievements (Belts)

Year	Event	Belt	Position
2017	IBJJF World Championship	Purple	1st
2018	IBJJF World Championship	Purple	1st
2019	IBJJF World Championship	Brown	1st
2017	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Purple	1st
2018	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Brown	1st
2016	IBJJF World Championship Juvenile No-Gi	Blue	1st
2017	IBJJF Pans Championship	Purple	1st
2018	IBJJF Pans Championship	Purple	1st
2019	IBJJF Pans Championship	Brown	1st
2017	IBJJF European Open	Blue	1st
2018	IBJJF European Open	Purple	1st
2019	IBJJF European Open	Brown	1st
2017	IBJJF European Open No-Gi	Purple	1st
2016	IBJJF European Open Juvenile	Blue	1st
2017	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	Purple	1st
2018	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	Purple	1st
2019	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	Brown	1st
2018	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals No-Gi	Brown	1st
2015	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile	Blue	1st
2016	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile	Blue	1st
2017	UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro	Purple	1st
2018	UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro	Purple	1st
2019	UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro	Brown	1st
2016	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Juvenile	Blue	2nd

9. Thalison Soares’ Main Achievements

9.1. Gi Tournaments

Year	Event	Weight Class	Position
2022	IBJJF Pan Championship	Rooster Weight	1st
2017	IBJJF Pans Championship	Rooster Weight	1st
2018	IBJJF Pans Championship	Rooster Weight	1st
2019	IBJJF Pans Championship	Rooster Weight	1st

9.2. No-Gi Tournaments

Year	Event	Weight Class	Position
2019	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Rooster Weight	1st
2017	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Rooster Weight	1st
2018	IBJJF World Championship No-Gi	Rooster Weight	1st
2018	CBJJ Brazilian Nationals No-Gi	Rooster Weight	1st
2017	IBJJF European Open No-Gi	Rooster Weight	1st

10. Thalison Soares’ BJJ Professional Record Breakdown

28 Matches	22 Wins	6 Losses
By Submissions	12	0
By Points	7	1
By Advantages	2	2
By Decision	1	2
By Penalties	0	0
By DQ	0	1
Draws	0

10.1. Submission W/L Methods

Submission Method	12 Wins	0 Losses
Choke from Back	4	0
Arm in Ezekiel	1	0
Cachecol Choke	1	0
Armbar	1	0
Rear Naked Choke	2	0
Botinha	1	0
Choke	1	0
Heel Hook	1	0

11. Thalison Soares’ BJJ Fight History

12. Thalison Soares’ Top Fight Links

Photo Credit: @academybyronbay, @thalisonvsoares