BJJ

Yuri Simões - 3rd-Degree BJJ Black Belt World Champion

Yuri Simões - 3rd-Degree BJJ Black Belt World Champion
Table of content
1. Yuri Simões Background 2. Yuri Simões Biography 2.1. Yuri Simões Early Life 2.2. Yuri Simões and Judo 2.3. Influence of Yuri Simões’ Father 2.4. Role of Mauricio Behring 2.5. Effect of Mauricio Behring’s Death on Yuri Simões 2.6. Ricardo Viera - Yuri Simoes’ New Coach 2.7. Joining CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu 2.8. Yuri Simoes’s Career in England 2.9. Joining Atos Jiu-Jitsu 2.10. Return to CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu 2.11. Joining the Caio Terra Association 2.12. Head Instructor at Pineapple MMA 3. Yuri Simões’s BJJ Matches 3.1. Promoted to Purple and Brown Belt 3.2. IBJJF World Champion 3.3. IBJJF European Open Champion 3.4. Mundial Championship 3.5. IBJJF World No-Gi Champion 3.6. Promoted to Black Belt 3.7. ADCC World Championship 4. Yuri Simões’s MMA Career 4.1. MMA Debut at ONE Championship 4.2. ONE: Full Circle 4.3. Contract Ended with ONE Championship 5. Yuri Simões’s Historic Fights 5.1. Yuri Simões Vs. Nicholas Meregali 5.2. Yuri Simões Vs. Felipe Abad 5.3. Yuri Simões Vs. Scott Thometz 6. Yuri Simões Championship 7. Yuri Simões Championship (Medals) 7.1. ADCC World Championship 7.2. IBJJF Pan American Championship 7.3. IBJJF World No-Gi Championship 8. Yuri Simões Main Achievements (Belts) 9. Yuri Simões Main Achievements 9.1. Gi Tournaments 9.2. No-Gi Tournaments 10. Yuri Simões BJJ Professional Record Breakdown 10.1. Submission W/L Methods 11. Yuri Simões MMA Professional Record Breakdown 12. Yuri Simões’ MMA Fight History 13. Yuri Simões’ BJJ Fight History 14. Yuri Simões BJJ Top Fight Links

1. Yuri Simões Background

Yuri Simões Background
Name Yuri Costa Simoes Martins da Silva
Nickname “Novinho”
Born Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Date of Birth June 18, 1990
Nationality Brazilian
College/University N/A
Last Fight ADCC World Championship 2022
Last Weigh In Open Weight Category
Weight Class Meio Pesado (88 Kg / 194 lbs)
Weight 88 Kg / 194 lbs
Reach 76.8
Height 6’0’’
Career Disclosed Earning N/A
Fighting out of Brazill
Foundational Style Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Favorite Technique Drop Seoi Nage and Open Guard
Rank 3rd-Degree BJJ Black Belt
Awarded by Ricardo Vieira
Head Coach Ricardo Vieira
Current Head Coach Caio Terra
Lineage Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Ricardo Vieira > Yuri Simoes
Team Association Caio Terra Association (CTA)

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2. Yuri Simões Biography

Yuri Simões is a 3rd-degree BJJ Black Belt under Ricardo Vieira of the Vieira brothers. Ricardo Vieira is the co-founder of CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu. Simões competes in both middleweight and light heavyweight classes. His exceptional and unique fighting style awarded him fame in the BJJ community despite still being in the colored belt divisions. Simões is the adopted brother of Ary Farias, a fellow BJJ Black Belt.

2.1. Yuri Simões Early Life

Yuri Simões was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on June 18, 1990.

2.2. Yuri Simões and Judo

Yuri Simões was only four years old when he started judo in his early school life.

2.3. Influence of Yuri Simões’ Father

Being an active child, Simões’ father, who himself trained in BJJ, enrolled his son in a BJJ class. Simões was only nine years old when he attended his first Gi BJJ class. Simões had seen his father practicing, so he saw him as a source of inspiration.


Another reason for Simões’s interest in BJJ was because of a documentary on Rickson Gracie. Simões became fascinated by a choke demonstrated by Gracie in the documentary, watching the video many times. However, Simões’s father played the biggest role in his interest in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

2.4. Role of Mauricio Behring

While Mauricio Behring wasn’t Simões first instructor, he still taught Simões a lot. Mauricio Behring urged his student to compete in BJJ. Simões didn’t have plans to pursue BJJ professionally until Behring pushed his young charge to put his talents to use.

2.5. Effect of Mauricio Behring’s Death on Yuri Simões

The untimely death of Mauricio Behring left Yuri Simões feeling all alone. Behring was murdered by a gunshot wound inflicted by his ex-fiance’s father in 2006. It was a great shock to the BJJ community and to his student Simões. Simões stayed off the mats for some time to grieve for his instructor.

2.6. Ricardo Viera - Yuri Simoes’ New Coach

After some time, Yuri Simões returned to jiu-jitsu and started training under Ricardo Vieira. Ricardo Vieira is a 3rd-degree BJJ Black Belt under Master Romero Cavalcanti.

2.7. Joining CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu

Ricardo Vieira was Yuri Simões's coach at CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu. Simões’s time at CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu was the most significant part of his BJJ journey. Though he gave credit to Behring for convincing him to compete in BJJ, Vieira is also credited for being a good instructor.


At CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu, Simões came to know other practitioners and learned a lot from them.

2.8. Yuri Simoes’s Career in England

In 2009, Simões went to England and competed in international BJJ competitions hosted by the IBJJF. It was the peak moment in his career as a colored belt.

2.9. Joining Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Simões’s brother, Ary Farias, trained at Atos Jiu-Jitsu. In 2010, Simões left CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu and joined Atos Jiu-Jitsu situated in São Paulo.

2.10. Return to CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu

Simões spent only a little bit of time at Atos Jiu-Jitsu before returning to CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu to resume his training under Master Ricardo Vieira.

2.11. Joining the Caio Terra Association

Simões left CheckMat Jiu-Jitsu to join the Caio Terra Association in 2013.

2.12. Head Instructor at Pineapple MMA

Simões became the head instructor at Pineapple MMA, a martial arts school in Singapore. Simoes teaches Gi and No-Gi BJJ classes.

3. Yuri Simões’s BJJ Matches

3.1. Promoted to Purple and Brown Belt

Simões was promoted to purple, then later to the brown belt by Ricardo Vieira at the Fight Zone BJJ Academy.

3.2. IBJJF World Champion

In 2009, Simões won first place at the IBJJF World Championship as a purple belt.

3.3. IBJJF European Open Champion

In 2009, Simões became the IBJJF European Open Champion as a purple Belt.

3.4. Mundial Championship

In 2011, Simões won the Mundial Championship in the brown belt Division.

3.5. IBJJF World No-Gi Champion

In 2011, Simões became the IBJJF World No-Gi Champion as a brown belt.

3.6. Promoted to Black Belt

On December 29, 2011, Simões was promoted to a Black Belt by Ricardo Vieira after his successive wins in the IBJJF Championships.

3.7. ADCC World Championship

In 2022, Simões competed and defeated Nicholas Meregali at the ADCC World Championship. He had previously won the 2015 and 2017 ADCC World Championships as well.

4. Yuri Simões’s MMA Career

4.1. MMA Debut at ONE Championship

Yuri Simões also found an interest in MMA. In 2020, Simões decided to go for his MMA debut. In August 2020, Simões signed a fighting contract with ONE Championship. His first fight was at ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix 3 against Fan Rong. The fight went on for three rounds, ending with Rong winning the fight via unanimous decision.

“It took them so long to give me a fight that when they did, I suffered a serious spinal injury a week later but couldn’t pull out of the fight. I was asking for a fight for so long, how was I going to turn it down? I had to fight no matter what. I don’t regret it, I still think I had a great fight. They gave [Fan] the decision, but I think I did better in the fight. I expected things to move smoothly after that and get more fights, but that wasn’t the case.”

( Yuri Simões )

4.2. ONE: Full Circle

Simões’s next ONE Championship fight was at ONE: Full Circle in 2022. He fought against Daniyal Zainalov and lost via split decision.

4.3. Contract Ended with ONE Championship

After the two consecutive losses, ONE Championship released Simões from his contract.

“I won’t say I regret (signing with ONE) because I was following my heart at that moment. It’s hard to say I regret it, man. Many promotions shut down due to the pandemic. I know it’s a complicated situation, but I’ve heard that many other athletes were dealing with this issue [before the pandemic]. In that sense, it’s really frustrating.”

( Yuri Simões )

5. Yuri Simões’s Historic Fights

5.1. Yuri Simões Vs. Nicholas Meregali

Nicholas Meregali is a BJJ Black Belt under Mario Reis. He is famous for his lethal Omoplata attacks and dominating fighting style. The 2022 ADCC World Championship was the most anticipated event of the year. The finals was between Nicholas Meregali and Yuri Simões. Both fighters came prepared for the championship.


Simões knew about Meregali’s aggressive fighting style so he countered with the same. It was Nicholas Meregali’s tremendous No-Gi debut at ADCC. Simões went for the takedown but Meregali protected himself by sitting down, which earned him a negative point. Known for his efficient leg game, Meregali tried to take down Simões, but he proved not to be an easy contender.


Meregali earned another negative point and Simões won the fight via penalty. Yuri Simoes won the 2022 ADCC World Championship in the Open Class Division.


Year Event Opponent W/L/D Method Stage Weight Class Location
2022 ADCC World Championship Nicholas Meregali W Pts: 0x0, Penalty Final Absolute Las Vegas, USA

5.2. Yuri Simões Vs. Felipe Abad

At the 2017 San Jose Summer Open, Felipe Abad, a BJJ Black Belt, was dominating at the start of the fight. Relying on his grip, Abad tried to keep Yuri Simoes subdued. Simões countered by going for a takedown, then a submission. Simões got around to Abad’s back, then applied a cross collar choke. Simões submitted Abad in 1 minute and 52 seconds and became the 2017 IBJJF World Champion.


Year Event Opponent W/L/D Method Stage Weight Class Location
2017 IBJJF World Championship Felipe Abad W Submission By Cross Collar Choke Final Ultra Heavyweight Bogota, Colombia

5.3. Yuri Simões Vs. Scott Thometz

At the 2018 World No-Gi, Yuri Simões competed against Scott Thometz, a strong and bulky fighter. Competing in the Open Class, Yuri was sure of his victory he submitted Thometz via a Rear Naked Choke within 2 minutes.


Year Event Opponent W/L/D Method Stage Weight Class Location
2018 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship Scott Thometz W Submission By Rear Naked Choke R1 Open Class Long Beach, California

6. Yuri Simões Championship

Year Event Belt Position
2010 CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Black 2nd
2012 IBJJF Pan American Championship Black 1st
2014 IBJJF Pan American Championship Black 1st
2015 ADCC World Championship Black 1st
2015 FIVE Grappling Super League Black 2nd
2016 IBJJF Pan American Championship Black 3rd
2017 ADCC World Championship Black 1st
2022 ADCC World Championship Black 1st

7. Yuri Simões Championship (Medals)

7.1. ADCC World Championship

Year Weight Division Medal
2015 88 Kg Gold Gold Medal Icon
2017 99 Kg Gold Gold Medal Icon
2022 Absolute Gold Gold Medal Icon

7.2. IBJJF Pan American Championship

Year Weight Division Medal
2014 94 Kg Gold Gold Medal Icon

7.3. IBJJF World No-Gi Championship

Year Weight Division Medal
2014 Over 97.5 Kg Gold Gold Medal Icon
2014 Absolute Gold Gold Medal Icon
2016 Over 97.5 Kg Gold Gold Medal Icon
2016 Absolute Gold Gold Medal Icon

8. Yuri Simões Main Achievements (Belts)

Year Event Belt Position
2007 IBJJF South American Championship Juvenile Juvenile 1st
2009 IBJJF World Championship Purple 1st
2009 IBJJF European Open Championship Purple 1st
2010 IBJJF European Open Championship Brown 1st
2010 IBJJF World Championship Brown 3rd
2010 IBJJF Pan American Championship Brown 3rd
2011 IBJJF World Championship Brown 1st
2011 IBJJF World Championship No-Gi Brown 1st
2011 IBJJF European Open Championship Brown 1st
2011 IBJJF European Open Championship Brown 2nd

9. Yuri Simões Main Achievements

9.1. Gi Tournaments

Year Event Weight Class Position
2010 IBJJF Rio Open Championship Ultra Heavyweight 3rd
2012 IBJJF Pan American Championship Ultra Heavyweight 1st
2014 IBJJF Pan American Championship Ultra Heavyweight 1st
2016 IBJJF Pan American Championship Ultra Heavyweight 3rd

9.2. No-Gi Tournaments

Year Event Weight Class Position
2014 IBJJF World Championship No-Gi Absolute 1st
2016 IBJJF World Championship No-Gi Absolute 1st

10. Yuri Simões BJJ Professional Record Breakdown

92 Matches 88 Wins 25 Losses 1 Draws
By Submissions 21 4 0
By Points 42 13 0
By Advantages 4 2 0
By Decision 16 5 0
By Penalties 3 0 0
By EBI / OT 2 1 0
Draws 0 0 1

10.1. Submission W/L Methods

Submission Method 21 Wins 4 Losses
Armbar 9 1
Ezekiel 1 0
Bow and Arrow 1 0
Choke from Back 1 1
Submission 1 0
Toe Hold 1 0
Rear Naked Choke 2 1
Cross Choke 1 0
Mounted X Choke 1 0
Kata Gatame 1 0
Choke 1 0
Inverted Triangle 1 0
Reverse Omoplata 0 1

11. Yuri Simões MMA Professional Record Breakdown

2 Matches 0 Wins 2 Losses Draws
By Knockout 0 0 0
By Submission 0 0 0
By Decision 0 2 0
Draw 0 0 0

12. Yuri Simões’ MMA Fight History

Date Event Opponent W/L/D Method Location Time Round
Feb 25, 2022 ONE: Full Circle Daniyal Zainalov L Split Decision Kallang, Singapore 5:00 3
Nov 13, 2020 ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix 3 Fan Rong L Unanimous Decision Kallang, Singapore 5:00 3

13. Yuri Simões’ BJJ Fight History

Year Event Opponent W/L/D Method Weight Class Stage
2012 Pan American Leonardo Iturralde W Armbar 94KG R1
2012 Pan American Gustavo Pires W Choke 94KG R2
2012 Pan American Rafael Lovato W Adv 94KG SF
2012 World Champ. Nathan Zigler W Toe Hold 94KG R1
2012 World Champ. Alexandre Ribeiro L Pts: 3x0 94KG 4F
2013 World Champ. Rodolfo Vieira L Pts: 8x0 94KG 4F
2014 European Jackson Sousa L Pts: 2x0 94KG F
2014 European Oliver Geddes W Inverted triangle ABS R1
2014 European Igor Silva W Armbar ABS 4F
2014 European Jackson Sousa W Pts: 2x0 ABS SF
2014 European Alexander Trans L Armbar ABS F
2014 Pan American Arnaldo Maidana W Pts: 17x0 94KG 8F
2014 Pan American Jackson Sousa W Adv 94KG 4F
2014 Pan American Rafael Lovato W Adv 94KG SF
2014 FIVE Cali. 1 Sergio Rios W Points ABS 4F
2014 FIVE Cali. 1 JT Torres W Points ABS SF
2014 FIVE Cali. 1 Keenan Cornelius L Pts: 4x0 ABS F
2014 World Champ. Gustavo Pires W Pts: 3x2 100KG 4F
2014 World Champ. Bernardo Faria L Pts: 8x5 100KG SF
2014 SF Open Alessandro Silva W Armbar O100KG F
2014 NoGi Worlds Ricardo Rezende W Pts: 2x0 ABS RDS
2014 NoGi Worlds Tim Spriggs W Pts: 8x2 ABS 4F
2014 NoGi Worlds Bernardo Faria W Armbar ABS SF
2014 NoGi Worlds Keenan Cornelius W Pts: 4x0 ABS F
2014 NoGi Worlds Felipe Bueno W Pts: 7x0 O100KG 4F
2014 NoGi Worlds Abraham Marte W Points O100KG SF
2014 NoGi Worlds Gabriel Lucas W Pts: 2x0 O100KG F
2014 Metamoris 5 Keenan Cornelius D --- ABS SPF
2014 Long Beach Pro Carlos Farias W Pts: 8x0 O94KG SF
2014 Long Beach Pro James Puopolo W Ezekiel O94KG F
2015 JJ World League Arnaldo Maidana W Points 94KG SF
2015 JJ World League Gabriel Checco W N/A 94KG F
2015 SF Open Arnaldo Maidana W Armbar ABS 4F
2015 SF Open Tanner Rice W Armbar ABS SF
2015 SF Open Magid Hage W Cross choke ABS F
2015 Pan American Vinicius Agudo W Bow and arrow ABS R2
2015 Pan American Gabriel Lucas W Pts: 10x2 ABS R3
2015 Pan American Leandro Lo L Pts: 4x2 ABS 4F
2015 World Champ. James Puopolo W Pts: 7x4 100KG 4F
2015 World Champ. Joao Rocha L Choke from back 100KG SF
2015 American Cup Many Dias W Pts: 13x0 ABS 4F
2015 American Cup Diego Herzog W Pts: 7x0 ABS SF
2015 American Cup Carlos Mello W Mounted X choke ABS F
2015 US Open Eliot Kelly W Choke from back 94KG F
2015 US Open Eliot Kelly W Pts: 5x2 ABS GP
2015 US Open David Robles W Armbar ABS GP
2015 US Open Rafael Barbosa L Pts: 4x2 ABS F
2015 FIVE SL James Puopolo W Pts: 6x2 ABS 4F
2015 FIVE SL Joao Assis W Referee Decision ABS SF
2015 FIVE SL Tim Spriggs L Pts: 2x0 ABS F
2015 ADCC Ricardo Mesquita W Pts: 3x0 88KG R1
2015 ADCC Zbigniew Tyszka W RNC 88KG 4F
2015 ADCC Romulo Barral W Pts: 3x0 88KG SF
2015 ADCC Keenan Cornelius W Pts: 3x0 88KG F
2015 ADCC Hideki Shrek W Referee Decision ABS R1
2015 ADCC Dean Lister W Pts: 5x3 ABS 4F
2015 ADCC Claudio Calasans L Referee Decision ABS SF
2015 Berkut 2 Felipe Pena L Pts: 4x2 ABS SPF
2016 Pan American Guybson Sa W Armbar 100KG 4F
2016 Pan American Luiz Panza L Pts: 9x0 100KG SF
2016 EBI 6 Evandro Nunes W EBI/OT ABS R1
2016 EBI 6 Garry Tonon W EBI/OT ABS 4F
2016 EBI 6 Gordon Ryan L EBI/OT ABS SF
2016 F2W 8 Dean Lister W Referee Decision 86KG SPF
2016 Berkut 3 Romulo Barral W Referee Decision ABS SPF
2016 NoGi Worlds Tex Johnson W Pts: 19x0 O97KG SF
2016 NoGi Worlds Gustavo Dias W Pts: 4x0 O97KG F
2016 NoGi Worlds Marcus Wilson W Kata Gatame ABS 8F
2016 NoGi Worlds Thiago Sa W Pts: 0x0, Adv ABS 4F
2016 NoGi Worlds Augusto Mendes W Referee Decision ABS SF
2016 NoGi Worlds Murilo Santana W Pts: 0x0, Pen ABS F
2017 San Jose Open Felipe Abad W Submission O100KG F
2017 San Jose Open Breno Bittencourt W Points ABS SF
2017 San Jose Open Victor Silverio W Pts: 2x0 ABS F
2017 F2W 44 Travis Stevens W Referee Decision ABS SPF
2017 ADCC Roman Dolidze W Pts: 2x0 99KG E1
2017 ADCC M. Perez W Referee Decision 99KG 4F
2017 ADCC Jackson Sousa W Pts: 3x0 99KG SF
2017 ADCC Felipe Pena W Pts: 2x0 99KG F
2017 Kasai Pro Gordon Ryan L RNC ABS SPF
2018 ACB 10 Abdurakhman Bilarov W Referee Decision 95KG SPF
2018 San Jose Open Nisar Loynab W Points ABS 4F
2018 San Jose Open Breno Bittencourt W Points ABS SF
2018 San Jose Open Victor Silverio W Referee Decision ABS F
2018 San Jose NGO Edmund Kim W Pts: 7x0 ABS SF
2018 ACBJJ 13 Keenan Cornelius L Reverse omoplata 95KG SPF
2018 World Champ. Mahamed Aly L Pts: 0x0, Adv ABS RD
2018 WSOG 2 Gustavo Batista L Referee Decision O81KG 8F
2018 F2W 94 Tim Spriggs W Referee Decision ABS SPF
2018 NoGi Worlds Jared Dopp W Pts: 19x0 O97KG 4F
2018 NoGi Worlds Gordon Ryan L Pts: 11x0 O97KG SF
2018 NoGi Worlds S. Thometz W RNC ABS R1
2018 NoGi Worlds Robby Malof W Pts: 9x0 ABS R2
2018 NoGi Worlds Tex Johnson W Pts: 5x0 ABS R3
2018 NoGi Worlds Thiago Sa W Pts: 4x2 ABS SF
2018 NoGi Worlds Gordon Ryan L Pts: 0x0, Adv ABS F
2019 F2W 104 Rafael Lovato W Referee Decision ABS SPF
2019 ADCC Elliot Marshal W Armbar O99KG R1
2019 ADCC Kaynan Duarte L Pts: 3x0 O99KG 4F
2021 BJJ Stars 5 Lucas Barbosa L Pts: 7x0 96KG 4F
2021 F2W 164 Vagner Rocha L Referee Decision ABS SPF
2021 WNO 7 Nick Rodriguez L Referee Decision O99KG SPF
2021 F2W 172 Devhonte Johnson W Referee Decision 124KG SPF
2021 BJJ Stars Mahamed Aly W Referee Decision ABS SPF
2021 F2W 185 Fellipe Andrew W Referee Decision ABS SPF
2021 Raw GC Jed Hue W Points 94KG 4F
2021 Raw GC Taylor Pearman W Points 94KG SF
2021 Raw GC Patrick Gaudio W N/A 94KG F
2022 ADCC Luke Griffith W Referee Decision 99KG R1
2022 ADCC Nicholas Meregali L Referee Decision 99KG 4F
2022 ADCC Lachlan Giles W Pts: 0x0, Pen ABS 8F
2022 ADCC Nick Rodriguez W Referee Decision ABS 4F
2022 ADCC Roberto Abreu W Pts: 2x0 ABS SF
2022 ADCC Nicholas Meregali W Pts: 0x0, Pen ABS F

14. Yuri Simões BJJ Top Fight Links

Yuri Simões vs Jared Dopp / NoGi World 2018

Yuri Simoes vs Scott Thometz / World NoGi 2018

Yuri Simoes vs Dean Lister Fight To Win Pro 8

Yuri Simoes vs Felipe Pena - ADCC 2017 99kg FINAL


Photo Credit: @yurisimoesdasilva

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