Fight Sports Jiu-Jitsu Clubs Legacy & History

Fight Sports Academy  is one of the leading BJJ academies today. It is because of the hard work of its fighters and the sheer efforts of their master, Roberto Cyborg Abreu. Since its formation, Fight Sports Academy has proved how talented its fighters are by claiming World Championships one after another.

The whole BJJ community is familiar with the epic friendship of Roberto Cyborg and Vagner Rocha. And it is through their friendship that this whole organization came into existence.

Though the main credit goes to Roberto Cyborg, it was Vagner Rocha who pushed and encouraged him to go for the formation of World’s top BJJ team.

Roberto Cyborg and Vagner Rocha first met in 2007. At that time both were active grapplers. Roberto Cyborg was a Black Belt while Vagner Rocha was a Brown Belt. Both grapplers watched each other competing over the years. But it was in 2009 when they finally got a chance to communicate. Both fighters had huge respect for each other.

At the 2009 Copa America, Roberto Cyborg, and Vagner Rocha both competed in the absolute weight division. That was the start of a long-lasting friendship that led to Avengers and then Fight Sports Academy.

Though they both belonged to different teams, they had built a strong bond. It was the result of this bond that they decided to build a team of practitioners who are exceptional and accomplished. Thus a new team was formed which was termed as Avengers. The team consisted of:

• Roberto Cyborg
• Ricardo Souza de
• Pablo Popovitch
• Marcus Almeida Buchecha
• Vagner Rocha
• Rodrigo Cavaca
• William Durkez
• Raphael Chaves
• Arthur Sousa
• Ricardo Rizende
• Paul McDonough
• Marcel Goncalves
• Brian Fuery
• Sofia Amarante

Avengers was formed in 2009 but only lasted for a year and broke in 2010. Despite a short time together, Avengers had an impressive performance at the No-Gi World 2010.

After the dissolution of the Avengers, Roberto Cyborg formed his own academy Fight Sports, in Miami, Florida in 2011. The team got instant recognition because of the big names associated with it, of course Robert Cyborg and Vagner Rocha.

Previously famous as World best BJJ grappler and a 4th-degree BJJ Black Belt is today known as the founder and owner of Fight Sports BJJ Academy. A Black Belt under Francisco Toco Albuquerque, Roberto Cyborg is a multiple times super heavyweight World Champion.

Vagner Rocha who is a 6th-degree BJJ Black Belt under Pablo Popovitch is responsible for encouraging Roberto Cyborg to form Fight Sports Team.

Fight Sports Headquarters are located in Miami, Florida, United States. Though it has many affiliations and branches in different countries. One of the fascinating things about Fight Sports Academy is that it offers a free trial class for beginners. It provides free uniforms (Gi) to its new students without charging a penny. The sole purpose of FS Club is to encourage practitioners to join BJJ instead of making BJJ a toll on them.

Women Jiu-Jitsu classes are also part of Fight Sports that ensure their comfort, security and provide a suitable environment. The beginner students get a certificate of completion signed from Roberto Cyborg Abreu. The program for beginners consists of 8 weeks where the beginners get special attention from the world class coaches.

Fight Sports Academy’s mission consists of creating a safe environment for the practitioners to bring out the best in them. The 3 important things for Fight Sport Team are:

“Discipline, Confidence and Skill”

On the IBJJF academies rankings, Fight Sports comes in at number 23.

Maggie Grindatti is a BJJ Black Belt under Roberto Cyborg Abreu. She is Fight Sports’ top medium-heavyweight grappler.

Lucas Lisboa is a BJJ Black Belt under Cicero Costha and represents Fight Sports Academy internationally.

Rodrigo Francioni is a BJJ Black Belt under Eduardo Milioli. It was in 2018 when Rodrigo decided to train under Roberto Cyborg and later joined Fight Sports Academy.

Sofia Amarante is the first female BJJ Black Belt under Roberto Cyborg and one of the refined light featherweight champions of Fight Sports Academy.

Roosevelt Sousa is a BJJ Black Belt under Iuri Alves. He is famous for defeating World Champions such as Roberto Jimenez and Giancarlo Bodoni as a Brown Belt.

Mica Galvao is a young BJJ Black Belt under his father Melqui Galvao, who was the former youngest World Champion. He was stripped of his World Champion title because of being tested positive for the use of PEDs.

Internationally, there are many branches and academy affiliations of Fight Sports Club. A new affiliation of FS is about to open in South Beach, Florida.

Today there are more than 35 branches of Fight Sports Club in different continents. And the numbers are still growing.

After winning the World Championship in 2010, Rodrigo Cavaca and Marcus Almeida went back to Brazil. Also, the different ideas of the team members became one of the reasons for the breakage of such a powerful team.

Along with Roberto Cyborg 4 other practitioners were suspended by USADA for the consumption of PEDs. Cyborg was given a three-year suspension from competing in the IBJJF tournaments.

Fight Sports Academy is one of the most famous BJJ academies in Florida. Roberto Cyborg has repeatedly proven his academy’s reputation by acing in the World Championships. The academy was founded in 2011 and since then it has always been present in the IBJJF charters, today it sits on 23rd in the IBJJF ranking.

Throughout the years, many affiliations have been opened which have made Fight Sports a vast academy. Mica Galvao, Sofia Amarante, Maggie Grindatti and Roosevelt Sousa are some of the famous BJJ practitioners affiliated with Fight Sports Club.

Photo Credit: @cyborgbjj