Leonardo Leite - Fifth Degree BJJ Black Belt MMA Fighter

Leonardo Leite is a BJJ Black Belt under Alexandre Paiva. He is sometimes called Léo, short form of Leonardo in Portuguese. He is not only a BJJ practitioner but also a Judoka and MMA fighter. He is a representative of Alliance Jiu-Jitsu and has won many medals under Alexandre Paiva.

Leonardo Leite, also known as Léo, was born on 25 March 1978 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Leo had a martial art background which is why he started Judo at a young age. His father used to train in BJJ but he wanted something different for his son. He took his son to the “Federal Club” in 1984.

 Leonardo trained in Judo under Omar Brazil. Leonardo at a young age watched his father train in Judo so he developed an interest in martial arts which was later evident in his Judo techniques.

Leo competed in the internal tournaments organized by the Federal Club.

When Leo turned 10 in 1988, he was transferred to the Club de Regatas do Flamengo. Leo left the Federal Club because it was not able to grant permission to its students so they can partake in national tournaments. After getting transferred to a more significant and professional institute, Leo decided to compete. He participated in the official tournaments and competitions of the Brazilian Judo Confederation and the Judo Federation of Rio de Janeiro.

Leo did not remain consistent in terms of Judo institutes, rather he kept on changing them to find a better one. He moved to AABB in Rio de Janeiro from the Flamengo Club. Later on, he transferred to Gama Filho and then Tijuca Tênis Clube.

In 1997, Leo became a part of the Brazilian Junior National Team. Later in 1998, Leo got the chance to lead the Brazilian Judo Team. He carried on with the leadership till 2012.

In 1993, Leo became fascinated by Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. His father took him to the Alliance Jiu-Jitsu Academy in Rio de Janeiro. It was then that Leo came to know about submissions and instantly fell in love with Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Leo knew about BJJ his whole life, but he was initially interested in Judo. When he developed even a slight interest in BJJ, his father took no time to take him to a BJJ gym.

His father always wanted BJJ for his exceptional child. Leo's interest went to peak for BJJ. he decided to pursue both BJJ and Judo.

Leonardo got his BJJ training under Alliance Jiu-Jitsu’s head coach, Alexandre Gigi Paiva.

Leonardo Leite works as a TV commentator for Judo and MMA competitions.

Leo started competing in BJJ when he was a Blue Belt. It was the fast learning pace of Leo that he climbed up to Black Belt really fast. Leo was not only famous in the Judo community but later on, he even got recognition in the BJJ community. As a Brown Belt, Leonardo competed in various BJJ tournaments.

Leonardo was to compete in the Mundial in 1999. He was a Brown Belt at that time. But seeing his determination and BJJ performance, Alexandre Paiva promoted him to Black Belt, just 2 weeks before his huge fight.

In 1999, Leo competed in the World Championship (Mundial). It was the first biggest championship for Leonardo. He was tense about this fight. He was of the view that he would be competing as a Brown Belt but when his coach promoted him to Black Belt just 2 weeks before the championship, it was a terrific moment for Leonardo.

He thought he was not ready for the Black Belt but his coach was completely aware of Leonardo’s capabilities.

In the Mundial, Leonardo competed against Ze Mario Sperry of the Brazilian Top Team. Ze Mario was a tough competitor for Leonardo. Ze Mario is a BJJ Black Belt under the legend Carlson Gracie. Leonardo won the championship against Ze Mario and also won a Gold medal.

Leonardo won the Brazilian Nationals Championship in 2009. He was competing in Judo at the same time.

Leonardo made his MMA Debut in 2013. Leonardo competed against Alessandro Macedo in the Fight Against Crack MMA event. Leonardo won the fight via Rear Naked Choke. In 2013, he achieved a clean winning streak of 4-0.

In 2014, Leonardo moved to the United States to compete in the Legacy Fighting Championship. He won 3 consecutive fights in LFC in the light heavyweight and middleweight divisions.

In 2015 at the Legacy Fighting Championship 39th event, Leonardo competed against Larry Crowe and defeated him via TKO Punches and Knees.

After the success in Legacy Fighting Championship, Leonardo participated in Bellator. Unfortunately, Leonardo lost the first fight against Phil Davis by a unanimous decision. He had an undefeated record before Bellator.

Leonardo Leite, when he came to Bellator, said:

On 13 July 2018 at Bellator 202, Leonardo competed against Chris Honeycutt and again lost the fight via a unanimous decision.

Leonardo Leite suffered from tuberculosis and was off the mats for the whole 4 years. He also suffered from a leg injury because of which he had to stay for a longer period in the hospital.

After 4 years i.e, in 2022, Leonardo returned to MMA. He came back for his farewell fight at the Legacy Fighting Championship. He was offered a “Retirement Bout” from the Legacy Fighting Championship. His last fight was with Patrick Quadros. He won the fight via a unanimous decision. He then retired from MMA.

Alexander Trans is a BJJ Black Belt under Leonardo Vieira. Alexander was way more active than Leonardo at the start of the match. Leonardo was able to take him down easily as he had really strong gi grips. Leonardo tried to submit Alexander but he escaped. In the end, Leonardo won the fight by securing 2 points against Alexander Trans.

Patrick Quadros is a Pro MMA fighter. Being a young MMA fighter, Partick was fighting offensively. He was throwing kicks and punches at Leonardo, while Leonardo being a calm fighter, was understanding his fighting style of Patrick. Later on, Leonardo threw punches at Patrick and could not handle that. Patrick became tired in Round 3, where Leonardo easily took him down. At last, Leonardo won the fight via a unanimous decision. It was his farewell bout.

Jose Mario Sperry, aka Ze Mario Sperry, is a BJJ Black Belt. The fight between Leonardo and Jose was an intense one. It was the time when Leonardo became Black Belt. He was extremely conscious of the fight as he was fighting against Jose. Leg locks by Leonardo kept Jose in a fixed place. It allowed Leonardo to easily apply his techniques. Eventually, Leonardo won the fight by securing 4 points against Jose Mario Sperry.

After achieving the 4th-degree BJJ Black Belt rank in 2018, Leonardo Leite became the Master 3 Ultra-Heavy Brasileiro Champion as a 5th-degree BJJ Black Belt.

• 8 Times Brazilian Champion
• 2 Times World Cup Champion
• Secured 2nd position in Jiu-Jitsu World Championship (6 Times)
• 4 Times World Champion
• Heavyweight South American Champion

• 3 Times Pan American Champion
• 2nd Position in the Judo World Cup Championship (2 Times)
• 3rd Position in Judo World Cup Champion
• Lead Brazilian Olympic Team 2008-2012

Leonardo Leite vs Gabriel Gonzaga Brasileiro Equipes 1999

Leonardo Leite RG Tourny 10/24/09 Gi Fight 1

Leonardo Leite x Paulo Ricardo by X-COMBAT

OLD SCHOOL BJJ MATCH: Leonardo Leite VS Mario Sperry Mundials 1999 IBJJF World Championship

Photo Credit: @leoleiterj