Marcio Cruz - 6 Times IBJJF World Champion

Marcio Cruz is one of the best BJJ competitors under Carlos Gracie Jr. He was the best fighter at Gracie Barra Academy and made a name for himself in the ultra-heavyweight division. After winning multiple championships representing Gracie Barra Academy, Cruz opened up his own academy, Marcio Cruz Jiu-Jitsu Academy.     

Cruz had a love for sports even during his childhood, starting his martial arts training by learning karate when he was 12 years old. 

While living at his grandfather's house, Cruz was introduced to jiu-jitsu. He immediately fell in love with jiu-jitsu and started training at a gym near his grandfather’s house during his early teenage years.

After leaving his grandfather’s house, Cruz could not find another BJJ gym to train at nearby. Despite his love for jiu-jitsu, Cruz had to take a break without knowing when he would be able to resume his BJJ training. To keep his skills sharp, Cruz took up judo. 

When Cruz turned 17 years old, he got a chance to take up BJJ again. He did not start Jiu-Jitsu training at an early age but he decided to overcome all his shortcomings and joined BJJ as a professional. He worked hard to complete the initial stages of BJJ and overcome his shortcomings. So, he became one of the best competitors of his generation.  

Though Cruz started his jiu-jitsu training in 1996, his natural talent allowed him to achieve early success in BJJ competitions. In 1999, He won the IBJJF Pan Championship as a blue belt and the IBJJF World Championship as a purple belt. At the end of 1999, Cruz competed in the Brazilian National Champion. These achievements increased his morale and pushed him to work harder to reach greater heights. Cruz continued with his accomplishments in every color belt division until he became one of the best Gracie Barra competitors.  

While climbing up the colored belt ranks, Cruz fought in several championships over the course of five years. In 2001, he won in his weight and absolute divisions of the IBJJF World Championship. Afterward, Cruz was given his black belt by Carlos Gracie Jr. Now, Cruz is a fifth-degree black belt.    

Despite entering the competitive grappling circuit late, Cruz became a six-time world champion. He won in both his weight and the absolute divisions in two championships as a brown belt and a black belt. The other two world titles he won were in his weight division as a purple belt and the absolute division as a black belt. Besides winning three gold medals in world championships, Cruz also won four bronze medals in multiple IBJJF World Championships.    

Cruz have also won eight gold medals in the IBJJF Pan Championship and five gold medals in the Brazilian National Championship during his time in the colored and black belt divisions.   

In 2010, Cruz opened his own academy, Marcio Cruz Jiu-Jitsu Academy. Both he and his wife taught BJJ, Muay Thai, kids' martial arts, and women-only jiu-jitsu classes. There are academies in New Tampa and Carrollwood.

Famous BJJ fighters that have been defeated by Cruz include Roger Gracie, Marcelo Gracia, Ricco Rodriguez, Gabriel Gonzaga, Mike Van Arsdale, Paulo Filho, Xande Ribeiro, Fabrício Werdum, Saulo Ribeiro, Jeff Monson, Fernando “Margarida” Pontes, and Fernando Augusto.      

Cruz is an outspoken grappler who often speaks his opinions about other fighters, whether they be compliments or criticism. Cruz has talked about Fernando Terere, Jeff Monson, and others. People either love or hate Cruz for his arrogant behavior. But they deny that he is one of the most talented heavyweight champions in BJJ and MMA. 

Cruz’s MMA debut was at the UFC in 2005. In his first fight, he submitted Keigo Kunihara with a rear naked choke in the second round. Later, Cruz would fight three more UFC matches, but would only win one.

Cruz’s nickname “Pé de Pano” means “Sugarfoot” in Portuguese. It was inspired by a character from the cartoon Woody the Woodpecker. Cruz’s friends from Gracie Barra Academy gave him this nickname due to his tall height and clumsy nature.   

Marcio Cruz has been married to Ariana Cruz since 2009 and has four kids, Aayalah, Clara, Matthew, and Renan.

Cruz does not have the typical characteristics of a BJJ fighter, like a body full of tattoos, cauliflower ears, and a broad back. However, his fighting style makes him a favorite among BJJ fans. Cruz expressed his love for jiu-jitsu by saying the following, 

Cruz faced Roger Gracie in the 2003 IBJJF World Championship finals. Gracie started the fight with a pulling guard but failed and was forced to stand up abruptly. Cruz responded by applying his own pulling guard, but failed; so, he instead tried to grapple his opponent’s leg. However, Gracie managed to grab Cruz’s leg and took the top position. All of this happened within the first 40 seconds of the match. 

Eventually, Cruz managed to escape Gracie’s grip. Gracie tried to apply another pulling guard but only managed to apply a full guard for a few seconds. Later, Cruz managed to mount Gracie and prevent him from escaping. Getting behind Gracie, Cruz applied a collar choke to try and submit Gracie, but time ran out. Luckily, Cruz won the match by having more points.

Cruz faced Ricardo Evangelista in the heavyweight division semifinals of the IBJJF Pro League. Cruz struggled to take down Evangelista at the start of the match. After one minute, Cruz applied a pulling guard and grabbed Evangelista’s gi and arm. He tried to apply an armbar, but Evangelista managed to resist.

Evangelista managed to get on top and tried to subdue Cruz. Cruz responded by applying a full guard and maintaining a strong grip around Evangelista’s groin. Evangelista stood up and tried to escape, almost succeeding in the process. Again, Evangelista found himself on top. Cruz first tried to apply an armbar but quickly switched to grappling Evangelista’s leg. Taken by surprise, Evangelista was not ready to counter.

Cruz tried and failed to take Evangelista from behind. He immediately followed up by trapping Evangelista’s right leg in between his legs. Evangelista tried to escape but Cruz also gripped his opponent’s leg with his arms and kept him on the ground. After a short struggle, Evangelista once again secured the top position. Cruz tried to grab Evangelista’s gi several times in a desperate attempt to break free, but Evangelista always managed to break loose. Both fighters scored two points for executing good sweeps. At the end of the fight, Cruz defeated Evangelista due to two penalties.

Cruz faced Denis “Deninho” Mitchel in the 2023 Tampa Open absolute division. Both fighters started the fight by grasping each other's lapels to try to take each other down. Cruz grabbed Mitchel’s sleeve and pulled him onto the floor. Later, Cruz managed to trap Mitchel’s arm with his legs and his head in between his legs. Only a little after minute since the match started, Cruz submitted Mitchel via a triangle choke.

Mundial 2003 - Roger Gracie vs Pe de Pano Finals

Marcio Cruz vs. Fabiano Scherner ADCC 2003 BRAZIL Trials Submission

Super Heavyweight Final - Marcio Cruz (Marcio Cruz BJJ) VS Gustavo Pires (Gracie Barra)

Marcio "Pe de Pano" Cruz VS Antonio Peinado / World Championship 2012

Photo Credit: @pedepanobjj