Vagner Rocha - 6th-Degree BJJ Black Belt & Founder of VRMA

Vagner Rocha is a 3rd-degree BJJ Black Belt under Pablo Popovitch. He is also a Brown Belt in taekwondo. Not only does Vagner Rocha have an extended and marvelous BJJ career but he is also a huge name in ADCC and UFC. He is an ADCC medallist and UFC veteran. He is also the founder of Vagner Rocha Martial Arts (VRMA) and the head instructor at VRMA.

Vagner Rocha was born on 6 June 1982 in Nova Friburgo which is a mountainous region in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Vagner Rocha was only 5 years old when his family moved to the United States. They resided in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida, in search of a better lifestyle.

Vagner Rocha was introduced to martial arts via Taekwondo. At the tender age of 7, Rocha started learning taekwondo. Though Vagner Rocha left Brazil when he was very young, he still had the Brazilian national spirit with him which was evident in his way of fighting.

Only after 2 years of taekwondo training, Vagner Rocha became a Brown Belt. but after receiving his Brown Belt, Rocha lost interest in the martial art. He then gradually left taekwondo. Almost after 9 years, when Rocha turned 18, he returned to martial arts, but this time he started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

When Rocha was 16 years old, he got inspired by BJJ. It happened all of a sudden. Actually, Rocha went to Brazil when he was 16 on a family vacation. He was playing with his cousin who used to train in BJJ and was a Blue Belt. He and his cousin often compete and test each other’s fighting techniques and skills.

Rocha started to lose to his cousin because of the submission techniques of BJJ. His cousin defeated him in every fight and even to the point where Rocha had to tap out of the submissions. Rocha himself was a Brown Belt in taekwondo but still could not dominate his cousin. He said on a podcast that his cousin knew a lot about BJJ while he himself was ignorant of it. His cousin submitted him via many chokes and one of them Rear Naked Choke.

It was then that Rocha came to know about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He thought about BJJ for almost 2 years and then finally joined a BJJ gym when he was 18 years old.

In 2001, Vagner Rocha started training with Jorge Popovitch. The Popovitch family had a great influence on Rocha. Rocha was a competitive person from the very start. When he lost to his cousin many times, he was pretty much shaken by the defeat and swore to master the grappling art.

Vagner Rocha was nicknamed Ceara by Jorge Popovitch. Ceara is basically a state in the northwest of Brazil. The people of Ceara are known for the size of their heads and the absence of civilization. Rocha did not live in Brazil but because he resembled the people of Ceara, Jorge Popovitch gave him that nickname.

Soon after training under Jorge Popovitch, Rocha had to slow down his BJJ training. It was because of the birth of his daughter. He had to focus on earning money to get a good life for his family. He somehow had to pause his training. Fortunately, he soon found a good-paying job at a construction site.

After that, he was able to resume BJJ and provide for his family at the same time.

The Popovitch family helped Vagner a lot in his BJJ journey. Jorge Popovitch’s son was the one who awarded Rocha with his Black Belt. Vagner Rocha was already a competitive and genius grappler but the Popovitch family honed his skills.

Vagner Rocha’s wife, Fafa Rocha is the head of women's fitness instructor at the VRMA. She is a Brown Belt in BJJ. She is also a kettlebell training specialist. Both Of Rocha’s children are active grapplers. Their daughter Jasmine is a Black Belt in BJJ and their son Achilles is a Blue Belt. Achilles recently won gold at the Orlando Open Championship.

Eventually, Pablo Popovitch promoted Vagner Rocha to Black Belt in 2007 at the team's end-of-the-year celebratory dinner party.

In 2008, after becoming a Black Belt, Rocha was proposed as a coach of Popovitch academy, BJJ Centre. Rocha was not only the best student in the academy but also one of the best BJJ instructors.

Later on, he left his construction job and gave all his focus and attention to BJJ. His firm resolution towards BJJ did not let him wander and indulge in different pleasurable pursuits. It was his strong determination that led him to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) in 2011.

Vagner Rocha is sometimes linked with Fight Sports Academy based in Florida. It is mainly because of Vagner’s friendship with Roberto Cyborg Abreu.

Vagner Rocha met Roberto Cyborg Abreu in 2007. Rocha was well aware of Cyborg as he had seen him in various BJJ events.  The very first time Rocha and Cyborg communicated was at a BJJ tournament called “Copa America”.

They both competed in Copa America and made it to the final by individually winning the semi-final. Both the grapplers earned a huge amount of respect for each other and this initiated their friendship.

Vagner Rocha and Roberto Cyborg’s friendship led to the formation of one of the best BJJ teams called, “The Avengers”. It was the result of Rocha and Cyborg’s combined effort. The strongest BJJ team was formed in 2009. This team consisted of Roberto Cyborg, Ricardo Souza de, Pablo Popovitch, Marcus Almeida, Vagner Rocha, Rodrigo Cavaca, William Durkez, Raphael Chaves and some other famous Black Belts.

The Avengers totally shocked the BJJ community with their performance at the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds in 2010. The Avengers were at the top of the adult male list.

The Avengers had a tremendous year. It was founded in the middle of 2009 and unfortunately ended at the end of 2010. Their performance at the IBJJF No-Gi World in 2010 is still fresh in the minds of BJJ enthusiasts.

Even after the fall of the Avengers, Rocha and Cyborg’s friendship did not fall apart. They still are great friends and often roll and spar together.

Vagner Rocha competed against Gabriel Almeida in the co-main event of Fight 2 Win 157 in 2020. Vagner Rocha submitted Gabriel via an inside Heel Hook and won the “Submission of the Night” award.

Vagner Rocha made his MMA career in 2009. Submissions, being the favorite of Vagner made him a professional MMA fighter within no time. He made his MMA debut in 2009. He competed against Alan Arzeno in the XCF: Rumble in Racetown 1. Rocha submitted Alan via Rear Naked Choke within a minute in the first round.

Vagner Rocha competed against Igor Gracie in Bellator 11. It was his first appearance in Bellator. After Rocha’s first victory in the MMA, he returned to MMA with double confidence. He won the fight against Igor Gracie by a unanimous decision.

In 2010, Vagner Rocha competed against Francisco Soares and won the fight in the second round via TKO punches.

Vagner Rocha competed against Bret Bergmark in the StrikeForce in 2010. Unfortunately, he lost the fight via unanimous decision.

Vagner Rocha made his UFC debut in June 2011. He competed against Donald Cerrone at UFC 131. Rocha lost that fight but learned a lot from his fight.

Rocha then appeared again in the UFC. He competed against Cody McKenzie and submitted him via Rear Naked Choke.

Vagner Rocha was scheduled to make his UFC Featherweight debut against Mike Brown in January 2012. Unfortunately, Mike Brown suffered from an injury so he could not be involved in the fight. Vagner Rocha then competed against Jonathan Brookins in February 2012. Rocha lost his Featherweight debut via KO punches in the first round.

Vagner Rocha, after UFC, fought in the “Fight Time”. In November 2012, Rocha competed against Mike Bruno and won the fight via Triangle Choke submission in the 2nd round. He won the Fight Time Promotions and ISKA Lightweight Championship.

Vagner Rocha is a huge name in Fight Time. Even after his UFC career, he came back and again fought in the Fight Night tournament.

Next year in 2013, Rocha competed against Kamrin Naville in the Fight Time 13: MMA Kings. Rocha won the fight by unanimous decision. The same year, in 2013, Vagner Rocha fought against J. P. Reese in April. Rocha won the fight via Rear Naked Choke in the 5th round. Rocha successfully defended his Fight Time Lightweight Champion belt.

Vagner Rocha competed against Randy Barroso at Fight Time 16: Rocha vs. Barroso. Rocha won the fight via Triangle Choke submission. It was Vagner Rocha’s 4 consecutive wins in the Fight Time tournament.

In 2014, Vagner Rocha decided to make a comeback in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was scheduled to fight against Joe Ellenberger but withdrew from the fight due to an injury during training.

Rocha then competed against Jake Matthews at UFC Fight Night 55 in November 2014. Rocha lost the fight by Rear Naked Choke.

Mike Bruno is an MMA fighter who fights out of Brooklyn. He is ranked 48th in the Amateur Men's Welterweight in the US Northeast. Mike Bruno took Rocha down within seconds as the fight started. It made Rocha aggressive and he shooted for Mike’s arm. Immediately Mike turned defensive as he saw Rocha attacking. Rocha tried to submit Mike in the first round via a Rear Naked Choke but Mike saved himself from the submission.

Rocha then landed punches on Mike’s head. For the whole 1st round, Mike defended himself from Rocha's deadly punches and submission attempts. And finally in the 2nd round, Rocha submitted Mike via Triangle Choke. As a result, Vagner Rocha won the Fight Time Lightweight Champion title.

Estevan Martinez is a BJJ Black Belt under Lucas Rocha and represents the SR Team. At the start of the fight, Rocha pinned Estevan to the ground and gained the dominant position. He tried to choke Estevan but Esteva escaped the submission. Rocha again caught Estevan but this time Estevan could not escape. Eventually, Rocha submitted Estevan via Rear Naked Choke and won the match in only 1 minute and 56 seconds.

Johnny Tama is a BJJ Black Belt under Juan Miguel. He is famous for his world championships. From the start of the match, Rocha tried to footlock Tama but he escaped it. Later on Rocha was successful in submitting Tama via the Aoki Lock. It was obvious from Tama’s moves that he was fully aware of Rocha’s techniques and that is how he escaped most of the deadly positions. Rocha submitted Tama within 2 minutes.

In 2011, Vagner Rocha founded Vagner Rocha Martial Arts along with his wife in Florida. It was the same year when Rocha left coaching at the BJJ Centre and gave all his focus to his own BJJ institute.

Vagner Rocha v Johnny Tama / San Diego Open No-Gi 2022

Vagner Rocha v Jorge Farfan / San Diego Open No-Gi 2022

Vagner Rocha Vs Thiago Moises

Vagner Rocha vs Craig Jones

Photo Credit:@alchetron, @vagnerrochabjj