Victor Hugo - Young BJJ Grappler with Invincible Submission Rate

Victor Hugo was born in the city of urban beaches of Brazil- Fortaleza on 1 May 1997.

Hugo participated in different sports during school. He used to participate in basketball, football, Judo, and swimming. However, all these sports failed to get a place in Hugo’s heart. He left them during his early teens. 

Hugo as a child lacked the self-confidence that is common among the child of his age. He thought that he would not prove himself as a great athlete. But fate planned to make him a world champion. In 2011, his father found a new Jiu-Jitsu academy during his vacation. Victor’s father started to attend Jiu-Jitsu classes.

His father who already joined the Day By Kan Academy urged him to sign in to DBK Academy. Victor Hugo showed reluctance on the mat but soon he realized Jiu-Jitsu could add his name to World Champions. So at the age of 14, Hugo joined his first Jiu-Jitsu academy and started training under the mentorship of Ricardo Costa.

Although Hugo was not interested in any kind of sports or martial art. After joining the Jiu-Jitsu academy, Hugo’s father forcefully kept him on the mat. His continuous presence and progress on the mat accelerated his interest and he began to enjoy the training.

In 2016, Hugo earned two Jiu-Jitsu titles on the National level. After his remarkable achievement on the national ground, as a Purple Belt Champion, Hugo decided to participate in the IBJJF World Championship. He moved to America to compete and earned the world championship title.

During his stay in America, Hugo met with Daulo Ribeiro and Alexandre who are supervising the project at the University of Jiu-Jitsu. This meeting proved a bright incident in the Jiu-Jitsu career of Victor Hugo.

The Riberio brothers offered Hugo a scholarship at the university of Jiu-Jitsu in San Diego through a mutual friend, Gustavo. This offer confused Hugo because he indulged in his nutrition studies at that time. However, Hugo decided to listen to his heart and joined the Ribeiro team (Six Blades Team) in September 2016.

After Joining the Six Blades Team, Hugo presented a brilliant performance in the international Jiu-Jitsu competitions. He won 6 IBJJF Championships with 2 No-Gi and 4-Gi tournaments.

He also got the chance to train with the legendary Black Belt Champion Rafael Lovato Jr. from the Ribeiro team. Rafael Lovato secured multiple world titles in the BJJ and he played a major role in Hugo’s development on the mat.

In June 2019, Victor Hugo was awarded Black Belt by Saulo Riberio and Alexander Riberio due to his splendid performance on the mat.

In an interview in June 2019, Hugo elaborates on the Jiu-Jitsu training:

Hugo had the unique honor of promoting his own father to Black Belt. He shared an emotional statement after being awarded Black Belt to his father:

Hugo introduced his Leg Lock submission course. He taught the grapplers the techniques to maintain the tightest lock position on the mat. To get every detail about Leg Lock, fighters can enroll themselves in Hugo’s course.

In this video, leg lock lover Hugo taught his techniques to attack by knee bar to submit his opponent.

In 2020, Hugo ranked number 1 in the pound-for-pound category. He has an extraordinary submission record with 40 submission wins and 0 losses.

In 2021, Hugo conducted a seminar at Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu Fort Worth. 

In September 2022, Victor Hugo received an invitation from the ADCC World Championship. That would be his second turn to join the ADCC championship after 2019.

The 2019 World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship was held between Victor Hugo and Roberto Cyborg. This was the debut match of Hugo as a Black Belt. He not only aimed to win the title but also wished to submit Cyborg who defeated him in the last match. Both grapplers were present on the mat to win the gold and glory.

This Absolute division final started with the great pull of Hugo. He applied a powerful knee bar attempt. Cyborg tried his best to escape but Hugo didn’t give much time to his opponent to balance his position.

In the end, Cyborg was forced to tap out by the powerful knee bar attempt of Hugo, and Victor Hugo won his debut Balck Belt Championship.

This was a gripping match of the 2022 World Championship. Victor Hugo and Wallace Costa faced each other in the semifinal.

Hugo started the match while displaying his all elite submission techniques and willpower. He attacked with his strong close guard and controlled his opponent. Wallace Costa tried his best to escape from the brutal attack of Hugo.

However, this stunning match was won by Victor Hugo by heel hook submission at the end.

This IBJJF 2021 Championship was held between Hugo and Mahamed Aly. This was the very first match in which Victor Hugo and Mahamed Aly faced each other.

Being a big fan of the closed guard, Hugo pulled a prompt guard at the beginning of the match. Mahamed Aly escaped by showing his extraordinary defensive skills and trying to control the lapel of his opponent.

Victor Hugo finished this sensational match with a straight ankle lock submission.

Victor Hugo v Wallace Costa / World Championship 2021

Victor Hugo VS Marcus Vinicius / World Championship 2019

Victor Hugo v Aaron "Tex" Johnson / Pan No-Gi 2021

Victor Hugo v Max Gimenis / World Championship 2021

Photo credit: @victorhugojj