Leandro Lo

Leandro Pereira do Nascimento Lo was born on May 11, 1989, and grew up in a working-class neighborhood on the east side of São Paulo. At 14 he joined Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem, a community jiu-jitsu program founded by coach Cícero Costha to keep kids in the neighborhood off the streets. It was there, training under Costha, that Lo found the sport that would define his life. He won his first world title as a blue belt in 2005, and Costha promoted him to black belt in July 2010 — the beginning of what would become one of the most statistically dominant careers in the sport's history.

Lo's game was built on speed, timing, and relentless top pressure. He was not a guard-puller; he preferred to take the fight to opponents, working from strong passing positions and constantly hunting the back, where his hooks-in control and choke finishes became a signature. In April 2011 he announced himself on the world stage by defeating Michael Langhi at the UAEJJF World Pro, ending Langhi's celebrated multi-year unbeaten streak.

What separates Lo from nearly every competitor in the sport's history is the breadth of his dominance. Over the course of his career he won IBJJF World Championship gold eight times — in 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2022 — spread across five different weight classes, from lightweight all the way up to the super-heavyweight and absolute divisions. No other competitor has matched that range of weight-class success at the sport's most prestigious tournament. He backed that up with eight IBJJF Pan American titles and, in 2016, became the first competitor to win the Copa Podio "triple crown," taking gold in three separate weight divisions within the same year.

In 2015 Lo founded his own team, NS Brotherhood, building it into a competitive powerhouse and passing on the same opportunity Costha had once given him to young athletes from similar backgrounds. In his final years of competition he also trained at Unity Jiu-Jitsu, continuing to test himself against the sport's new generation even as a veteran multiple-time champion.

On August 7, 2022, Lo was shot in the head following an altercation at Clube Sírio, a social club in São Paulo's Saúde district. He was rushed to the hospital and declared brain dead; he died the same day at age 33. An off-duty military police officer, Henrique Otávio Oliveira Velozo, was identified as the shooter and turned himself in to authorities. His death sent shock through the global grappling community — competitors, students, and fans across the world paused to mourn one of the sport's most beloved and universally respected champions. He was buried on August 9, 2022, at Morumbi Cemetery in São Paulo, where fellow athletes formed a guard of honor in full gi as his casket passed.

On what would have been his 34th birthday, May 11, 2023, the IBJJF posthumously inducted Leandro Lo into its Hall of Fame, joining a small group of legends including Roger Gracie and Marcelo Garcia. His name remains attached to tournaments, scholarships, and tributes across Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and his record — eight world titles across five weight classes — still stands as one of the benchmark achievements in the sport's history.

Fast-paced, pressure passing with relentless back-takes across multiple weight classes