Cláudio de Mattos Cardoso
“Caloquinha”
Source: bjjstorm.com.brCláudio “Caloquinha” Mattos combined teaching and competition with community work and BJJ Storm, a circuit built around athletes of different ages.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, Claudio Mattos Caloquinha biography.(opens in a new tab)
He was born on 16 July 1981 in Belo Horizonte.
Where in the source: Biography opening.
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His older brother influenced him to begin jiu-jitsu at 16 under Vinicius Draculino Magalhães.
Where in the source: Biography opening.
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He began teaching as Draculino’s purple-belt assistant and later became the principal instructor at Rio Sport Centre in Belo Horizonte.
Where in the source: Second biography paragraph.
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Draculino awarded him his black belt at the end of 2005.
Where in the source: Biography promotion paragraph.
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He also fought MMA: a 2004 debut win against Igor Pitbull at brown belt, a 2005 draw with André Dida Amado, and a 2006 loss to Thomas Hytten, before concentrating on jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: Second and third biography paragraphs.
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His honours included the 2009 CBJJE South American title.
Where in the source: Main Achievements list, South American Champion.
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He won the 2010 SP Cup, earning a funded trip to the World Championships.
Where in the source: Final biography paragraph.
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Filipe Sodré, Rádio Itatiaia, death report, 25 December 2025.(opens in a new tab)
Cláudio de Mattos Cardoso was the Gracie Barra BH teacher and entrepreneur known as Caloquinha.
Where in the source: Headline/subtitle and two article paragraphs.
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He died on 25 December 2025, aged 44, while being treated for lung cancer at Hospital Vila da Serra.
Where in the source: Dated byline and first paragraph.
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At his death he was a teacher and entrepreneur at Gracie Barra BH, which had three schools in Santa Lúcia, Alphaville and Santa Efigênia.
Where in the source: Second article paragraph.
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BJJ Storm official website, memorial to its founder.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Storm’s own memorial identifies its founder as Claudio de Mattos Cardoso, Caloquinha.
Where in the source: In Memorian / Idealizador section.
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BJJ Storm now honours Caloquinha as its late founder and links his work to developing athletes and professionalizing tournaments.
Where in the source: In Memorian / Idealizador memorial.
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Graciemag, Durinho quer muito mais, 22 April 2010.(opens in a new tab)
Caloquinha was the runner-up to Gilbert Durinho Burns in the under-74 kg final at the 2010 Abu Dhabi World Pro.
Where in the source: Dated introduction, final photograph caption and named final-video link.
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Copa Podio, Arthur Júnior retrospective, 8 February 2023.(opens in a new tab)
He reached the lightweight final at Copa Podio’s first event in 2011, losing to Leandro Lo.
Where in the source: Leandro Lo e a Tríplice Coroa section.
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IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2014 official results.(opens in a new tab)
Claudio de Mattos Cardoso won the 2014 Brazilian National male adult black-belt middleweight division for Gracie Barra.
Where in the source: Male / Adult / Black / Middle (79.50kg), complete four-medallist division.
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Graciemag, Caloquinha kimura at BH Open, 20 July 2017.(opens in a new tab)
At the July 2017 Belo Horizonte no-gi Open, Caloquinha won his medium-heavyweight class and the open division, submitting Marcos Aurélio of GFTeam with a kimura in the open final.
Where in the source: Written event account from weight-class success through final submission.
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Graciemag, new Gracie Barra Belo Horizonte premises, 31 January 2018.(opens in a new tab)
A 2018 Graciemag report identified Caloquinha and Sérgio Benini as the leaders of Gracie Barra Belo Horizonte at its new São Bento premises.
Where in the source: Dated article, leadership paragraph and school listing.
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Graciemag, Claudio Caloquinha da cirurgia ao pódio, 22 May 2019.(opens in a new tab)
He underwent anterior cruciate ligament surgery in October 2018 and returned to controlled training with lighter partners 95 days later.
Where in the source: Opening and Voltando a treinar response.
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He credited Draculino’s technical teaching with helping him limit movements while returning, and his GB BH colleagues with covering classes so he could focus on rehabilitation.
Where in the source: Voltando a treinar and Evolução responses.
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Caloquinha described rehabilitation as requiring the same commitment as training, and credited physiotherapist Rodrigo Fadel and the people supporting him.
Where in the source: Nunca é fácil, Fisioterapia and Evolução responses.
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In 2019 he shared the Brazilian master middleweight final with Sérgio Benini and won an Abu Dhabi Pro event in Gramado on 19 May.
Where in the source: Opening three paragraphs.
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O Dia, Roberto Benatti interview, 9 June 2025.(opens in a new tab)
Roberto Benatti recalled meeting Caloquinha in 2019 through Jiu-Jitsu Consciente and working with him on social projects before becoming a BJJ Storm partner.
Where in the source: Opening and first Benatti answer.
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In 2022 Caloquinha asked Benatti to lead communications, marketing and audiovisual production for BJJ Storm, with an emphasis on athlete presentation and storytelling.
Where in the source: First two Benatti interview answers.
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Copa Podio, charity livestream announcement, 26 June 2020.(opens in a new tab)
Copa Podio scheduled Caloquinha against Caio Almeida for its June 2020 charity livestream, with net donations intended for their Jiu-Jitsu Consciente and Almeida Faz projects supporting disadvantaged practitioners and academies.
Where in the source: Opening announcement, donation-purpose paragraph and SuperMasterProjetosSociais listing.
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John Davis, BJJDOC, obituary, 26 December 2025.(opens in a new tab)
The obituary described his Jiu-Jitsu Consciente work with underserved communities, including Morro do Papagaio in Belo Horizonte.
Where in the source: Social-work paragraph.
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Lance!, interview before BJJ Storm debut, 26 August 2022.(opens in a new tab)
When launching BJJ Storm in August 2022, Caloquinha said he had organized events in Belo Horizonte for over a decade; after an earlier partnership ended, he wanted a new circuit that developed local jiu-jitsu and emerging champions.
Where in the source: Interview response explaining how BJJ Storm began.
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He chose Sesc Contagem for the first event, highlighting spectator capacity, secure parking and accommodation for visiting athletes. He temporarily reduced training to finish preparing the tournament.
Where in the source: Venue response and balancing-work response.
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He envisaged adding professional superfights while retaining the traditional open tournament.
Where in the source: Closing response on matched fights and traditional competition.
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Lance!, first BJJ Storm event report, 2 September 2022.(opens in a new tab)
The first BJJ Storm took place at Sesc Contagem in August 2022; afterwards Caloquinha emphasized the importance of recognizing the children competing there.
Where in the source: Opening event recap and Caloquinha quotation on children.
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O Dia, Team Bronx and BJJ Storm 3, 17 March 2023.(opens in a new tab)
The 2023 BJJ Storm programme welcomed social projects including Morro do Papagaio’s Team Bronx. Its leader Marcos Aparecido said the ranking’s World Championship travel opportunity particularly excited community athletes.
Where in the source: Opening project identification and closing TeamBronx answer.
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O Dia, Kayo Augusto interview, 8 November 2024.(opens in a new tab)
In November 2024, blue belt Kayo Augusto had secured a BJJ Storm ranking travel award for the 2025 Worlds. He said the opportunity mattered especially for young athletes from social projects such as himself.
Where in the source: Defined winners paragraph and final Kayo response.
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O Dia, Caloquinha on Mano a Mano, 16 July 2025.(opens in a new tab)
Caloquinha said Mano a Mano combined athlete announcements, livestreams, post-match interviews, belts and bonuses to make competitors feel recognized.
Where in the source: First Caloquinha response following format description.
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He explained that matched bouts and the open tournament ran on different days because many athletes entered both, while a committee selected fight and submission bonuses.
Where in the source: Second and final Caloquinha responses.
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The announced 2025 season prizes included Worlds 2026 travel for the adult ranking winner and entry to the next circuit for master, juvenile and children’s winners.
Where in the source: Opening prize/ranking paragraph.
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O Dia, BJJ Storm XIII event report, 27 August 2025.(opens in a new tab)
The August 2025 BJJ Storm XIII in Belo Horizonte drew more than 1,300 tournament athletes plus the competitors in 60 Mano a Mano bouts. Caloquinha attended and praised performances across children’s, adult and master groups.
Where in the source: Dated opening, participation paragraph and Caloquinha statement.
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