Erich Munis dos Santos
Erich Munis rose from two winless blue-belt years to seven black-belt World titles while sharing his competition experience as a Soldiers coach.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, “Erich Munis” (complete rendered profile; accessed 13 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
Erich Munis dos Santos was born on 19 December 1997 in Panorama, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.
Where in the source: Erich Munis biography — full name, birth date and Panorama
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Munis grew up in a sports-oriented family whose father encouraged martial arts. When jiu-jitsu arrived in Panorama in 2013, Erich and his middle brother Anderson enrolled at the Raça academy there. Their oldest brother Alex started separately at a jiu-jitsu club in Três Lagoas, where he worked with their father; that club was affiliated with Nova União and Clube Feijão.
Where in the source: Biography — family influence and distinct 2013 training starts in Panorama and Três Lagoas
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As blue belts, the Munis brothers applied for scholarships at Clube Feijão's Maringá headquarters and were accepted. Alex and Anderson moved first; Erich joined them the following year because of his high-school arrangements.
Where in the source: Biography — Clube Feijão scholarships, brothers' move and Erich's school delay
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Munis completed a 2019 purple-belt season that included double gold at the World, Pan, European and Brazilian championships, then won double gold at the 2020 European Open as a brown belt. Isaque Bahiense and Gabriel Figueiró promoted him to black belt on 28 September 2020.
Where in the source: Achievements, biography and belt history — 2019–2020 results and black-belt promotion
Accessed:
Heather Raftery, “Kingz Athlete Spotlight: Erich Munis,” Kingz, 20 April 2022.(opens in a new tab)
Kingz identifies Munis as a Brazilian athlete from Panorama, São Paulo.
Where in the source: Athlete introduction — Brazilian origin and Panorama
Accessed:
BJJ Heroes, “Erich Munis, World’s Best Colored Belt” (complete rendered interview; accessed 13 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
Munis recalled being overshadowed by his older brothers and spending two years at blue belt without winning a tournament. He presented that difficult period as the contrast to his later breakthrough rather than as evidence of early dominance.
Where in the source: Interview — blue-belt difficulties and comparison with brothers
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Munis said that financial difficulty forced the brothers to miss important tournaments. While he advertised a social-media raffle to raise travel money, a Dream Art representative contacted him; Munis said the resulting support eased the financial pressure and let them focus on competition.
Where in the source: Interview — missed tournaments, travel raffle and Dream Art contact
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Munis said that winning his weight division and the open class at the 2019 European Open as a purple belt was when he began to gain confidence in himself and greater visibility.
Where in the source: Interview — 2019 purple-belt European double gold and confidence turning point
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IBJJF, “Erich Munis On His Return to Competition And His Focus For 2023,” 2023.(opens in a new tab)
Munis won his first IBJJF black-belt World title in his 2021 debut, defeating Felipe Pena and Fellipe Andrew, and returned in 2022 to win the super-heavyweight title again. In early 2023, after three wins at the Curitiba Open, he described the event as a test for new positions.
Where in the source: Opening background and Curitiba return
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Munis said his 2023 training emphasis was on takedowns and guard passing because he felt passing had been missing from his game. He also intended to shift some attention to no-gi after the gi major season.
Where in the source: Interview — takedowns, guard passing and later no-gi focus
Accessed:
Carlos Arthur Jr., “Erich Munis On Fratres, IBJJF Brasileiro, Worlds Goals & Opening An Academy,” FloGrappling, 29 April 2023.(opens in a new tab)
After winning the BJJ Stars 10 grand prix, Munis and seven other Dream Art athletes moved together to Fratres. He said the decision was made with his family and reflected a shared goal of helping people, with competitive visibility giving that work a larger platform.
Where in the source: Interview — group move to Fratres and shared purpose
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Munis described his brothers, parents and wife as the support that carried him through difficult phases. After his first World title he considered ending his competitive career to teach, but said he continued after recognizing what he described as God's gift. Separately, he said he sought a more complete game and used tournament challenges with his brothers to loosen his jiu-jitsu and entertain viewers.
Where in the source: Interview — family support, attributed teaching crossroads, technical goal and challenge game
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By 2023, Munis said several years of studying financial education and investing had reduced his dependence on competition income. His longer plan was to build an academy with his brothers, help others through jiu-jitsu and provide more for his family.
Where in the source: Interview — financial education, academy plan and family goals
Accessed:
Danny O'Donnell, “Inside the 2025 Brasileiros,” IBJJF, 6 May 2025.(opens in a new tab)
Munis won both super-heavyweight and absolute gold at the 2025 Brasileiros, recording seven victories and four submissions. He submitted Nolan Stuart in the weight final and beat Marcus Ribeiro with a sweep in the absolute final.
Where in the source: Erich Munis and Scooby Dominate Divisions and Meet in Absolute Final — full super-heavyweight and absolute account
Accessed:
Kaelan Crisosto, “The Crown 2025: Champions Reign, New Stars Rise,” IBJJF, 26 November 2025.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2025 Crown, Munis won a third consecutive ultra-heavyweight title. He finished his quarterfinal with a brabo choke, his semifinal with a lapel choke and controlled the final from guard to beat Gustavo Batista 4–0.
Where in the source: Ultra-Heavyweight — complete quarterfinal, semifinal and final run
Accessed:
Kaelan Crisosto, “2026 Brasileiro | Male Black Belt Masterclass,” IBJJF, 6 May 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Munis won the 2026 Brasileiro absolute division with armbars in three of his four matches. He beat Robson Gomes by armbar, swept Harryson Pereira twice in the semifinal and submitted Gabriel Veloso with an armbar in under a minute in the final.
Where in the source: Open Class — complete four-match title run
Accessed:
Kaelan Crisosto, “2026 World Championship Black Belt Recap,” IBJJF, 4 June 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Munis took super-heavyweight silver and absolute gold at the 2026 World Championship. In his four-match absolute run, he submitted Krom Tsuyoshi by armbar, Mateus Rodrigues by lapel choke and Anderson Kauan by arm triangle before beating Marcus Ribeiro by two points in the final; the IBJJF described this as his seventh World title.
Where in the source: Male Divisions: Super-Heavyweight and Open Class — final placing and full four-match absolute run
Accessed:
Soldiers Jiu-Jitsu, official academy website (accessed 13 September 2026).(opens in a new tab)
Soldiers Jiu-Jitsu presents Erich and Alex Munis with Meyram Maquiné as leaders of its Vila Olímpia academy. It lists Erich as a coach who shares technical knowledge and elite competition experience with students across an all-ages program.
Where in the source: Homepage and Coaches — Erich Munis leadership and teaching role
Accessed:
Kaelan Crisosto, “Black Belt Bracket Breakdowns | 2026 World Championships,” IBJJF, 30 May 2026.(opens in a new tab)
The IBJJF's 2026 Worlds preview characterized Munis as an elite guard player with a broad submission arsenal and identified his lasso system as a defining open-class weapon.
Where in the source: Super-Heavyweight and Open Class previews — guard, submissions and lasso
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Lineage
No teaching connections are shown on this page.
Open lineage