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Fernando Vasconcelos

Fernando Vasconcelos won black-belt world gold before pursuing MMA and teaching how jiu-jitsu could adapt to fighting.

Biography

Fernando Vasconcelos is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Rigan Machado who won the adult middleweight world title in 1998. His career then took him into submission grappling and mixed martial arts, with teaching and the work of becoming a more complete fighter running alongside each other. A report from the 2008 IMB Instructors Conference traces his introduction to jiu-jitsu to early childhood, when his father, himself a black belt, enrolled him with Rillion Gracie. Vasconcelos received his own black belt from Machado in December 1996, in a ceremony that also promoted Chris Haueter, Rick Williams, David Meyer and Renato Magno. Representing Gracie Barra, he won adult black-belt middleweight at the 1997 Pan Championship, retained the title in 1998 and won the same division at that year's World Championship. By November 1999, a move into vale tudo, the fighting format associated with the development of MMA, was being discussed within his training group. In an interview with Chris Onzuka, Bob Bass described preparations that added wrestling, striking and evening no-gi sessions, without the traditional jiu-jitsu jacket. At ADCC in 2001, Vasconcelos received the best-takedown award for a suplex against Caol Uno, a throw lifting the opponent off the mat. Marcelo Alonso's account records his elimination by Márcio Feitosa in the under-77 kg division. Reflecting on the event in a 2002 Fightworld interview preserved in Onzuka's archive, Vasconcelos said it had been only his second submission-grappling tournament. He saw areas to improve and credited a teammate named Chad with showing him the takedown finish he used against Uno. In that interview, he described teaching jiu-jitsu and training with rAw Team in the United States. Enthusiastic students and the growth of the gym made teaching rewarding. Improving as a fighter had become his priority, though he still intended to enter gi competitions when they fitted around it. He said Rico arranged his King of the Cage debut after he expressed interest, with preparation specifically for the bout beginning about six weeks beforehand. The win did not leave him satisfied with his performance: he felt there was substantial room to improve and wanted to become the best fighter he could. Sherdog records wins over John Chrisostomo and Marcus Santos in 2002, followed by losses to Shonie Carter and Karo Parisyan in 2003. At the 2008 IMB Instructors Conference, Vasconcelos taught a session centred on standing up from closed guard, the position in which the bottom practitioner closes their legs around an opponent. The conference report connected the session to adapting grappling for MMA.

Sources for this profile

  • FMAdigest, IMB Instructors Conference 2008, p26.(opens in a new tab)

    • A 2008 IMB conference report says Vasconcelos began jiu-jitsu as a small child, after his father, a black belt, enrolled him with Rillion Gracie.

      Where in the source: PDF page26, Fernando Vascancelo section, opening paragraph

      Accessed:

    • At the 2008 IMB Instructors Conference, Vasconcelos taught a jiu-jitsu session centred on standing up from closed guard, which the report linked to adapting grappling for MMA.

      Where in the source: PDF page5 schedule and page26 full Fernando section

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, BJJ Dirty Dozen, promotion account credited to Chris Haueter.(opens in a new tab)

    • Vasconcelos received his black belt from Rigan Machado in December 1996, in the ceremony that also promoted Chris Haueter, Rick Williams, David Meyer and Renato Magno.

      Where in the source: Section11,10and9, promotion date/instructor and paragraph naming Brazilians

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, 1997 pan official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • He won adult male black-belt middleweight at the 1997 Pan Championship for Gracie Barra.

      Where in the source: ADULT / BLACK / MALE / MIDDLE full table

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, 1998 pan official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • He retained the adult male black-belt middleweight Pan title in 1998, representing Gracie Barra.

      Where in the source: ADULT / BLACK / MALE / MIDDLE full table

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, 1998 world official results.(opens in a new tab)

    • Vasconcelos won adult male black-belt middleweight at the 1998 World Championship for Gracie Barra.

      Where in the source: ADULT / BLACK / MALE / MIDDLE full table

      Accessed:

  • Chris Onzuka, Bob Bass interview,11November1999.(opens in a new tab)

    • In a November 1999 interview, Bob Bass discussed Vasconcelos’s planned move into vale tudo as their training added wrestling, striking and evening no-gi sessions.

      Where in the source: Questions about Fernando entering NHB and subsequent training changes

      Accessed:

  • Fightworld interview by Martins Denis, preserved in Onzuka April2002 news archive.(opens in a new tab)

    • By 2002, Vasconcelos was teaching jiu-jitsu and training with rAw Team in the United States; he said enthusiastic students and a growing gym made teaching rewarding.

      Where in the source: INTERVIEW: FERNANDO VASCONCELLOS, first answer and RAW representation answer

      Accessed:

    • He said improving as a fighter had become his priority, with gi competition continuing when it did not interfere with that goal.

      Where in the source: Answer beginning Everything is secondary

      Accessed:

    • Discussing ADCC 2001, he described it as only his second submission-grappling event and said the experience exposed areas he wanted to improve.

      Where in the source: ADCC first-participation and performance answers

      Accessed:

    • Vasconcelos recalled that a teammate named Chad had shown him the takedown finish he used against Caol Uno.

      Where in the source: Answer to question about suplex against Uno

      Accessed:

    • He said Rico arranged his King of the Cage debut after he expressed interest, and that specific fight preparation began about six weeks before the bout.

      Where in the source: NHB debut and specific-training questions

      Accessed:

    • After winning his debut, Vasconcelos said he still had substantial room to improve and wanted to become the best fighter he could.

      Where in the source: Debut performance and final goals answers

      Accessed:

  • Marcelo Alonso, ADCC2001 report and photographs, republished PVT21December2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • At ADCC 2001, his suplex against Caol Uno earned the event’s best-takedown award; Márcio Feitosa eliminated him in the under-77kg division.

      Where in the source: 77kg division narrative and photograph caption naming Fernando and Uno

      Accessed:

  • Sherdog, Fernando Vasconcelos fighter record3607.(opens in a new tab)

    • Sherdog records two wins and two losses in his professional MMA career: wins over John Chrisostomo and Marcus Santos in 2002, followed by losses to Shonie Carter and Karo Parisyan in 2003.

      Where in the source: FIGHT HISTORY - PRO, all four rows

      Accessed:

Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
YearEventResultDivision
1998IBJJF World ChampionshipSource: en.wikipedia.org-82 kgGiVerified1st place-82 kgGiVerified

Lineage

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