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Two training partners meeting on the mat.Drawn in cream, forest green, and muted terracotta. People and objects are symbolic illustrations.
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Gustavo Batista

“Braguinha”

Source: flograppling.com

Brazilian black belt Gustavo Batista went from sleeping on a São Paulo academy's mats to IBJJF world titles at medium-heavyweight in 2021, 2023 and 2024.

Biography

Gustavo Batista, known in jiu-jitsu as Braguinha, is a Brazilian black belt who became IBJJF world champion at medium-heavyweight in 2021, 2023 and 2024. His route there led through a São Paulo academy and Leandro Lo's NS Brotherhood to André Galvão's Atos in San Diego. He grew up in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina and took up the sport in 2012, at 16, following his older brother. After early success at local tournaments he decided to train full-time and left his hometown to look for a top-level training environment. In a 2019 interview with Graciemag he said he had trained in his hometown up to blue belt and then realized he needed training more geared toward competition. In 2014 he moved to São Paulo and the Cicero Costha academy, living in the gym and sleeping on its mats alongside other young prospects; later he shared a fighter house with teammates. He told FloGrappling that being away from his family was hard at first, but that the training was very strong and built entirely around competition, and that he evolved a lot there. In the 2019 interview he also credited the brothers Paulo and João Miyao, with whom he had trained, for helping him improve a great deal, called them examples as athletes and as people, and recalled that they once trained so much that they fell ill. In 2015, competing at blue belt for the Cicero Costha team, he won both the medium-heavyweight division and the open class at the Europeans, the Pans, the Brazilian Nationals and the Worlds. When Leandro Lo left Cicero Costha to form NS Brotherhood, Batista went with him, and it was Lo who gave him the rest of his belts. At purple belt in 2016, now competing for NS Brotherhood, he won the heavyweight division and the open class at the Europeans and the open class at the Brazilian Nationals, and was second at the Worlds in the heavyweight division behind Vinicius Ferreira Gazola. FloGrappling reported that he was promoted to brown belt soon after those Worlds. At the 2017 Europeans in Lisbon he again took both his weight class and the open class, with a Norwegian on the other side of each final: Vegard Arentz Randeberg and Tommy Langaker. That made three years in a row of winning both divisions at the Europeans, at blue, purple and brown belt. In February 2017, still a brown belt, he was entered in the black belt open class at the Argentina National Pro, a division with few competitors, and beat Xande Ribeiro, a world champion at black belt, by the two points of a sweep. FloGrappling added that he had to hold off repeated submission attempts on the way to the 2–0 win. At the 2017 Worlds he was second again, this time at brown belt, behind Rudson Teles. Asked in 2019 about his Worlds defeats at purple and brown belt, he said they kept him wanting to improve, that the colored belts are for gaining experience, and that early losses should not shake a fighter, because black belt is where everything really counts. On 30 January 2018 FloGrappling reported that Batista and Luiza Monteiro, a two-time black belt world champion, had left NS Brotherhood to join Galvão's Atos, and he moved to San Diego. Atos welcomed both on its blog on 1 February, with a photo caption noting that he had won double gold at the LA Open the weekend before. He told FloGrappling he had chosen Galvão because he was a great leader whose work showed in results, and because the Atos competition team, with many tough athletes chasing the same goals, gave him motivation. According to FloGrappling, he left NS Brotherhood on good terms and kept a good relationship with Lo. In 2019 he told Graciemag that in moving to Atos he had been looking for more teamwork, backing for his career and a teacher with Galvão's outlook, in short a more professional setup, and that he had found it. Asked in the same interview about leaving Santa Catarina for São Paulo and later the United States, he said the step toward a more professional career had brought criticism, money problems, poor living conditions and a lack of sponsors, which he had believed would pass, and that it had been worth it. Early in his first year at black belt he told FloGrappling that he wanted to enter all the biggest competitions that year and face the best as often as he could. At medium-heavyweight, FloGrappling noted, he had joined a division in which Keenan Cornelius, Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa and Galvão himself also competed. At the 2018 Pans in Irvine, California, his first major test at black belt, he reached the final and closed it out with Barbosa, his new teammate; in a closeout, teammates who meet in a final do not fight it. IBJJF lists Barbosa first and Batista second, and the 2018 Worlds final ended the same way. At the 2019 Europeans he won the black belt open class and was second in the heavyweight division after closing out the final with his Atos teammate Kaynan Duarte. His opponent in the open class final was Lucas Lepri. In the 2019 interview he named Lepri, Galvão and Rodolfo Vieira, his inspiration from the beginning, as the three fighters he had watched most on video, and said his own top game somewhat resembled Lepri's. He won the final 10–0. Knowing Lepri's game helped, he said, but the decisive moment came at the start, when he pulled guard and swept at once to lead 2–0 and take the top position. In early 2019 he also won the heavyweight division of the IBJJF's Los Angeles BJJ Pro, beating Fellipe Trovo for a 4,000-dollar prize; he said he had entered to stay active and for the prize money. At that time he described his training at Atos as varied sessions with Galvão that mixed drills, specific training and plenty of sparring, plus physical conditioning tailored to jiu-jitsu three times a week, for an average of four to five hours a day. He said he deliberately worked on his weaker side, playing guard when he felt better on top and the other way round, because the difficult positions would come up in competition and because working on flaws also lifted his motivation. At the 2019 Worlds he was again second in the medium-heavyweight division, this time behind Felipe Pena of Gracie Barra. In September 2019 he won the middleweight bracket of the Abu Dhabi King of Mats in Azusa, California, in five matches, two of them by submission, according to a press release published by Graciemag. In the group stage he beat Tommy Langaker 1–0 on advantages, in the semifinal he finished Max Lindblad of Sweden with a bow and arrow choke, and in the final he beat Isaque Bahiense 2–0 with an early sweep. The result earned him a shot at the division belt. "I want that belt!" he said afterward. At the 2020 and 2021 Pans he won the black belt heavyweight division, beating Adam Wardziński in the 2021 final, and both times finished second in the open class behind Fellipe Andrew. The 2021 Worlds took place in December in Anaheim, California. Batista submitted Ruan Oliveira with an armlock in the quarterfinal, and in the semifinal, according to Graciemag's report, he eliminated Leandro Lo, his former teacher, who was 32 and seven years older. He then closed out the final with Barbosa, and this time IBJJF lists Batista as the winner. At the 2022 Worlds Lo won the division himself. Batista finished third, losing his semifinal 3–0 to Isaque Bahiense, the man he had beaten in the King of Mats final, who scored his guard-pass points in the last two minutes. In 2023 he won the medium-heavyweight division at the Pans, ahead of Jansen Gomes Ramos, at the Brazilian Nationals, ahead of Matheus Spirandeli Souza, and at the Worlds, where his Atos teammate Andy Murasaki was second. Graciemag wrote that the world title meant he had taken over the medium-heavy crown that had belonged to his teacher Lo. He won again in 2024, submitting Jansen Gomes Ramos with a footlock in the final; IBJJF's recap said he had submitted three of his four opponents at the event. In November that year he was runner-up to Adam Wardziński at heavyweight in The Crown, an IBJJF event held at the Pyramid in Long Beach that paid 20,000 dollars to each champion and 5,000 to each runner-up. In 2025 he took bronze in the open class at the Pans. At the Worlds the order from the previous year's final was reversed: IBJJF lists Gomes Ramos first and Batista second in the medium-heavyweight division.

Sources for this profile

  • IBJJF, '2024 IBJJF Worlds Black Belt Results and Recap', published 06/05/24.(opens in a new tab)

    • Gustavo Espindola Batista of Atos Jiu-Jitsu placed first in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division at the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, with Jansen Gomes Ramos of CheckMat second.

      Where in the source: Full results list, block headed ADULT MALE BLACK MEDIUM HEAVY, rows 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

    • IBJJF's recap of the 2024 Worlds reports that Batista submitted three of his four opponents at the event.

      Where in the source: Recap paragraph naming the Atos athletes Luiza Monteiro and Gustavo Batista — 'three of four opponents'.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Athlete Results: Gustavo Batista (athlete page).(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's athlete page for Gustavo Batista lists him as a black belt.

      Where in the source: Athlete card under ATHLETE RESULTS, belt label beneath the team name: 'Black'.

      Accessed:

    • IBJJF's athlete ranking record lists him first at the 2024 World Championship and second at the 2025 World Championship in the adult black belt medium-heavy division, and third in the open class at the 2025 Pan Championship.

      Where in the source: Ranking panel Adult (expandable; read in page HTML): Medium Heavy rows '1st World IBJJF 2024' and '2nd World IBJJF 2025'; Open Class row '3rd Pan IBJJF 2025'.

      Accessed:

    • IBJJF's athlete page currently lists his team as Start Doing.

      Where in the source: Athlete card under ATHLETE RESULTS, line beneath the name: 'Start Doing'.

      Accessed:

  • FloGrappling (Michael Sears), 'Get To Know Gustavo Batista: Hotshot New Black Belt With A Win Over Xande', 21 March 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • Conflicting accounts

      FloGrappling’s 2018 profile says Batista grew up in Florianópolis, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on where he grew up, directly after his quote about Atos.

      Accessed:

    • He took up jiu-jitsu in 2012 at 16, following his older brother into the sport.

      Where in the source: Same paragraph, sentence on how he started — '16-year-old'.

      Accessed:

    • After early success in local tournaments he committed to training full-time and left his hometown to find an elite training environment.

      Where in the source: Paragraph after the one on where he grew up, on his decision to train full-time.

      Accessed:

    • In 2014 he moved to the Cicero Costha academy in São Paulo, joining other young prospects who lived in the academy and slept on its mats; he later moved into a fighter house with teammates.

      Where in the source: Paragraph after the first in-article photo caption — 'sleeping on its mats'.

      Accessed:

    • Batista told FloGrappling that being away from his family was hard at first, that the move made him evolve a lot, and that the training there was very strong and fully focused on competition.

      Where in the source: Quote following the Cicero Costha paragraph — 'evolve a lot'.

      Accessed:

    • In 2015, as a blue belt with the Cicero Costha team, he won both his weight class and the open class at the Worlds, the Pans, the Europeans and the Brazilian Nationals.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on his blue belt period — 'double grand slam'.

      Accessed:

    • When Leandro Lo left the Cicero Costha academy to form NS Brotherhood, Batista followed him, and he received the rest of his belt promotions from Lo.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on Lo leaving the academy — 'opted to follow him'.

      Accessed:

    • While still a brown belt he beat black belt world champion Xande Ribeiro 2–0 at a tournament in Argentina, holding off repeated submission attempts.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on his brown belt win in Argentina — 'Xande Ribeiro 2-0'.

      Accessed:

    • In early 2018 he moved from Leandro Lo's NS Brotherhood team to André Galvão's Atos team and relocated to San Diego.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on the switch of teams, early in the article body.

      Accessed:

    • Batista told FloGrappling that Atos was a great team with André Galvão as its leader, and that it gave him excellent training and new motivation.

      Where in the source: Quote after the paragraph on the switch — 'new motivation'.

      Accessed:

    • At the 2018 Pans in Irvine, California, his first major test as a black belt, he reached the final and closed out the division with his new Atos teammate Lucas Barbosa.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on the 2018 Pans in Irvine, third paragraph of the article body.

      Accessed:

    • In March 2018, early in his first year at black belt, Batista told FloGrappling he wanted to fight in all the biggest competitions and compete as much as possible that year against the best.

      Where in the source: Closing quote of the article — 'biggest competitions'.

      Accessed:

  • FloGrappling, 'Gustavo Batista And Luiza Monteiro Join Atos', 30 January 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • FloGrappling reported on 30 January 2018 that Batista and two-time black belt world champion Luiza Monteiro had left Leandro Lo's NS Brotherhood team to join André Galvão's San Diego-based Atos, announcing the move that Monday.

      Where in the source: First two paragraphs of the article — 'made the announcement Monday'.

      Accessed:

    • Batista told FloGrappling he chose to train with Galvão because he is a great leader whose work shows in results, and because of Atos's competition team, where many tough athletes chasing the same goals gave him motivation.

      Where in the source: Quoted passage in the third paragraph — 'great motivation'.

      Accessed:

    • According to FloGrappling, Batista said he left NS Brotherhood on good terms and kept a good relationship with his former mentor Leandro Lo.

      Where in the source: Paragraph after Monteiro's Instagram quote — 'on good terms'.

      Accessed:

    • FloGrappling noted that at medium-heavyweight he joined a division where Keenan Cornelius, Lucas 'Hulk' Barbosa and Galvão himself competed, and that as a newcomer he would be lower on the list if a final came to a closeout.

      Where in the source: Two closing analysis paragraphs — 'lower on the list'.

      Accessed:

  • FloGrappling (Hywel Teague), 'Leandro Lo And Brown Belt Student Gustavo Batista Win Quadruple Euro Gold', 24 January 2017.(opens in a new tab)

    • In January 2017 FloGrappling described Batista as Leandro Lo's student and a brown belt known by the nickname Braguinha.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph of the body — 'known by his nickname'.

      Accessed:

    • FloGrappling reported that he was promoted to brown belt shortly after the 2016 World Championship.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph of the body — 'promoted to brown belt'.

      Accessed:

    • At the 2017 European Championship in Lisbon he won both the brown belt medium-heavy and open class titles, beating the Norwegians Vegard Arentz Randeberg and Tommy Langaker in the respective finals, the third straight year he had won both divisions at the Europeans after doing so at blue belt in 2015 and purple belt in 2016.

      Where in the source: Third and fourth paragraphs of the body — 'third consecutive year'.

      Accessed:

  • FloGrappling, live updates and results, 2022 IBJJF World Championships finals.(opens in a new tab)

    • In the medium-heavy semifinal of the 2022 Worlds, Isaque Bahiense beat Batista 3–0, scoring his passing points in the final two minutes.

      Where in the source: Semifinals section, Medium Heavyweight entry — 'via score (3-0)'.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'See how brown-belt Gustavo “Braguinha” swept and beat Xande Ribeiro', 22 February 2017.(opens in a new tab)

    • Graciemag's February 2017 report refers to him as Gustavo 'Braguinha' Batista, an NS Brotherhood brown belt and a pupil of Leandro Lo.

      Where in the source: First two paragraphs of the report — 'A pupil of Leandro Lo'.

      Accessed:

    • At the Argentina National Pro in February 2017, the brown belt Batista was entered in the black belt open class, which was short on competitors, and beat absolute world champion Xande Ribeiro with a sweep worth two points.

      Where in the source: Second and third paragraphs of the report — 'short on fighters'.

      Accessed:

  • Atos Jiu-Jitsu HQ, 'Welcome to the Team Luiza and Gustavo!', 1 February 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • On 1 February 2018 Atos Jiu-Jitsu HQ welcomed Luiza Monteiro and Gustavo Batista to its team, with a photo caption noting that Batista had won double gold at the LA Open the previous weekend.

      Where in the source: Team blog post, heading and photo caption — 'Welcome to the Team'.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2015, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2015 World Championship list Gustavo Espindola Batista of PSLPB Cicero Costha first in both the adult male blue belt medium-heavy division and the blue belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Blue / Medium Heavy' and 'Male / Adult / Blue / Open Class', place 1.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2015, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2015 Pan Championship list him (PSLPB Cicero Costha) first in both the adult male blue belt medium-heavy division and the blue belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Blue / Medium Heavy' and 'Male / Adult / Blue / Open Class', place 1.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2015, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2015 European Championship list him (PSLPB Cicero Costha) first in both the adult male blue belt medium-heavy division and the blue belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Blue / Medium Heavy' and 'Male / Adult / Blue / Open Class', place 1.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2015, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2015 Campeonato Brasileiro (Brazilian Nationals) list him (PSLPB Cicero Costha) first in both the adult male blue belt medium-heavy division and the blue belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Blue / Medium Heavy' and 'Male / Adult / Blue / Open Class', place 1.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2016, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2016 European Championship list him, now with Ns Brotherhood, first in both the adult male purple belt heavy division and the purple belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Purple / Heavy' and 'Male / Adult / Purple / Open Class', place 1.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2016, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2016 World Championship list him (Ns Brotherhood) second in the adult male purple belt heavy division, behind Vinicius Ferreira Gazola.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Purple / Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2016, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2016 Campeonato Brasileiro list him (Ns Brotherhood) first in the adult male purple belt open class and second in the purple belt heavy division.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Purple / Open Class' place 1 and 'Male / Adult / Purple / Heavy' place 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2017, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2017 European Championship list him (Ns Brotherhood) first in both the adult male brown belt medium-heavy division and the brown belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Brown / Medium Heavy' and 'Male / Adult / Brown / Open Class', place 1.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2017, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2017 World Championship list him (Ns Brotherhood) second in the adult male brown belt medium-heavy division, behind Rudson Mateus Sarmento Teles.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Brown / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2018 Pan Championship list Lucas Daniel Silva Barbosa first and Batista second in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division, both for Atos Jiu-Jitsu.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2018 World Championship list Lucas Daniel Silva Barbosa first and Batista second in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division, both for Atos Jiu-Jitsu.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2019, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2019 European Championship list Batista (Atos Jiu-Jitsu) first in the adult male black belt open class, ahead of Lucas Alves Lepri, and second in the black belt heavy division behind his teammate Kaynan Casemiro Duarte.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Black / Open Class' places 1–2 and 'Male / Adult / Black / Heavy' places 1–2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2019, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2019 World Championship list him second in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division, behind Felipe Carsalade Araujo Pena of Gracie Barra.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2020, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2020 Pan Championship list him (Atos Jiu-Jitsu) first in the adult male black belt heavy division and second in the black belt open class, behind Fellipe Andrew Leandro Silva.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Black / Heavy' place 1 and 'Male / Adult / Black / Open Class' places 1–2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2021, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2021 Pan Championship list him first in the adult male black belt heavy division, ahead of Adam Piotr Wardzinski, and second in the black belt open class, again behind Fellipe Andrew Leandro Silva.

      Where in the source: Results blocks 'Male / Adult / Black / Heavy' places 1–2 and 'Male / Adult / Black / Open Class' places 1–2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2021, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2021 World Championship list Batista first in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division, with his Atos teammate Lucas Daniel Silva Barbosa second and André Luiz Novaes Porfirio and Leandro Lo Pereira do Nascimento third.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1, 2, 3, 3.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2022, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2022 World Championship list Leandro Lo Pereira do Nascimento (Ns Brotherhood) first in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division and Batista (Atos Jiu-Jitsu) among the two third places.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1, 2, 3, 3.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2023 Pan Championship list him (Atos Jiu-Jitsu) first in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division, ahead of Jansen Gomes Ramos.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu (Juvenil, Adulto e Master) 2023, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2023 Campeonato Brasileiro list him (Atos Jiu-Jitsu) first in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division, ahead of Matheus Spirandeli Souza.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2023 World Championship list Batista first in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division, with his Atos teammate Andy Tomas Murasaki Pereira second.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2025 Pan Championship list him (Atos Jiu-Jitsu) among the two third places in the adult male black belt open class.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Open Class', places 1, 2, 3, 3.

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025, results.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2025 World Championship list Jansen Gomes Ramos (CheckMat) first and Batista (Atos Jiu-Jitsu) second in the adult male black belt medium-heavy division.

      Where in the source: Results block 'Male / Adult / Black / Medium Heavy', places 1 and 2.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, '2018 Worlds: All champions defined', 3 June 2018.(opens in a new tab)

    • Graciemag's 2018 Worlds results report that Lucas 'Hulk' Barbosa and Gustavo 'Braguinha' Batista closed out the black belt medium-heavy final for Atos.

      Where in the source: Male black belt results list, MEDIUM HEAVY entry — 'closed it out'.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'Interview: Gustavo Batista and the consistency to win in Brazilian jiu-jitsu', 11 March 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • In a 2019 Graciemag interview Batista said he trained in his hometown until blue belt, realised he needed more competition-focused training, and moved to São Paulo, where he improved a great deal and became a black belt.

      Where in the source: Answer to the question about his move from Santa Catarina to São Paulo and the U.S. — 'blue-belt'.

      Accessed:

    • He said that taking the next step towards greater professionalisation brought criticism, financial difficulties, poor living conditions and a lack of sponsors, which he believed would be temporary, and that it had been worth it.

      Where in the source: Same answer, second half — 'lack of sponsors'.

      Accessed:

    • He told Graciemag that in moving from NS Brotherhood to Atos he was looking for more teamwork, support for his career and the vision of a teacher like André Galvão, in short greater professionalisation, and that he found it.

      Where in the source: Answer to the question about moving from NS Brotherhood to Atos — 'more teamwork'.

      Accessed:

    • He named Rodolfo Vieira as his inspiration from the start, along with André Galvão and Lucas Lepri as the three fighters he watched most on video, and said his top game somewhat resembled Lepri's.

      Where in the source: Answer on who inspires him when he fights — 'inspired by Rodolfo Vieira'.

      Accessed:

    • He beat Lucas Lepri 10–0 in the open class final of the 2019 Europeans; he said knowing Lepri's game from watching him helped, and that the decisive moment was the start, when he pulled guard and swept straight away to lead 2–0 and get on top.

      Where in the source: Two answers on the Euros open class final — 'beat Lepri 10-0'.

      Accessed:

    • Asked about the balance between his sweeps and his top pressure, he said he deliberately trains his weaker side, playing guard if he feels better on top and vice versa, because the difficult positions will come up in competition and working on flaws also increases motivation.

      Where in the source: Answer on balancing sweeps and top pressure — 'practice your difficulty'.

      Accessed:

    • In early 2019 he described his training at Atos as varied sessions with Galvão combining drills, specific training and plenty of sparring, plus jiu-jitsu-specific physical preparation three times a week, averaging four to five hours a day.

      Where in the source: Answer on his current training routine — 'five hours daily'.

      Accessed:

    • Recalling his time training with the Miyao brothers, he said they once trained so much that they fell ill, and that Paulo and João Miyao helped him improve a great deal and were examples as athletes and people.

      Where in the source: Answer to the question about training with the Miyaos — 'Paulo and João'.

      Accessed:

    • Asked about his losses at the purple and brown belt Worlds, he said the defeats kept his drive to improve, that the coloured belts are for gaining experience, and that early defeats should not shake a fighter because everything really matters at black belt.

      Where in the source: Final question and answer of the interview, on the purple and brown belt Worlds.

      Accessed:

    • Graciemag reported that he won the heavyweight division at the IBJJF's Los Angeles BJJ Pro in early 2019, beating Fellipe Trovo for a 4,000-dollar prize; he said he entered to stay active and for the prize money.

      Where in the source: Paragraph before the first question and his first answer, on the Los Angeles BJJ Pro.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'Gabi Pessanha e Preguiça assumem os tronos absolutos', 13 December 2021.(opens in a new tab)

    • Graciemag's report on the 2021 World Championship, held in December 2021 in Anaheim, California, says Batista took the medium-heavy gold by closing out the final with Lucas 'Hulk' Barbosa.

      Where in the source: Results section 'Meio-pesado', Final line — 'ao fechar com Lucas Hulk'.

      Accessed:

    • In the 2021 quarterfinals he submitted Ruan Oliveira with an armlock, while Leandro Lo beat Otavio Sousa on an advantage.

      Where in the source: Results section 'Meio-pesado', 'Quartas' list — 'finalizou Ruan Oliveira'.

      Accessed:

    • Graciemag's 2021 Worlds report says that Leandro Lo, aged 32, was eliminated in the medium-heavy semifinal by Batista, seven years his junior.

      Where in the source: Summary paragraph on the male divisions — 'Sete anos mais novo'.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag (Gabriel Almada), 'Mundial 2023: Victor Hugo e Gabi Pessanha conquistam o ouro duplo', 4 June 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • Conflicting accounts

      Graciemag reports that at the 2023 Worlds the Atos teammates Batista and Andy Murasaki did not close out the medium-heavy final, and that Batista won 4–2 after sweeping Murasaki twice.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on the medium-heavy division — 'não fecharam a final'.

      Accessed:

    • Graciemag wrote that with the 2023 title Batista took over the medium-heavy crown that had belonged to his teacher Leandro Lo, the division's 2022 world champion.

      Where in the source: Same paragraph, last sentence — 'trono que pertencia ao seu professor'.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'Mundial 2024: Gabi mantém reinado; Erich Munis vence em sua 3ª final de absoluto', 2 June 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • Graciemag reports that Batista won the 2024 medium-heavy world final by submitting Jansen Gomes with a footlock.

      Where in the source: Male black belt finals list, 'Meio-pesado' line — 'chave de pé'.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'King of Mats: Gustavo Batista tops middleweight bracket after intense battles', 15 September 2019 (marked as PR).(opens in a new tab)

    • A 2019 Graciemag report on the Abu Dhabi King of Mats refers to him as Brazil's Gustavo Batista.

      Where in the source: First paragraph of the report — 'Brazil’s Gustavo Batista'.

      Accessed:

    • On 14 September 2019 in Azusa, California, he won the middleweight bracket of the Abu Dhabi King of Mats in five matches, two by submission, beating Isaque Bahiense 2–0 in the final with an early sweep, which earned him a shot at the division belt; he said afterwards, 'I want that belt!'

      Where in the source: First paragraph and FINAL section of the report — 'I want that belt'.

      Accessed:

    • In the group stage of that King of Mats bracket he beat Norway's Tommy Langaker 1–0 on advantages and finished Max Lindblad of Sweden with a bow and arrow choke in the semifinal.

      Where in the source: GROUP STAGE, Round 2, Group A, and SEMIFINALS sections of the report.

      Accessed:

  • Graciemag, 'The Crown: Adam, Erich e Gabi confirmam favoritismo', 18 November 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • At IBJJF's The Crown on 17 November 2024 at the Pyramid in Long Beach, he was runner-up to Adam Wardziński in the heavyweight division of the event, which paid 20,000 dollars to each champion and 5,000 to each runner-up.

      Where in the source: Results list headed with the event name and date, block 'Pesado' (listed second, after Wardzinski); prize money in the paragraph introducing the results.

      Accessed:

  • Atos Jiu-Jitsu HQ, 'Europeans 2019 Results', 24 January 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • Atos Jiu-Jitsu HQ's results post for the 2019 Europeans lists Gustavo Espindola Batista as second in his division by closeout and first in the open class.

      Where in the source: Team results list, adult black belt entries — '2nd Division (close out)'.

      Accessed:

  • Atos Jiu-Jitsu HQ, 'Atos Jiu-Jitsu Dominates the 2023 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship with a Stellar Performance', 7 June 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • Atos wrote that in the 2023 season Batista won the Worlds, the Brasileiro and the Pans.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on Gustavo Batista in the team's Worlds 2023 post — 'Worlds, Brasileiros, and Pan'.

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      Atos wrote that at the 2023 Worlds he closed out the medium-heavy bracket with his teammate Andy Murasaki.

      Where in the source: Same paragraph — 'closing out the bracket'.

      Accessed:

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