João Assis is an accomplished grappler having won important titles in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu, including the ADCC and World No-Gi Championship. A Checkmat black belt under Leonardo Vieira João turned a few heads his way for the first time on June 2010, after his submission wins over Jeff Monson, (a 2x ADCC Champion who had not been tapped in competition for over 10 years) at UFC 114's Fan Expo (Grapplers Quest).