Skip to content
The BJJ Story
Search
Back to people
Two training partners meeting on the mat.Drawn in cream, forest green, and muted terracotta. People and objects are symbolic illustrations.
Portrait unavailable. General BJJ illustration; not a likeness of this person.Illustration: The BJJ Story

Leonardo Vieira

Leo Vieira won ADCC gold in 2003 and 2005 before co-founding Checkmat with his brothers and becoming a coach and team leader.

Biography

Leonardo “Leo” Vieira’s path in Brazilian jiu-jitsu began at age six, when he started training at Academia Master under Romero Cavalcanti. Cavalcanti awarded him his black belt at 21, after Vieira won the inaugural World Championship as a brown belt in 1996. Those early years established the teacher-student relationship at the beginning of a career that would eventually extend well beyond Vieira’s own competition record. Competition nevertheless provided two of its clearest landmarks. The official ADCC results name Vieira as the -66 kg gold medalist in 2003 and again in 2005. The two results placed Vieira at the top of the -66 kg division twice in three years. In 2008, Vieira and his brothers founded Checkmat in search of greater autonomy. The IBJJF has since described him as a founder alongside his brothers, a World, Pan, and Brasileiro champion, and a leader of Checkmat’s 2021 World Champion team. BJJ Heroes also credits his coaching with the development of Marcus Almeida “Buchecha,” Lucas Leite, and João Assis. Together, the sources identify Vieira as a Checkmat founder, coach, and team leader. In its 2026 seminar schedule, the IBJJF listed Vieira among CheckMat’s instructors and said he had decades of experience molding young champions.

Sources for this profile

Competition results

Recorded tournament results, newest first
YearEventResultDivision
2003ADCC 2003Source: adcombat.com-66 kgNo-giVerified1st place-66 kgNo-giVerified

Lineage

View in lineage tree

Trained under

Students17