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

Lucio Linhares

“The Spartan”

Source: ufc.com

Brazilian black belt Lucio Linhares went from resenting jiu-jitsu as a kung fu student to teaching in Finland and fighting in the UFC.

Biography

Lucio Linhares is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Espírito Santo who built a fighting career in Finland and reached the UFC in his mid-thirties. Known as The Spartan, he fought in the Octagon in 2009 and 2010. By his own account, he came to jiu-jitsu as a skeptic. As a young man in Espírito Santo he trained kung fu and resented the art that was then spreading through his state, to the point of hoping a friend would beat Leandro Borgo in a match. Around 1994, at about 20, he went to watch a class, saw one man choke another from the guard, and decided that this was what he wanted to do. He names Eduardo Jamelão (Eduardo Conceição) as his master, and counts him among the pioneers of the period when jiu-jitsu was spreading through the state. Linhares has said that Jamelão's best years came while he was teaching in Vitória and had no other top black belts to train with, only Linhares and a group of stubborn blue and purple belts. When Linhares turned to MMA, he said, the two of them prepared for it together. In a 2012 interview he listed his own jiu-jitsu results as a third place at the world championships, a spot on the Brazilian team and many state titles. His MMA debut came at about 30, in a tournament with two fights in one night at up to 88 kg. He won his first bout and lost the final to Thales Leites. He had begun teaching seminars in Finland in 2001, which led him to settle there; a planned fight at FinnFight in 2002 fell through when he hurt his knee. He has said his Finnish students and friends who promoted events motivated him to pursue MMA, and that his early wins there relied so much on jiu-jitsu that crowds did not enjoy them, so he worked on his striking. On 26 November 2008 he stopped Karl Amoussou in the first round at M-1 Challenge 10 in Finland. The nickname, he explained, started as a joke after a drunk man in a bar took him for a Turk. A teenage student said he looked like King Leonidas in the film 300 (UFC.com linked the name to the beard he wore against the cold), and the name stuck once a reporter wrote that he looked like he had come out of that film when he fought at Fight Festival in 2007. In Brazil he had been known as Tio Lúcio, because he taught children. By the time he reached the UFC he had fought in countries including Finland, Russia, Spain, Brazil and the United States. He made his debut at UFC 107 on 12 December 2009 and lost to Rousimar Palhares by second-round submission. He said the loss showed him his weaknesses and that he ran out of energy. For his next camp he dropped seminars and jiu-jitsu classes to focus on fighting, and spent longer than usual in his home city of Vitória, where he trained boxing with Cuban coach Robson Vidal. On 31 March 2010, by then described by UFC.com as fighting out of Helsinki, he lost to Yushin Okami by doctor's stoppage in the second round. Speaking in 2012, he summed up his path as jiu-jitsu learned in Brazil and MMA learned in Finland, and described himself as a caring coach who is driven by seeing his students do well.

Sources for this profile

  • BJJ Eastern Europe, interview with Lucio Linhares, published 10 Oct 2012(opens in a new tab)

    • In a 2012 interview Lucio Linhares, then 38, said he was born in Minas Gerais and lived in Vitória, and described himself as a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Question 1 answer: place of birth and residence; belt as he describes it. Anchor: "born in Minas Gerais"

      Accessed:

    • Linhares described Jamelão's peak as the years he taught in Vitória with no other high-level black belts to train with, only Linhares and other blue and purple belts, whom he called hard heads.

      Where in the source: Question 4 answer about training under Jamelão (own description, no verbatim anchor)

      Accessed:

    • He said his competition record in jiu-jitsu included a third place at the world championships, a place on the Brazilian team and many state titles.

      Where in the source: Question 1 answer on his competition record. Anchor: "3rd in the worlds"

      Accessed:

    • He said his early MMA wins in Finland were heavy on jiu-jitsu and not much striking, which crowds did not enjoy, so he worked on his stand-up; he described learning jiu-jitsu in Brazil and MMA in Finland, and described himself as a caring coach who is motivated by seeing students excel.

      Where in the source: Q7 answer on early Finnish fights; Q6 answer on where he learned; Q8 coaching style. Anchor: "mma in finland"

      Accessed:

  • UFC.com, profile of Lucio Linhares by Martins Denis, 9 Dec 2009(opens in a new tab)

    • Linhares is Brazilian; UFC.com's December 2009 profile, written for his UFC debut, introduces him as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and says he turned 36 on 8 December.

      Where in the source: Profile text on belt and age. Anchor: "faixa preta"

      Accessed:

    • Linhares was born in 1973.

      Where in the source: Profile text giving his age on 8 December, article dated 9 Dec 2009

      Accessed:

    • Linhares nationality is Brazilian.

      Where in the source: Profile text introducing him by nationality. Anchor: "este brasileiro"

      Accessed:

    • As a young man in Espírito Santo he trained kung fu and disliked the jiu-jitsu that was arriving in his state, even hoping a friend would beat Leandro Borgo in a match; at about 20 he watched a jiu-jitsu class, saw a choke from guard and decided that was what he wanted. He dates that to 1994.

      Where in the source: Profile passage on his first jiu-jitsu class. Anchors: "treinava kung fu"; "ano de 1994"

      Accessed:

    • Linhares names Eduardo Jamelão (Eduardo Conceição) as his master. In the passage about jiu-jitsu spreading in his state he spoke of pioneers such as Fábio, Romero Cavalcanti, Jamelão and Leandro Borgo, and he says that when he decided to fight MMA he prepared for it together with Jamelão.

      Where in the source: Profile passage on the pioneers and on his decision to fight. Anchor: "meu mestre Jamelão"

      Accessed:

    • He began teaching seminars in Finland in 2001, which led to his decision to live there; he planned a first MMA fight at FinnFight in 2002 but injured his knee, and he says his students fighting and friends promoting MMA events motivated him to start an MMA career.

      Where in the source: Profile passage on Finland and FinnFight. Anchor: "FinnFight"

      Accessed:

    • He made his MMA debut around age 30 in a tournament of two fights in one night at up to 88 kg, winning his first fight and losing the final to Thales Leites. He said the event showed him he liked fighting even more than jiu-jitsu, and that he regretted not debuting earlier because his development would have been better.

      Where in the source: Profile passage on his MMA debut. Anchor: "duas lutas na noite"

      Accessed:

    • His nickname The Spartan began as a joke after a drunk man called him a Turk in a bar; a teenage student said he looked like King Leonidas in the film 300, and the article links the name to the beard he wore against the cold. The name stuck after a reporter wrote that he looked like he came from the film when he fought at Fight Festival in 2007. In Brazil he had been called Tio Lúcio because he taught children.

      Where in the source: Profile passage on the nickname. Anchor: "chamou de turco"

      Accessed:

  • UFC.com profile of Lucio Linhares by Martins Denis, 30 Mar 2010(opens in a new tab)

    • Before his UFC debut he had fought in countries including Finland, Russia, Spain, Brazil and the United States, and a 30 March 2010 UFC.com profile describes him as fighting out of Helsinki.

      Where in the source: Profile (30 Mar 2010), passage on his experience and closing paragraph. Anchor: "lutando por Helsinki"

      Accessed:

    • After losing his UFC debut to Rousimar Palhares, Linhares said the defeat showed him his flaws and that he ran out of energy. The profile says he then stopped seminars and jiu-jitsu classes to focus on fighting, and spent longer than usual in his home city Vitória (he says he normally stays there in summer and winter), where he trained boxing with Cuban coach Robson Vidal.

      Where in the source: Profile passages on the Palhares loss and the camp in Brazil. Anchors: "fiquei sem gás"; "boxe com o técnico cubano"

      Accessed:

  • ESPN, Lucio Linhares MMA fight history(opens in a new tab)

    • ESPN's fight history lists UFC fights with a second-round submission loss to Rousimar Palhares at UFC 107 on 12 December 2009, and a second-round doctor-stoppage TKO loss to Yushin Okami at UFC Fight Night on 31 March 2010.

      Where in the source: Fight History table, rows for the UFC 107 and UFC Fight Night events (Dec 2009 and Mar 2010)

      Accessed:

    • In Finland he beat Karl Amoussou by first-round TKO at M-1 Challenge 10 on 26 November 2008.

      Where in the source: Fight History table, row for M-1 Challenge 10: Finland, 26 Nov 2008

      Accessed:

Lineage

No teaching connections are shown on this page.

Open lineage