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Sérgio Lisboa

Sérgio Lisboa brought Osvaldo Alves's lineage to the Paraíba Valley, promoted his first three black belts, and formalized Liga Jiu-Jitsu.

Biography

Sérgio Luis Almeida Lisboa helped carry Osvaldo Alves's Rio de Janeiro lineage into São José dos Campos and the wider Paraíba Valley. In the early 1990s, he taught through a succession of clubs and academies as the regional work that became Liga Jiu-Jitsu took shape. Gustavo “Guga” Machado Pinto remembers his own introduction clearly. In 1992, at age twelve, he attended a self-defense seminar led by Lisboa and decided to pursue jiu-jitsu. Pinto also trained with both Lisboa and Alves and recalled a drilling-heavy environment shaped by Alves's judo background. Erivaldo Junior says the regional work began with Lisboa. In 1998, Junior began teaching with Flavio Gambin and Gustavo Pinto, and he described the group as a base for judo and jiu-jitsu teams in the region. In 2003, Lisboa promoted Junior, Pinto and Gambin as his first three black belts, and the group formally took the name Liga Jiu-Jitsu. The documented lineage runs from Alves through Lisboa to Erivaldo Junior, then through Claudio Calasans to Alexandre de Jesus. The team's work also had a concrete community dimension. In April 2010, a post from the Sergio Lisboa team's Projeto SuperAção documented instructors working with a public-school family program. They used an adapted submission-wrestling activity designed to support social integration, psychomotor development and mutual respect, alongside a community event for participating children and adolescents. A separate July 2010 post announced plans for another Liga Jiu-Jitsu and Projeto SuperAção unit in Ubatuba, proposing jiu-jitsu, striking and wrestling classes under Lisboa and local instructors. Lisboa's 2013 book on jiu-jitsu in São José dos Campos documented that local history and recorded his rank at the time as a sixth-degree black belt recognized through the CBJJ. In a 2019 interview, Sergio Castro called Lisboa one of the Paraíba Valley's pioneers and said Lisboa had moved from Rio to São José dos Campos and introduced him to jiu-jitsu. A June 2026 report described Lisboa as a coral belt, without assigning him a numeric degree, when he helped present Luiz Carlos Dagmar's red belt.

Sources for this profile

  • Sérgio Lisboa, local jiu-jitsu history (2013), public Scribd copy.(opens in a new tab)

    • A 2013 book presented as Sergio Lisboa's own history identifies him as Sergio Luis Almeida Lisboa.

      Where in the source: Title leaf and author name, before p. 2.

      Accessed:

    • The book identifies Lisboa as a sixth-degree black belt recognized through the CBJJ in 2013, formed by Osvaldo Alves in Rio de Janeiro, and co-founder of Liga Jiu-Jitsu with his first three black belts.

      Where in the source: Author credentials, p. 3 — CBJJ.

      Accessed:

    • Lisboa's book labels the beginning of his Sao Jose dos Campos jiu-jitsu history as 1992 and lists a sequence of clubs and academies where he taught.

      Where in the source: Local-history part 1, pp. 13–14 — O início foi em 1992.

      Accessed:

    • Lisboa writes that he created Liga Jiu-Jitsu in 2003 when he promoted Erivaldo Junior, Gustavo Machado Pinto and Flavio Gambin as his first three black belts.

      Where in the source: Local-history part 2, pp. 14–15 — 2003.

      Accessed:

  • MEON, Liga Jiu-Jitsu reune os principais atletas da regiao ha 23 anos.(opens in a new tab)

    • A 2014 regional report says Lisboa, formed by Osvaldo Alves, began the work that became Liga Jiu-Jitsu in the Paraiba Valley in 1991; it dates the formal Liga name and the first three local black belts to 2003.

      Where in the source: Opening history paragraph and Junior interview — Na prática.

      Accessed:

    • The report quotes Erivaldo Junior saying the regional work began with Sergio Lisboa and that Junior started teaching with Flavio Gambin and Gustavo Pinto in 1998; it also describes Liga as a base for judo and jiu-jitsu teams in the region.

      Where in the source: Erivaldo Junior quotation beginning Tudo comecou com o Sergio Lisboa.

      Accessed:

  • Gracie Barra Brasil, interview with Gustavo Guga Machado Pinto.(opens in a new tab)

    • Gustavo Guga Machado Pinto says he trained in Brazil with both Osvaldo Alves and Sergio Lisboa and recalls a drilling culture influenced by Alves's judo background.

      Where in the source: O sistema de exercícios práticos — training origins, first answer.

      Accessed:

    • Gustavo Guga Machado Pinto says his introduction to jiu-jitsu came in 1992, at age twelve, through a self-defence seminar led by Sergio Lisboa; he recalls that the seminar made him decide to pursue the art.

      Where in the source: Instructor profile, opening biography paragraphs before O sistema de exercícios práticos.

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Heroes, Alexandre de Jesus profile.(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes publishes the lineage Osvaldo Alves to Sergio Lisboa to Erivaldo Junior to Claudio Calasans to Alexandre de Jesus.

      Where in the source: Alexandre Jesus Jiu-Jitsu — Lineage.

      Accessed:

  • Tatame via R7, interview with Sergio Castro, 30 November 2019.(opens in a new tab)

    • In a 2019 Tatame interview, Sergio Castro calls Lisboa one of the Paraiba Valley's jiu-jitsu pioneers, says Lisboa moved from Rio to Sao Jose dos Campos and introduced Castro to jiu-jitsu.

      Where in the source: Castrinho interview, first complete answer — Um dos pioneiros.

      Accessed:

  • Informa Life, Mestre Careca recebe a faixa-vermelha 9o grau.(opens in a new tab)

    • A June 2026 report describes Sergio Lisboa as a coral belt and a fellow pioneer in the Paraiba Valley when he helped present Luiz Carlos Dagmar's red belt.

      Where in the source: Ceremony report, belt presenters paragraph — também faixa coral.

      Accessed:

  • CT Ubatuba, Mais uma unidade no Ipiranguinha.(opens in a new tab)

    • A July 2010 project post announced plans for another Sergio Lisboa Liga Jiu-Jitsu and Projeto Superacao unit in Ubatuba, with proposed jiu-jitsu, striking and wrestling classes under Lisboa and local instructors.

      Where in the source: Post Mais uma unidade no Ipiranguinha, dated 13 July 2010.

      Accessed:

  • CT Ubatuba, Páscoa!!!!, April 12, 2010.(opens in a new tab)

    • An April 2010 CT Ubatuba post documents the Sergio Lisboa team's Projeto SuperAcao working with a public-school family program: instructors used an adapted submission-wrestling activity designed for social integration, psychomotor development and mutual respect, alongside a community event for participating children and adolescents.

      Where in the source: Páscoa!!!!, April 12, 2010 — program description, activity rules and instructors.

      Accessed:

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