Valmyr Neto
“Mamulengo”
Source: bjjheroes.comValmyr Neto turned a teaching opportunity in Kent into a career developing students and building links between academies.
Biography
Sources for this profile
Valmyr Neto — original bh(opens in a new tab)
Valmyr Neto’s full name is Valmyr Mattos Pereira Neto.
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He was born on17December1983 in Belém, Pará.
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He is also known as Mamulengo.
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Marcus Norat was his first jiu-jitsu instructor and awarded his yellow and blue belts.
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Walter Broca subsequently guided his training and awarded his black belt inOctober2006.
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Rodrigo Cabral invited him to England in2008, where an opportunity to teach in Swanley turned the visit into a coaching career.
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A contact in Swanley introduced him to Dhell, who invited him to lead jiu-jitsu at DFC in Gravesend.
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Valmyr Neto — original blitz(opens in a new tab)
Watching rented Royce Gracie tapes with his father inspired Neto, a smaller athlete, to try jiu-jitsu.
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He recalled visiting Helio Gracie and sharing the mats in2003.
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He treasured a British Open performance because his whole group of students attended.
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He identified guard work as his strength and takedowns as an area to improve.
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He described weekdays combining training and teaching, with weekend travel for classes, seminars and competition.
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His ambition was to develop black belts and a wider VN Team built around shared knowledge.
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He urged students to practise unfamiliar positions and keep learning beyond class.
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He said developing champions satisfied him more than winning himself.
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He had tried MMA partly to gain experience for his students, but prioritised teaching over pursuing the UFC.
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He felt fight preparation would limit his teaching time, and judged the pay after three months of preparation poorer than one month of his usual teaching work.
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Teaching students and training with other black belts were both ways he continued to learn.
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Valmyr Neto — original euro2016(opens in a new tab)
He won male Master1 black-belt featherweight at the2016European No-Gi Championship.
Where in the source: MALE / MASTER1 / BLACK / FEATHER67.50KG
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Valmyr Neto — original london2018(opens in a new tab)
He won adult black-belt light-featherweight at the2018London Fall Open.
Where in the source: MALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHTFEATHER64KG
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Valmyr Neto — original british2019(opens in a new tab)
He won adult black-belt featherweight at the2019British No-Gi Nationals.
Where in the source: MALE / ADULT / BLACK / FEATHER67.50KG
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Valmyr Neto — original pan2025(opens in a new tab)
He won male Master3 black-belt light-featherweight at the2025Pans.
Where in the source: MALE / MASTER3 / BLACK / LIGHTFEATHER141.60LB
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Valmyr Neto — original london2025(opens in a new tab)
At the2025London Fall Open he won Master3 black-belt featherweight and open class.
Where in the source: MALE / MASTER3 / BLACK / FEATHER70KG and OPENCLASS
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Valmyr Neto — original teague(opens in a new tab)
Sam Teague credited Neto as the strongest influence on his development as a grappler and person.
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Valmyr Neto — original blackstone(opens in a new tab)
Blackstone Grappling identifies head coach Moogie Hayat as a black belt under Neto.
Where in the source: OurCoaches / MoogieHayat
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Valmyr Neto — original studio(opens in a new tab)
Rômulo Gonçalves received his black belt from Neto in2014.
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Neto, Rômulo Gonçalves and Danny Dhell developed Studio BJJ after Neto’s March2022seminar in Jacareí.
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They chose a new academy identity to unite VN Team and Novo Templo, with an ambition to expand the concept.
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Valmyr Neto — original romulo(opens in a new tab)
A2025Life Informa profile reports that Rômulo began training at Neto’s invitation and later became his academy partner.
Where in the source: GabrielaCobianchi23June2025,third substantive paragraph
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Valmyr Neto — original studioUK(opens in a new tab)
Studio Martial Arts lists Neto teaching BJJ and no-gi classes.
Where in the source: Yourcorner / ValmyrNeto; class descriptions
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Valmyr Neto — original orpington(opens in a new tab)
Checkmat Orpington identifies VN Team’s headquarters at Studio Martial Arts in Gravesend, where its students travel for gradings.
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His VN Team is based in Gravesend, Kent.
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Checkmat Orpington describes Neto as a fifth-degree black belt.
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Valmyr Neto — original stone(opens in a new tab)
Stone Fight Academy names Neto and John Grainge as instructors for its Brazilian jiu-jitsu classes in Welling.
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