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Two training partners meeting on the mat.Drawn in cream, forest green, and muted terracotta. People and objects are symbolic illustrations.
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Walter Broca

“Broca”

Source: sherdog.com

Belém black belt of the De La Riva line who reached a brown-belt world final in 2000 and later worked on Lyoto Machida's ground game, by Machida's own account.

Biography

Walter Pinto da Silva Jr., known on the mats as Walter "Broca", is a jiu-jitsu black belt from Belém, in the northern Brazilian state of Pará. He competed at the World Championship in 2000 and 2001 and later fought as a heavyweight in regional MMA. In 2010 the UFC fighter Lyoto Machida named him as the man working on his ground game. He leads Broca Fight Team, which the AJP Tour club directory describes as a school run by a fifth-degree black belt. His place in the lineage is told in two ways. A Portuguese-language article on Ricardo De La Riva counts Broca among the renowned black belts named as De La Riva's main students once he had formed his own team, in the same list as the Nogueira brothers, Helvecio Penna and Claudia Do Val, and Sherdog noted in 2010 that he had once trained alongside Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. The lineage published by his own student Valmyr Neto runs differently, from De La Riva through Alexey Cruz to Broca. The report from the 2000 World Championship also lists Broca as a brown belt on Alexey Cruz's team. Neither version says who promoted him to black belt. At that 2000 championship, the fifth edition of the event, Broca reached a brown-belt final and lost a very close match to Carlos Alberto Santos of Carlson Gracie's team; the Portal do Vale Tudo report still singled him out as a standout from Pará. A year later, in the preliminary rounds of the open class at the 2001 World Championship, "Pé de Pano" submitted him with a kata gatami, a choke that traps the head and one arm. When Sherdog wrote about him in 2010, it called him a decorated jiu-jitsu champion, without naming titles. Between April 2006 and June 2008 he fought eight professional MMA bouts, most of them at Midway Fight events. Sherdog lists him as a heavyweight at about 120 kilograms. He won six, every one by submission and several with the kimura or keylock, shoulder locks applied by twisting the bent arm. Both of his losses came by technical knockout from punches. The Machida connection is documented from both sides. In March 2010, preparing for his rematch with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, Machida told GRACIEMAG that his father was helping him with technique and Broca with his ground game. Two months later, before the fight at UFC 113, Sherdog introduced Broca as Machida's jiu-jitsu coach and reported that Machida holds a black belt under him. Broca said he trained with Machida every day, rated him better than Rua on the ground, and thought Machida would rank among the best if he ever entered a world jiu-jitsu championship. His teaching can be followed through two students. Valmyr Neto, also from Belém, started under Marcus Norat and moved to Broca after earning his blue belt. From then on every promotion came from Broca, up to Neto's black belt in October 2006; in 2008 Neto moved to England and became a jiu-jitsu coach there. A student who took one of Broca's classes in October 2009 wrote it up on his training blog. Broca showed an escape from half guard, then used the same movement to set up an omoplata or a gogoplata, two submissions attacked from the bottom with the legs. In the hour of sparring that followed, the roughly 120-kilogram teacher kept working deep half guard sweeps, and to the writer he seemed to use almost no strength. Introducing a December 2024 interview, the podcast PODCAST D'OAMAZÔNICO described him as a jiu-jitsu reference in Brazil who could have opened academies anywhere in the world, but chose to live in Belém and develop his students there, while also advising top athletes from other martial arts.

Sources for this profile

  • Sherdog, fighter profile: Walter "Broca" Pinto da Silva Jr.(opens in a new tab)

    • Walter Broca's full name is Walter Pinto da Silva Jr.; "Broca" is his nickname.

      Where in the source: Fighter header block at top of profile, name line followed by the nickname in quotes

      Accessed:

    • Sherdog lists him from Belem, Para, Brazil, fighting at heavyweight (listed at 265 lb / 120.2 kg) for the Broca Fight Team association.

      Where in the source: Fighter header block — BELEM, PARA; ASSOCIATION BROCA FIGHT TEAM; CLASS HEAVYWEIGHT

      Accessed:

    • His professional MMA record on Sherdog is six wins and two losses, fought between April 2006 and June 2008, mostly at Midway Fight events; all six wins came by submission (several by kimura or keylock) and both losses by TKO from punches.

      Where in the source: FIGHT HISTORY - PRO table, eight rows from Apr 06 2006 (MVS - Macapa vs. Santana) to Jun 26 2008 (MF - Midway Fight)

      Accessed:

  • Marcelo Alonso, "BJJ Coach: Machida 'Better than Shogun on the Ground'", Sherdog, 7 May 2010(opens in a new tab)

    • In May 2010 Sherdog identified Walter Broca as the jiu-jitsu coach of Lyoto Machida, noted that he had once trained with Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, and reported that Machida holds a black belt under Broca.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph of the article, opening "Walter Broca, Machida's jiu-jitsu coach"

      Accessed:

    • Ahead of the UFC 113 rematch between Machida and Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua, Broca told Sherdog that he trained with Machida every day and believed Machida was better than Rua on the ground and would be among the top competitors if he entered a world jiu-jitsu championship.

      Where in the source: Third paragraph, Broca quote beginning "I train with him every day"

      Accessed:

    • Sherdog's 2010 article described Broca as a decorated jiu-jitsu champion without naming any titles.

      Where in the source: Second paragraph, sentence on Machida's black belt — phrase "decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion"

      Accessed:

  • GRACIEMAG, "Machida explains his preparations for Shogun", 4 March 2010 (republished on the Senso Jiu Jitsu blog)(opens in a new tab)

    • In a March 2010 interview before his rematch with Rua, Lyoto Machida said his father was helping him with technique and Walter Broca with his ground game.

      Where in the source: Machida's answer to the question about preparation, sentence naming his father and "Walter Broca with my ground game"

      Accessed:

  • Portal do Vale Tudo, Baú do Alonso archive: "5º Mundial: BJ Penn conquista o primeiro ouro do Jiu-Jitsu americano", text by Luciano Andrade and Marcelo Alonso(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2000 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (the fifth edition), competing as a brown belt for Alexey Cruz's team, Broca reached a final and lost a very close match to Carlos Alberto Santos of Carlson Gracie's team; the report called him a standout from Para who also fought very well.

      Where in the source: Brown-belt section after the heading on 'Pé de Pano', paragraph beginning "Destaque também para Carlos Alberto Santos" — anchor "o fenômeno paraense Walter 'Broca' (Alexey Cruz)"

      Accessed:

  • Portal do Vale Tudo, Baú do Alonso archive: "6º Mundial: Margarida finaliza Saulo, fatura dois ouros e vira o novo rei do Jiu-Jitsu", text by Luciano Andrade and Marcelo Alonso(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2001 World Championship, in the black-belt open-class eliminations, Broca was submitted by 'Pé de Pano' with a kata gatami.

      Where in the source: Section headed "2X CORLETA X PÉ DE PANO", first sentence — anchor "Após finalizar Walter Broca com um kata gatami"

      Accessed:

  • Alchemy Martial Arts (Ramsgate), coach profile: Valymr Neto(opens in a new tab)

    • Valmyr Neto, from Belem, moved from his first instructor Marcus Norat to train under Walter 'Broca' after his blue belt, received every later belt from Broca including his black belt in October 2006, and in 2008 moved to England where he became a jiu-jitsu coach.

      Where in the source: Coach biography, second paragraph beginning "Starting in 1998" and third paragraph beginning "In 2008"

      Accessed:

    • Conflicting accounts

      Valmyr Neto's published lineage runs Carlson Gracie to Ricardo De La Riva to Alexey Cruz to Walter Broca, placing Alexey Cruz between De La Riva and Broca.

      Where in the source: Line labelled "Lineage:" below the biography, segment ">Alexey Cruz > Walter Broca"

      Accessed:

  • BJJ Fanatics Brasil blog, "Ricardo De La Riva" (undated)(opens in a new tab)

    • Conflicting accounts

      A Portuguese-language article on Ricardo De La Riva names Walter 'Broca' among the renowned black belts counted as De La Riva's main students after De La Riva formed his own team, alongside the Nogueira brothers, Helvecio Penna and Claudia Do Val.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning "Após muitos anos junto de Carlson" — anchor "Walter 'Broca', Helvecio Penna"

      Accessed:

  • Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro (AJP Tour), club page: Broca Fight Team(opens in a new tab)

    • Walter Broca is the person in charge of Broca Fight Team, which its AJP Tour club page describes as a jiu-jitsu school led by fifth-degree black belt Walter Broca.

      Where in the source: Club page 'Broca Fight Team', section "About Broca Fight Team" — anchor "Faix preta 5to grau Walter Broca"

      Accessed:

    • The AJP Tour club page gives Walter Broca's rank as a fifth-degree black belt.

      Where in the source: Club page 'Broca Fight Team', section "About Broca Fight Team" — same line as c13

      Accessed:

  • Micah, "Training with Master 'Broca'", Jiu-Jitsu Ronin blog, 16 October 2009(opens in a new tab)

    • A student's training blog recorded Broca teaching a class in October 2009: he taught a half-guard escape and then used the same movement to set up an omoplata or gogoplata, followed by about an hour of sparring, during which the roughly 120 kg Broca worked deep half-guard sweeps and, in the writer's view, used almost no strength.

      Where in the source: Post of 16 October 2009, paragraphs after the list of credentials — anchors "an escape from half guard" and "deep half guard sweeps"

      Accessed:

  • PODCAST D'OAMAZÔNICO, "Walter Broca - PODCAST D'OAMAZÔNICO #03 T2", YouTube, 12 December 2024 (episode description)(opens in a new tab)

    • The podcast PODCAST D'OAMAZÔNICO, introducing a December 2024 interview with him, described Walter Broca as a jiu-jitsu reference in Brazil who could have opened academies worldwide but chose to live in Belem and train his students there, and who advises and supports top athletes from other martial arts.

      Where in the source: Video description under the episode 'Walter Broca - PODCAST D'OAMAZÔNICO #03 T2' — anchor "ele escolheu viver em Belém onde forma seus alunos"

      Accessed:

Lineage

View in lineage tree

Students1