Creator credit recorded on the linked source page: Albertomarchetti78 · Public domain (released into the public domain by the author)
Wilson Reis
Wilson Reis took his jiu-jitsu from teaching in Philadelphia to an EliteXC title and a UFC flyweight challenge against Demetrious Johnson.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, 'Wilson Reis' fighter profile(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes gives Wilson Reis's full name as Wilson Reis Mont Alto Gonçalves.
Where in the source: Info block at the top of the profile, full-name line
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Wilson Reis was born on January 6, 1985, in Januária, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Where in the source: Biography section, first paragraph, opening clause
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According to BJJ Heroes, Reis moved to São Paulo as a small child and grew up there.
Where in the source: Biography section, first paragraph — 'as a toddler'
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BJJ Heroes says Reis began martial arts at age 10 with kickboxing, drawn in by Jean-Claude Van Damme and Bruce Lee films, and a few months later also took up judo.
Where in the source: Biography section, second paragraph (kickboxing, then judo)
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BJJ Heroes says Reis preferred groundwork in judo and added jiu-jitsu to his training at age 13, under coach Ernesto Luciano Bandeira.
Where in the source: Biography section, third paragraph (coach named at the end)
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BJJ Heroes says Reis competed extensively for Roberto Godoi's team in São Paulo and received all of his belts from Godoi, whom it describes as the team's founder and head figure.
Where in the source: Biography section, fourth paragraph, opening sentence
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Roberto Godoi awarded Reis his black belt on November 10, 2004, and on the same day Reis moved to the United States to coach at a Philadelphia gym whose owner was looking for a grappling instructor.
Where in the source: Biography section, fourth paragraph, second sentence (belt date)
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BJJ Heroes traces Reis's lineage as Mitsuyo Maeda, Carlos Gracie, Hélio Gracie, Rickson Gracie, Marcelo Behring, Waldomiro Perez, Roberto Godoi, then Wilson Reis.
Where in the source: Info block at the top, lineage line
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BJJ Heroes says that in the United States Reis made his name in no-gi tournaments around the Tri-State area and the Delaware Valley, which led him into MMA; he debuted in 2007 at Extreme Challenge in New Jersey.
Where in the source: Biography section, final paragraph (Tri-State area, Delaware Valley)
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BJJ Heroes lists a 2004 São Paulo state title at brown belt among Reis's main achievements.
Where in the source: Info block, achievements list (state title line)
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BJJ Heroes lists US grappling titles for Reis at Grapplers Quest (2006), Submission de Campos (2006), Copa Atlantica (2007), the Arizona Open (2007) and the Extreme Grappling Open pro division (2007).
Where in the source: Info block, achievements list (US events)
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BJJ Heroes names guard passing in a fast 'blitz' style as Reis's favourite position and lists his team or association as G13.
Where in the source: Info block, favourite technique and team/association lines
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IBJJF, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2001, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2001 IBJJF World Championship, Reis took third place in the juvenile blue belt light featherweight division, listed with the team Godoi/Macaco.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'JUVENILE / BLUE / MALE / LIGHT FEATHER', place 3
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IBJJF, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2002, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2002 IBJJF World Championship, Reis took third place in the adult purple belt roosterweight division for Godoi JJ Club; Samuel Braga won the division.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / PURPLE / MALE / ROOSTER', place 3
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IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2002, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2002 Brazilian National Championship, Reis placed second in the adult purple belt roosterweight division for Godoi JJ Club, behind Samuel Braga.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULTO / ROXA / MASCULINO / GALO', place 2
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IBJJF, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2003, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2003 IBJJF World Championship, Reis took third place in the adult purple belt light featherweight division for Godoi JJ Club; Fernando Vieira won the division.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / PURPLE / MALE / LIGHT FEATHER', place 3
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IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2003, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2003 Brazilian National Championship, Reis took third place in the adult purple belt light featherweight division for Godoi JJ Club, in a division won by José Aldo Jr. of MJNV Manaus.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / PURPLE / MALE / LIGHT FEATHER', place 3
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IBJJF, World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2004, official results(opens in a new tab)
Reis won the adult brown belt light featherweight division at the 2004 IBJJF World Championship, listed with the team BTT; his teammate Bruno Barbosa, also BTT, was second.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / BROWN / MALE / LIGHT FEATHER', place 1
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IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2004, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2004 Brazilian National Championship, Reis placed second in the adult brown belt light featherweight division for Brazilian Top Team.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / BROWN / MALE / LIGHT FEATHER', place 2
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IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2005, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2005 Brazilian National Championship, Reis placed second in the adult black belt light featherweight division for Brazilian Top Team, behind Bernardo Pitel.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / BLACK / MALE / LIGHT FEATHER', place 2
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IBJJF, Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2006, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2006 IBJJF Pan American Championship, Reis took third place in the adult black belt featherweight division for Brazilian Top Team; Bibiano Fernandes won the division.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / BLACK / MALE / FEATHER', place 3
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IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2007, official results(opens in a new tab)
At the 2007 Brazilian National Championship, Reis placed second in the adult black belt featherweight division for Godoi JJ Club, behind Jonathas Gurgel.
Where in the source: Athletes results by category, 'ADULT / BLACK / MALE / FEATHER', place 2
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Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United, 'Instructors' page (site footer © 2013), Internet Archive snapshot of October 14, 2018(opens in a new tab)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United's instructor page listed Reis as an MMA and BJJ instructor and said he had moved from São Paulo to Philadelphia nearly ten years earlier to teach and train jiu-jitsu at BJJ United, had won many gi and no-gi titles, had then focused on MMA with the dream of reaching the UFC, reached it with a winning UFC debut in September 2013, and still taught and trained there daily.
Where in the source: Instructors page, 'Wilson Reis — MMA and BJJ instructor' entry
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G13 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (g13bjj.us), home page, Internet Archive snapshot of September 14, 2023(opens in a new tab)
G13 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu's own site says Roberto Godoi opened his first academy in São Paulo in 1992, helped create several teams, and in 2013 founded G13 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu together with instructors who had competed under his name.
Where in the source: 'G13BJJ Overview' section, first sentences
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The same G13 page names Wilson Reis first in its list of well-known people who contributed to the school's development.
Where in the source: 'G13BJJ Overview' section, list of names beginning 'such as: Wilson Reis'
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'The Undercard Overachiever', Fighters Only, Issue 043, November 2008(opens in a new tab)
Fighters Only reported in November 2008 that Reis, then living in Philadelphia, had trained at the Godoi Jiu-Jitsu Club from his teens and arrived in the United States as a submission specialist, and that he had since worked on his stand-up at the Daddis Fight Club in Philadelphia.
Where in the source: Feature 'The Undercard Overachiever', paragraph after the second photo — 'submission artist'
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In 2008 Reis told Fighters Only that his focus had once been only jiu-jitsu but was now MMA, and that he wanted to improve his Muay Thai and boxing.
Where in the source: Fourth paragraph, Reis's first quote
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Reis told Fighters Only that against the taller Bryan Caraway in July 2008 he could not get his boxing going against Caraway's reach, so he fought on the ground, took Caraway down seven times and won all three rounds.
Where in the source: Passage on the Caraway fight — 'seven times'
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Sherdog, 'Wilson Reis' fighter page(opens in a new tab)
Sherdog lists Reis's professional MMA record as 28 wins (13 by submission, 15 by decision) and 15 losses (6 by KO/TKO, 1 by submission, 8 by decision), and gives his association as Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu United / Godoi Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: Fighter header and record summary; 'ASSOCIATION' line
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Sherdog records Reis's professional debut as a unanimous-decision win over Baba Shigeyasu at Extreme Challenge 81 on July 28, 2007.
Where in the source: 'Fight History - Pro', last row
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Sherdog records Reis's fight with Demetrious Johnson at UFC on Fox 24 on April 15, 2017, as a submission loss by armbar at 4:49 of the third round.
Where in the source: 'Fight History - Pro', row 'UFC on Fox 24 - Johnson vs. Reis'
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Wikipedia, 'Wilson Reis' (last edited January 6, 2026)(opens in a new tab)
English Wikipedia describes Reis as a Brazilian mixed martial artist and black belt under Roberto Godoi, fighting out of San Diego, California, with Alliance MMA and G13 Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu as his teams.
Where in the source: Lead sentence and infobox ('Fighting out of', 'Team', 'Rank')
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Wikipedia says Reis beat Abel Cullum in September 2008 to win the vacant EliteXC bantamweight championship and became the promotion's first and only bantamweight champion; its succession box notes that EliteXC ceased operations in October 2008.
Where in the source: 'EliteXC' section and the succession box at the foot of the article
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Wikipedia says Reis signed with Bellator in January 2009 and fought in its featherweight tournaments, losing semifinals to Joe Soto (season one) and twice to Patrício Freire (seasons two and four), then dropped to bantamweight and lost to Eduardo Dantas in the season five quarterfinals before Bellator released him in 2011.
Where in the source: 'Bellator Fighting Championships' and 'Post-Bellator' sections
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Wikipedia says Reis fought in his native Brazil for the first time in December 2011, winning the WFE bantamweight title in Salvador by rear-naked choke over Bruno Menezes, and that in December 2012 he submitted Owen Roddy in the third round at Cage Warriors 50 in Glasgow.
Where in the source: 'Post-Bellator' section and the record table rows for WFE 11 and Cage Warriors 50
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Wikipedia says Reis moved down to flyweight in 2014, submitted Scott Jorgensen with an arm-triangle choke at UFC 179 in Rio de Janeiro, lost a decision to Jussier Formiga in Goiânia in 2015, and was due to face Demetrious Johnson for the title at UFC 201 in July 2016 until Johnson withdrew injured; Reis instead submitted Hector Sandoval on that card.
Where in the source: 'Ultimate Fighting Championship' section
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Wikipedia says that after leaving the UFC Reis fought for Budo Sento Championship in Mexico (a win and a knockout loss), lost to Taylor Lapilus at Ares FC in Paris in December 2021, and from 2022 fought for Cage Warriors, mostly on its San Diego cards.
Where in the source: 'ARES FC', 'Budo Sento Championship' and 'Cage Warriors' sections
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UFC.com, 'Wilson Reis' athlete page(opens in a new tab)
Reis's UFC athlete page gives his place of birth as Januária, Brazil, his gym as Alliance MMA in Chula Vista, and his Octagon debut as September 21, 2013.
Where in the source: 'Bio' block at the foot of the athlete page
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Thomas Gerbasi, 'Wilson Reis: New Blood at 135', UFC.com, September 17, 2013(opens in a new tab)
In a 2013 UFC.com feature, Reis said he got the call that he had signed with the UFC while driving on I-95 North in Philadelphia, and that he started screaming because it was a dream come true.
Where in the source: Feature by Thomas Gerbasi, second and third paragraphs — 'driving on 95 North'
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According to the UFC.com feature, Reis took up jiu-jitsu in Brazil but started his MMA career in the United States, where he had moved to teach and compete in jiu-jitsu; by 2007 Philadelphia had become his second home and he began fighting, beating future UFC fighters Bryan Caraway and Henry Martinez.
Where in the source: Fourth paragraph — 'second home'
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When the UFC added bantamweight and featherweight divisions in late 2010, Reis was under contract with Bellator; he told UFC.com this bothered him because the UFC had always been his dream, but that he believed the delay helped him mature as a fighter.
Where in the source: Fifth and sixth paragraphs — 'outside looking in'
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After back-to-back 2011 losses to Patrício Freire and Eduardo Dantas left him at 12-4, Reis won four straight fights, three by submission; he told UFC.com he took the mistakes from those losses back to the gym, trained harder and became more professional about his career.
Where in the source: Seventh and eighth paragraphs — 'growing pains'
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Reis was first booked to face Hugo Viana in his UFC debut; after Viana was injured days before the event, Reis was offered Ivan Menjivar three days later.
Where in the source: Ninth and tenth paragraphs — 'three days later'
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Reis described his own style to UFC.com in 2013 as fast-paced and aggressive, always looking to strike or take the fight down, using aggressive Brazilian jiu-jitsu and ground and pound to keep a high pace.
Where in the source: Closing quote of the feature — 'fast-paced'
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Thomas Gerbasi, 'Wilson Reis' Perfect Timing', UFC.com, May 26, 2015(opens in a new tab)
In a 2015 UFC.com feature Reis said he started jiu-jitsu in Brazil at 12 and now made his living from it, and described himself as a consistently positive person who always expects a better day tomorrow.
Where in the source: Feature by Thomas Gerbasi, second paragraph (Reis's first quote)
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Reis told UFC.com that when he moved into MMA he was in his third year as a black belt and was weighing a career of competing in and teaching jiu-jitsu against becoming the professional athlete he had always wanted to be; he was already training striking and said he made the choice at the right time.
Where in the source: Passage beginning 'I look back and I'm grateful'
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By 2015 Reis lived in San Diego and trained at Alliance MMA; in his eighth year of MMA he had dropped to the 125-pound flyweight class, which he said suited his 5-foot-4 frame and was the division he had belonged in all along.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph (San Diego) and the passage on dropping to 125
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Before meeting Jussier Formiga in Goiânia in May 2015, Reis told UFC.com it might be the first time he faced a genuine jiu-jitsu black belt from the same roots as himself; the feature described Formiga as the fourth-ranked flyweight and Reis as twelfth.
Where in the source: Fourth paragraph, Reis's quote on Formiga
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Phil Murphy, 'Wilson Reis embracing chance to dethrone Demetrious Johnson', ESPN, April 11, 2017(opens in a new tab)
ESPN reported that Reis had signed to fight Demetrious Johnson for the flyweight title at UFC 201 but ended up opening the televised preliminary card instead; Reis said that while warming up he kept thinking his bout should have been the co-main event, then beat Hector Sandoval by first-round rear-naked choke.
Where in the source: Opening paragraphs of the article — 'co-main event'
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According to ESPN, Reis learned on February 20, 2017, that he would get the Johnson title fight after all, while at lunch with his coach Eric Del Fierro; Del Fierro called Reis the happiest athlete he had ever coached.
Where in the source: Middle of the article — 'You just got your wish'
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ESPN noted that Johnson had not lost since a 2011 bantamweight bout against Dominick Cruz, Reis's teammate at Alliance MMA, and that the title fight headlined a UFC on Fox card in Kansas City on April 15, 2017.
Where in the source: Later paragraphs on Johnson's record and the Kansas City card
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John Morgan, 'Wilson Reis proud of UFC run but focused on next chapter at ARES FC', MMA Junkie (USA Today Sports), April 2020(opens in a new tab)
MMA Junkie summarised Reis's UFC run: he arrived in 2013, won six of his first eight UFC fights, earned the April 2017 title shot against Demetrious Johnson and lost by third-round submission, then lost to Henry Cejudo and John Moraga, beat Ben Nguyen, and after an April 2019 loss to Alexandre Pantoja the UFC chose not to renew his expired contract.
Where in the source: Third to fifth paragraphs of the article; accessible public Wayback snapshot of the same original article: https://web.archive.org/web/20241217210733/https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/04/wilson-reis-proud-of-ufc-run-but-focused-on-ares-fc
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Reis told MMA Junkie he had had a great UFC run over six years, was upset by his losses but happy with his wins and with having fought Demetrious Johnson, and was not sad about it; he said he had to accept the release and move to the next chapter.
Where in the source: Reis's first quote — 'I just had a great run'; accessible public Wayback snapshot of the same original article: https://web.archive.org/web/20241217210733/https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/04/wilson-reis-proud-of-ufc-run-but-focused-on-ares-fc
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After signing with ARES FC, Reis told MMA Junkie that at 35 he loved fighting and just wanted to keep fighting, with the aim of winning the promotion's title.
Where in the source: Closing quotes of the article — 'I love fighting'; accessible public Wayback snapshot of the same original article: https://web.archive.org/web/20241217210733/https://mmajunkie.usatoday.com/2020/04/wilson-reis-proud-of-ufc-run-but-focused-on-ares-fc
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Graciemag, 'Video: slick Jiu-Jitsu on display at Boston Open, with Formiga, JT and Wilson Reis', August 27, 2012(opens in a new tab)
Graciemag reported that Reis, representing Godoi JJ, won the featherweight division at the 2012 IBJJF Boston Open, and showed video of the former Bellator fighter finishing with a choke.
Where in the source: First and third paragraphs of the article
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Bad Boy, 'World No Gi Championship Team', November 3, 2015(opens in a new tab)
In November 2015 his sponsor Bad Boy described Reis as a second-degree black belt under Roberto Godoi, best known for his top game and range of guard passes, particularly the Tozi or São Paulo pass, and said he was entered in the 2015 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship while waiting for his next UFC fight.
Where in the source: Second paragraph of the post, sentence on his top game and guard passes
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Grappling Central podcast (Ryan Ford), 'Episode 383 - Wilson Reis', show notes, October 11, 2019(opens in a new tab)
The show notes of a 2019 Grappling Central podcast episode with Reis say he discussed his beginnings, the benefits of competing often, jiu-jitsu for MMA and his UFC release, and gave a technical breakdown of the São Paulo pass.
Where in the source: 'Episode 383 - Wilson Reis', show notes, dated October 11, 2019
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Jitsmagazine, 'UFC And ADCC Veterans Take To The Mats At IBJJF San Diego Summer Open 2023', August 8, 2023(opens in a new tab)
Jitsmagazine reported that UFC veteran Wilson Reis made a surprise appearance at the IBJJF San Diego Summer Open in August 2023 and won the Master 1 no-gi lightweight division.
Where in the source: Third paragraph of the report
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