Ricardo Evangelista
An ultra-heavyweight with a lightweight's game. Ricardo Evangelista toured the world circuit with GFTeam and came back with titles from the Pans, the Europeans, Abu Dhabi Pro and the Grand Slam — winning with simple, efficient, no-waste jiu-jitsu.
Black belt since 2007. World champion.
★ Private lessons★ Online
From your first class to the strategy of those who compete at the highest level.
- Black belt
- 5x world champion
- Raised at
- Ultra-heavyweight
- Coach
Biography
Ricardo Ferreira Evangelista was born in Rio de Janeiro on March 6, 1986. He started jiu-jitsu at 13 or 14, inspired by his older brother, and from his very first sessions gave the mat his full attention. His first coaches were Alexandre Baraúna and Bruno Cunha, who awarded him his blue and purple belts.
He then moved to the Gama Filho University academy in Rio's North Zone — the home that would become GFTeam. Training every day with top-level athletes, he received his black belt in October 2007, at 21, from Júlio César and Marcus Bello.
He became one of the great ultra-heavyweights of his generation: Pan American champion, two-time European champion, Abu Dhabi Pro champion and Grand Slam champion in London, Rio, Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi. Today he is the head coach at Renzo Gracie Mont Belvieu, in Texas, and leads Team Evangelista, with in-person and online classes — and keeps climbing the podium.
Lineage
- Mitsuyo Maeda
- Luiz França
- Oswaldo Fadda
- Monir Salomão
- Júlio César Pereira
- Ricardo Evangelista
What you learn
Gi Jiu-Jitsu
Base, grips, passing and submissions. The simple, effective jiu-jitsu that took an ultra-heavyweight to the top of the world circuit.
Closed guard
Ricardo's favorite position, broken down: posture breaks, chained attacks and sweeps from the same grip.
Private lesson
One-on-one with the champion. To unlock a position, fine-tune details or speed up your progress at your own pace.
Online classes
Train with Team Evangelista from anywhere: technique organized in sequences, in the same language as the in-person classes.
Competition
Prep from someone who won the Pans, Europeans, Abu Dhabi and the Grand Slam: fight strategy, score management and tournament pace.
Seminars
Seminars for academies and teams, in Brazil and abroad. Technical content, stories from the circuit and promotions.
Schedule
- Private lessonsby appointment
- Team Evangelista onlineopen access
- Seminarson request
Who it’s for
- 01 — Never trained and wants to learn simple jiu-jitsu that works.
- 02 — Already trains and wants to sharpen their game with a private lesson.
- 03 — Competes and wants the insight of someone who lived the world circuit.
- 04 — Is a heavy grappler and wants to use size as an advantage, not just strength.
- 05 — Lives far away and wants to train online with Team Evangelista.
- 06 — Owns an academy and wants to bring a seminar to the team.
The first class
Ricardo starts by understanding where you are: training history, goals and limitations. From there, the class is built for you — whether it’s your first roll or fine-tuning before a tournament.
Daily training
The routine behind the titles: drilling, sparring and the details Ricardo repeats every day with Team Evangelista — all the way to the World Championship.
The mats
Team EvangelistaMaster highlight
Ricardo closed the IBJJF 2025/2026 season as No. 1 in the Master 2 ranking and on top of the World Master podium — the best in his division on the mats and in the standings.
- No. 1
- Gold
Still competing
Gold
IBJJF World Master 2026. Almost twenty years after earning his black belt, the ultra-heavyweight who collected Pans, Europeans, Abu Dhabi and Grand Slam titles is still on top of the podium — and teaches exactly what he uses to get there.
Record
123
wins as a black belt
- Points
- Submission
- Decision
- Advantages
- Disqualification
Black belt titles
- IBJJF Pan Championshipgold 2019 · silver 2018 · bronze 2012
- IBJJF European Opengold 2015 and 2018 · silver 2014 and 2017
- IBJJF World Championshipsilver 2015 and 2019 · bronze 2014, 2015 and 2016
- UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Progold 2016 and 2017 · bronze 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2019
- Grand Slam Londongold 2016 and 2019
- Grand Slam Riogold 2015 and 2018
- Grand Slam Los Angelesgold 2015 and 2019
- Grand Slam Abu Dhabigold 2018
- CBJJ Brazilian Nationalsgold 2011 and 2013 · silver 2013 and 2014
- CBJJ Brazilian Nationals No-Gigold 2017
- IBJJF European No-Gigold 2013
- IBJJF Rio International Opengold 2010 and 2011
- IBJJF Masters European Opengold 2019
- IBJJF World Mastergold 2026
World ranking
- 2015–20162nd in the UAEJJF world ranking — adult black belt
- 2016–20172nd in the UAEJJF world ranking — no-gi
- 2018–20195th in the UAEJJF world ranking — adult black belt
Colored belts
IBJJF world champion as a blue belt in 2003. CBJJ Brazilian national champion as a blue belt in 2003 and as a purple belt in 2004.
Black belt
Medals
Train
Media octagon
Coming soon
Something new from Ricardo Evangelista is on the way. For now, it stays under wraps.
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