Andrew Soares

Andrew Soares dos Santos was born on October 21, 1999, in Brazil, and grew up to become one of the most promising grappling talents to emerge from the Manaus region. His introduction to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came through a family member — a connection that set the course for his entire athletic life. Soares took his first steps onto the mats in 2008 at the age of 8, joining Darlony Rideen Academy under the guidance of Darlony Rideen.

Progressing steadily through every kids' belt rank under Rideen's instruction, Soares built a technical foundation that would carry him throughout his career. The defining shift came during his orange belt years, when his relationship with the sport evolved from recreational participation into serious athletic ambition. It was during this period that Soares began pursuing concrete goals as a professional competitor, channeling his training with greater purpose and intensity.

The blue belt stage marked a decisive turning point in Soares' trajectory. Recognizing that his ambitions demanded a more competitive training environment, he made the deliberate move to train under Carlos Holanda, one of the prominent coaches operating out of Manaus — a city long regarded as one of Brazil's most fertile grounds for producing elite jiu-jitsu talent.

Under Holanda's direction, Soares quickly distinguished himself as one of the top prospects in the Manaus scene, his progress attracting the attention of Vision, a professional jiu-jitsu organization headquartered in Qatar and led by coach Fabricio Moreira. The affiliation with Team Vision opened a new chapter in his career, providing access to elite-level training infrastructure and international competitive exposure.

Throughout this period, Soares maintained his ties to both Holanda and Rideen — the two coaches who had shaped him from the earliest stages of his development. In March 2022, that loyalty was honored when Carlos Holanda and Darlony Rideen jointly awarded Soares his black belt, a ceremony that recognized the dual coaching lineage central to his growth as an athlete.

Andrew Soares has built a competitive record across both the IBJJF and Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro (AJP) circuits, operating primarily in the Peso Galo division (57.60 kg / 127.00 lbs) and the Peso Pluma division (64.00 kg / 141.5 lbs). His colored belt results foreshadowed the black belt career that would follow — in 2020, Soares claimed gold at the 2020 IBJJF European Championship as a purple belt, then added the IBJJF South American Championship title at brown belt later that same year, a remarkable double across two belt levels within a single calendar year.

His transition to black belt competition produced equally notable results. In 2023, Soares captured first place at the AJP Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Miami, establishing himself as a legitimate force on the AJP circuit. The following year, at the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, he earned a third-place finish — a result that confirmed his standing among the sport's elite. Competing across two weight classes has demonstrated both his versatility and his capacity to perform under the demands of the sport's most prestigious events.

Andrew Soares' recruitment by Vision represented a significant step in the professionalization of his athletic career. Based in Qatar, Team Vision operates as a high-performance jiu-jitsu organization built around serious competitive ambitions, with Fabricio Moreira serving as the central coaching figure at its headquarters. Working extensively under Moreira's direction, Soares absorbed a competitive culture that complemented the technical grounding he had developed in Manaus.

Splitting his time between Qatar and Brazil, Soares navigated the demands of two distinct training environments while continuing to compete at the highest levels of the sport. Team Vision's professional structure accelerated his development as a black belt competitor, while his roots in Manaus kept him grounded in the coaching relationships that defined his formative years. The combination of Team Vision's resources and his longstanding ties to Carlos Holanda and Darlony Rideen has shaped the well-rounded, internationally competitive athlete Soares has become.