Augusto Ferrari

Born on August 10, 1982, in Brazil, Augusto Ferrari began his Brazilian jiu-jitsu journey in 1997 at the Lotus Club in São Paulo under the guidance of Moises Murad. From the outset, Ferrari's competitive drive set him apart — a quality that mattered all the more in a sport that offered few defined career paths for aspiring practitioners in late 1990s Brazil. Family pressure to abandon the sport and the economic realities of pursuing a martial art professionally added weight to an already demanding path. Ferrari never wavered. Those early training years forged the discipline and technical foundation that would carry him to the highest levels of the sport.

Ferrari's development as a grappler began at the Lotus Club in São Paulo, where Moises Murad helped shape his early competitive identity. When internal instability within the Lotus workgroup disrupted his training environment, Ferrari made a decisive move to Barbosa Jiu-Jitsu — commonly known as B9 — one of São Paulo's most respected jiu-jitsu institutions. Under the instruction of Marco Barbosa, he earned his black belt, a milestone that reflected both personal growth and institutional loyalty. His career later extended to an affiliation with Ns Brotherhood, completing a professional journey that spanned several of São Paulo's most prominent organizations.

These transitions were never merely logistical. Each move signaled a deepening commitment to the sport and a sharper understanding of what elite-level training demanded. Ferrari's career arc illustrates how team affiliations can shape a competitor's technical identity, competitive philosophy, and long-term trajectory within Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

By approximately 2000, Ferrari had already begun turning heads at the purple belt level, his performances signaling a talent worth tracking. As he advanced through the ranks, it was his rivalry with André Galvão at the brown belt level that truly elevated his profile. Their matchups became some of the most discussed contests in the sport during that era, reflecting the extraordinary concentration of talent emerging from São Paulo at the time.

Both competitors pushed each other to sharper technical edges. Ferrari's 2nd place finish at the 2004 IBJJF World Championship as a brown belt offered a clear measure of just how fiercely contested that period was, as did his 2nd place result at the Bandsports Challenge in 2003. These results were hard-earned against stacked fields of elite practitioners, underscoring the sustained pressure Ferrari both faced and applied at every stage of his competitive climb. The rivalry with Galvão contributed to a broader narrative — a generation of Brazilian grapplers redefining the standards of colored belt competition.

Ferrari's transition to the black belt division placed him in the Peso Pesado category (94kg / 207lbs), where he established himself as a consistent and dangerous presence on the competition circuit.

Building a Championship Record

His black belt career reached an early peak in 2007, when he claimed gold at the CBJJE South American Championship and secured back-to-back 1st place finishes at the CBJJO Brazilian National Cup — a result he repeated in 2008. That same year, Ferrari captured what may stand as the defining result of his black belt career: a gold medal at the 2008 CBJJ Brazilian Nationals, affirming his status among Brazil's elite heavyweights. He also finished 2nd at the CBJJE World Cup in 2007 and 2nd at the CBJJE Brazilian Nationals in 2008, demonstrating the consistency required to compete at the top of a demanding weight class.

Sustained Excellence Through 2009

Ferrari added further hardware in 2009, winning the Desafio de Submission II — a result particularly fitting given his submission-oriented technical identity — while also finishing 3rd at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals that year. Across this stretch, Ferrari proved himself a durable and technically sophisticated competitor capable of performing at the highest levels of Brazilian jiu-jitsu's black belt landscape.

Ferrari's contributions to the sport extend well beyond the competition mat. In the years following his rise as a competitor, he took an active role in expanding jiu-jitsu's international reach — teaching seminars across Europe and working to build the infrastructure necessary for the sport to grow in regions where it was still finding its footing.

Among his most tangible contributions was the organization of the Amsterdam BJJ Open, an event that brought together practitioners from across the continent and helped develop Europe's competitive ecosystem. At a time when European BJJ infrastructure was still maturing, Ferrari's dual role as educator and event organizer played a meaningful part in raising the sport's profile abroad. These efforts reveal a dimension of his identity that complements his competitive record: that of an ambassador and entrepreneur who understood that jiu-jitsu's long-term health depended on its ability to take root in new communities around the world.

Among the details that define Augusto Ferrari's technical identity, perhaps none is more distinctive than his affinity for the Jegeplata — a complex leg entanglement submission that serves as both his favorite position and his signature finish. The choice of this technique as a primary weapon speaks to a sophisticated, detail-oriented approach to grappling that sets Ferrari apart from competitors who rely more heavily on raw physicality or straightforward pressure in the Peso Pesado division.

The Jegeplata demands precise timing, sharp positional awareness, and a nuanced understanding of leg mechanics — qualities that reflect the technical depth Ferrari brought to both training and competition. As a competitor and an instructor, his commitment to this intricately demanding submission offers a compelling window into the kind of grappler Ferrari worked to become throughout his career.