Chico Mendes

Born Francisco Mendes Neto on July 14, 1980, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Chico Mendes discovered Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in his early teens at the Alliance academy under Romero "Jacaré" Cavalcanti. His very first introduction class was taught by Leonardo Vieira, who held a purple belt at the time — a fortuitous meeting that would define the entire trajectory of Mendes' BJJ career.

The Alliance academy during those formative years was a remarkable environment, hosting an extraordinary concentration of talent. Mendes trained alongside and received instruction from luminaries such as Jamelão, Romero "Jacaré" Cavalcanti, Pablo "Franjinha" Silva, and Leonardo "Leozinho" Vieira, giving him early exposure to some of the finest practitioners the sport has produced. In 1994, Mendes received his yellow belt under Romero Cavalcanti and Leo Vieira, marking his first formal recognition within the BJJ hierarchy.

Chico Mendes' path through the belt ranks reflects both the depth of his lineage and the resilience required to navigate periods of change. His yellow and blue belts were awarded by Romero Cavalcanti and Leo Vieira at the Alliance academy in Rio de Janeiro. When Romero Cavalcanti relocated to the United States and Leonardo Vieira moved to São Paulo, Mendes adapted by transferring his training to the gym of Octavio Couto — widely known as "Ratinho." Under Couto's guidance, he earned both his purple and brown belts, continuing to build on the technical foundation laid during his Alliance years.

In 2003 and 2004, Mendes made a deliberate move to São Paulo to reunite with Leo Vieira and complete his journey to black belt under the instructor who had first introduced him to the art. That reunion came to fruition in December 2004, when Leonardo Vieira awarded Mendes his black belt — the culmination of over a decade of dedicated training that had begun on the mats of Rio de Janeiro.

Chico Mendes is a co-founder of Checkmat, the organization he helped build alongside Leonardo Vieira into one of the most recognized BJJ teams in the world. From the team's earliest days, Mendes served as a leading figure both organizationally and in terms of outreach, carrying Checkmat's flag to corners of the globe far removed from its Brazilian origins.

His seminar work brought Checkmat's jiu-jitsu to countries including the United States, Singapore, China, Denmark, and numerous other nations, establishing the team's international presence through direct instruction and personal representation. This global ambassadorship positioned Mendes as one of the central architects of Checkmat's growth from a Brazilian team into a truly worldwide organization.

In early 2011, following an extended period of international seminar travel, Chico Mendes settled in England and committed to building a permanent Checkmat presence in the United Kingdom. He began by teaching at Trojan Free Fighters before establishing a dedicated regional headquarters for the team in Bristol. Over approximately seven years based in the UK, Mendes ran the Bristol academy while simultaneously coordinating Checkmat hubs across the region, contributing meaningfully to the team's competitive performance, particularly in London.

Among the most significant contributions of his tenure was the development of homegrown black belt talent. Mendes promoted six local practitioners to black belt during his time in England: Ian Rossiter, Matt Sellers, Keith Fletcher, Antanas Jazbutis, Paul Severn, and Vagelis Detsis. These promotions represent a lasting institutional legacy, embedding Checkmat's culture and technical standards into the fabric of British BJJ.

Throughout his years based in the United Kingdom and beyond, Chico Mendes built one of the most decorated competition records in the European BJJ master division circuit. His dominance in no-gi competition was particularly evident at the IBJJF European Championships, where he claimed gold in the no-gi division in 2012, 2013, 2015, and 2017, making him a benchmark competitor at that event.

At the global level, Mendes reached the pinnacle of master-division no-gi competition by winning the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship in 2016, having also collected silver and bronze medals at the World No-Gi Championships across 2015 and 2016. He added the IBJJF Pan American No-Gi title in 2015 to his international résumé, further demonstrating his consistency at the highest level of the IBJJF circuit.

Within Europe, Mendes proved a dominant force at the IBJJF British Nationals — capturing gold in both gi and no-gi formats across multiple years — as well as at the London Open, Rome Open, Paris Open, Copenhagen Open, and Madrid Open. His performances across these events from 2012 through 2017 produced a substantial collection of gold, silver, and bronze medals that reflect an elite competitive career sustained well into the master divisions. In 2017, this consistency earned him a ranking of number two in the IBJJF black belt Master 1 division worldwide. He also captured JJWL World Championship titles in both 2016 and 2017, further cementing his standing among the premier master-division competitors of his era.

Following his productive chapter in the United Kingdom, Chico Mendes relocated to the United States, describing the country as the "Mecca of Jiu-Jitsu" and framing the move as a natural evolution in his mission to grow Checkmat's global presence. In Allen, Texas, Mendes opened a Checkmat academy in partnership with The Den Academy, establishing a new base of operations in North America.

The relocation was preceded by an active run of competition appearances on the US IBJJF circuit, during which Mendes collected medals at events in Dallas, Chicago, New York, San Antonio, and Atlanta between 2015 and 2016 — signaling his competitive ambitions in the American market well before his permanent move. As of 2017, Mendes represents the United States in competition, continuing to embody the international spirit that has defined his career since the founding of Checkmat.