Fabiano Scherner

Fabiano Scherner was born on June 30, 1972, in Três Passos, a municipality in Rio Grande do Sul, a region in southern Brazil historically shaped by German immigrant communities. That dual cultural heritage — German precision meeting Brazilian grappling culture — quietly informed the disciplined, methodical approach he would later bring to the mats.

Scherner's first contact with martial arts came through taekwondo, which he took up at age 19, a relatively late entry by competitive standards. At 26, driven by ambitions in mixed martial arts, he encountered Brazilian jiu-jitsu for the first time. That introduction proved transformative, redirecting his athletic trajectory entirely.

Scherner arrived at Ataque Duplo, a respected jiu-jitsu academy in Florianópolis, with a focused objective: develop enough grappling skill to compete in MMA. What he discovered instead was a deep and lasting passion for jiu-jitsu as a discipline in its own right. Under coaches Murilo Rupp and Sergio Sá, his progression was swift — earning his blue belt in just 11 months and his purple belt one year after that, a pace that signaled both uncommon aptitude and serious commitment.

As a brown belt, Scherner relocated to Rio de Janeiro to join Brazilian Top Team, then among the most elite grappling and MMA academies in the world. Training directly under Murilo Bustamante and Bebeo Duarte — two of the most respected figures in BJJ history — he refined the technical foundation that would define his competition career. In December 2002, he received his black belt, completing the journey from white belt in a remarkable 3 years and 9 months.

It was during this formative period that the nickname "Pega Leve" — meaning "takes it easy" or "light grip" in Portuguese — became attached to his identity in the BJJ community, a moniker that followed him throughout his career.

Shortly after his black belt promotion, Ricardo Liborio offered Scherner a coaching position in Olympia, Washington. He accepted, and the move effectively launched his professional MMA career alongside his coaching responsibilities. Competing in the heavyweight division — Peso Pesadíssimo, for athletes over 100kg/221lbs — he appeared in several of the era's most prominent promotions, including Hook'n Shoot, the UFC, Cage Rage, and Meca.

His UFC appearances represented the highest-profile chapter of his fighting career, bringing international visibility to his name and demonstrating that the BJJ skills forged under Bustamante and Duarte translated directly to the cage. Throughout his MMA run, Scherner's grappling served as his primary competitive weapon. In time, he stepped back from professional fighting to redirect his energy toward jiu-jitsu competition — a decision that would yield the most decorated results of his athletic career.

Scherner built one of the most impressive late-career competition records on the IBJJF Masters and Senior circuit, accumulating titles across multiple divisions and years with a consistency that set him apart from his peers.

World No-Gi Dominance

At the 2011 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, Scherner captured gold in the Master 1 absolute division — the bracket for competitors in the 30–35 age range — while also earning a silver medal in a separate bracket, demonstrating his ability to sustain elite performance across multiple appearances in a single tournament. The following year, at the 2012 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, he added a second world title, winning gold in the Senior 1 weight division and further cementing his standing as a dominant force in age-bracket grappling.

Gi Competition and Open-Division Credentials

His dominance extended beyond the no-gi format. At the 2012 IBJJF Pan Championship, Scherner took gold in the Senior 1 division while also placing third in a separate Senior 1 bracket — reflecting his versatility across weight categories within the same event. In 2013, he captured gold at the IBJJF International Masters and Seniors Championship in the Masters division, cementing the arc of excellence that defined his post-MMA competitive identity.

Perhaps most notably, Scherner's competitive reach extended beyond age-bracket competition entirely. At both the 2011 IBJJF American Nationals and the 2011 IBJJF American No-Gi Nationals, he claimed gold at the adult level — proof that his excellence reflected genuine open-division grappling ability, not merely a mastery of age-group competition.

Scherner's transition into coaching began almost simultaneously with the close of his most active MMA period, rooted in the opportunity Ricardo Liborio created for him in Olympia, Washington. That early coaching role marked the beginning of a long-term commitment to developing practitioners across the United States — a country he has represented on the IBJJF circuit throughout his competitive career.

Scherner eventually affiliated with Gracie Barra, one of the largest and most globally recognized Brazilian jiu-jitsu organizations in the world. The affiliation reflects a natural alignment with his Brazilian Top Team roots and his broader international outlook — both institutions share a commitment to structured, high-level instruction delivered across a global network. His continued competition into his forties, alongside an active role as an instructor, speaks to an athlete and coach whose investment in the sport has not diminished with time.

As part of the broader wave of Brazilian black belts who relocated to North America and helped grow jiu-jitsu across the continent, Scherner represents a particular archetype: the technically sophisticated competitor who arrived through MMA, discovered a deeper calling in grappling itself, and left a lasting mark on the communities he served as both athlete and teacher.