Rigan Machado served as Clemente's first instructor and the most formative influence on his technical development, operating as a central figure within Carlos Gracie Junior's academy. As the team relocated from Copacabana to Barra da Tijuca — marking the birth of what would become Gracie Barra — Rigan Machado remained Clemente's primary coach throughout the transition.
Life, however, interrupted training. Clemente relocated to Paris with his wife for approximately four years, and with no jiu-jitsu available in France at the time, he returned to judo and sharpened his ground work through randori. The next move proved pivotal: when his wife, a model, secured a work visa for California, Clemente followed — and the relocation allowed him to rejoin the Machado brothers and resume his BJJ training in earnest.
Rigan Machado ultimately promoted Clemente to black belt through demonstrated competitive excellence. The promotion came after Clemente secured two consecutive victories at the Pan American Championships in the brown belt adult division — a merit-based pathway that reflected the standards the Machados upheld.