Eduardo Alves

Francisco Eduardo Alves Costa — known throughout the BJJ community as Eduardo Alves — was born in April 2002 in Piripiri, Piauí, a small city in northeastern Brazil far removed from the training centers that define competitive jiu-jitsu. At age 13, in 2016, he stepped onto the mats for the first time at Quartel General da Luta (QG da Luta), beginning his BJJ journey under the instruction of Ronaldo Araújo.

The path demanded sacrifice from the start. In those early years, Alves worked delivery routes to cover the costs of his training — a testament to the determination that would come to define his competitive career. That willingness to grind through financial hardship, far from the sport's major hubs, became a foundational element of who he is as an athlete.

The quality of Alves's development eventually drew the attention of Alliance, and he made the decisive move from Piauí to São Paulo to join Instituto Alliance, the team's professional squad. There, he came under the guidance of head coach Michael Langhi, himself a celebrated Alliance black belt and accomplished competitor.

Langhi oversaw Alves's progression through every stage of the colored belt ranks — blue, purple, and brown — and in June 2025, awarded him the black belt, formally recognizing him as a complete practitioner. The arc from a small-town gym in northeastern Brazil to one of BJJ's most prestigious professional programs stands as one of the more compelling development stories in the sport's recent history.

Blue Belt: A Historic 2023 Season

Eduardo Alves built one of the most decorated colored-belt records in IBJJF competition of his era, demonstrating a consistent ability to win at the highest level across three consecutive belt divisions. In 2023, competing at blue belt, he captured gold at the IBJJF World Championship in both the weight and absolute divisions — a double that signals exceptional competitive depth. He matched that performance at the 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, again claiming both titles, and added gold in the weight and absolute divisions at the 2023 IBJJF European Open Championship. The result was one of the most prolific single seasons any blue belt had produced on the international circuit.

Purple Belt: Sustaining the Standard

The momentum carried forward as Alves advanced to purple belt. At the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, he claimed gold in the weight division, then reinforced that result with a Brazilian Nationals title at the 2024 CBJJ Brazilian National Championship in the weight division, alongside a bronze in the absolute. He also demonstrated versatility beyond the gi, earning gold at the 2024 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship at brown belt in the weight division and bronze in the absolute.

Brown Belt: A Complete Final Season

At brown belt in 2025 — his final belt level before promotion — Alves produced his most complete season. He won both the weight and absolute divisions at the IBJJF World Championship, repeated the same double at the 2025 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, and added a weight division title at the 2025 CBJJ Brazilian National Championship. BJJ Heroes recorded his professional record at 4–1 as of January 2026, reflecting his early steps on the black belt circuit following his promotion the previous summer. Alves competes in the Meio Pesado (Medium-Heavy) division at 88.30 kg / 195.0 lbs under IBJJF Gi rules.

Alves's preferred position is the Open Guard, placing him squarely within Alliance's tradition of technical, offensive jiu-jitsu built around dynamic guard play and movement. Open guard demands creativity, acute sensitivity to weight distribution, and the ability to generate attacks from an ever-shifting base — qualities that reward long-term technical investment over raw physicality.

It is a fitting specialization for an athlete who developed under Michael Langhi, himself widely respected as a guard player of considerable sophistication. Competing at Medium-Heavy, where opponents combine size with athleticism, Alves's commitment to the open guard reflects a confidence in technique and timing as primary tools — an approach that aligns with the Alliance identity and speaks to the depth of his technical foundation.

Eduardo Alves sits nine generations deep within the founding lineage of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. His full lineage reads: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Alexandre Paiva > Fernando Tererê > Rubens Charles > Michael Langhi > Eduardo Alves.

The line passes through Rolls Gracie, broadly regarded as the most complete martial artist of his Gracie generation and a figure whose influence on modern jiu-jitsu extends well beyond his untimely passing. Romero Cavalcanti, known as Jacaré, founded Alliance, anchoring Alves within that team's decades-long tradition of elite competition.

Perhaps most striking are the two names immediately preceding Langhi in the lineage: Fernando Tererê and Rubens Charles, known as Cobrinha — both multiple-time IBJJF World Champions whose technical contributions to the sport are well documented. Alves inherits a lineage that is not merely historical but actively competitive — a chain of practitioners who shaped the way modern jiu-jitsu is played at the highest levels.