Guilherme Bacha Guedes

Guilherme Bacha Guedes was born on September 14, 1992, in Vassouras, a small town in the Brazilian state of Rio de Janeiro. His earliest exposure to combat sports came through judo, which he practiced from childhood until the age of 12. After stepping away from martial arts, his competitive instincts found a different outlet during his teenage years — an immersion in online gaming and a serious ambition to pursue professional Esports. That same drive to compete and excel would later define his grappling career.

The pivot toward jiu-jitsu came in 2012, when Bacha was 20 years old and studying Business and Management at the local university in Vassouras. Balancing academic commitments with a new passion, he trained just two sessions per week throughout his university years. After completing his degree in 2015, he expanded his mat time to three-to-five sessions per week and began competing that same year. That transition — from part-time student-athlete to competition-focused practitioner — marked the turning point in his development as a grappler.

By 2017, Bacha had committed fully to a professional grappling career and relocated to Rio de Janeiro. He joined the Fightzone gym in Copacabana, the Brazilian headquarters of Checkmat, where he came under the guidance of coach Ricardo Vieira. The move placed him in a high-performance environment and accelerated his development considerably.

Late in 2017, a fortuitous encounter reshaped the trajectory of his career. At the Gracie Pro event in Rio de Janeiro, Bacha captured double gold in the purple belt division — a performance that caught the attention of Leonardo Vieira, Ricardo's brother, who was present and scouting talent for Checkmat's Rising Stars scholarship program. Based at the Checkmat Academy in California, the program was designed to develop elite competitors by integrating them into the Checkmat system in the United States. Impressed by what he had witnessed, Leonardo extended an invitation to Bacha, which Bacha accepted within months.

Under the dual coaching of Ricardo Vieira and Leonardo Vieira, Guilherme progressed steadily through the colored belt ranks. On December 13, 2021, he received his black belt from the Vieira brothers — a promotion that arrived at the conclusion of one of the most decorated colored belt campaigns in his weight class.

The pinnacle of Guilherme Bacha Guedes's colored belt career came at the 2021 IBJJF World Championship, where he entered the ultra-heavyweight brown belt division and went unbeaten through every match to claim the gold medal. The performance was not only a personal milestone but a decisive contribution to a historic team achievement: Checkmat secured their first-ever IBJJF Team World Title, and Bacha's flawless run through the bracket stood as a fundamental pillar of that effort. The showing earned him widespread recognition as one of the premier competitors in the Pesadíssimo division (+100.50 kg / +222.0 lbs).

That Worlds title did not stand alone. Earlier in 2021, Bacha had won gold at the IBJJF Pan Championship at brown belt, and he backed up his Worlds campaign with further victories on the AJP circuit — including the AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro and the AJP Grand Slam in Moscow, both at brown belt. His results across the IBJJF and AJP circuits in 2021 painted the picture of a competitor operating at the top of his division regardless of ruleset or stage.

The broader colored belt résumé reinforces that consistency. Bacha collected IBJJF American Nationals titles at both purple and brown belt, AJP Grand Slam London gold at purple and brown belt, and IBJJF Pan Championship gold at purple belt in 2019. He also reached the podium at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals on multiple occasions, finishing as runner-up at both the gi and no-gi events across different belt levels.

Having received his black belt on December 13, 2021, Bacha wasted no time testing himself on the international black belt circuit. An early proving ground came at the 2022 IBJJF European Open, where he advanced through the ultra-heavyweight division to reach the gold medal match. There, he faced the highly decorated Rafael Lovato Jr. and fell by a score of 7-2, earning the runner-up position.

The loss carries important context. Reaching the final of a major IBJJF black belt open within weeks of promotion — against an opponent of Lovato Jr.'s caliber — provided a meaningful early benchmark for where Bacha's black belt game stood against elite competition. The runner-up finish demonstrated that the technical foundation and competitive temperament built across years of colored belt campaigning had transferred directly to the sport's highest level.