Harryson Pereira

Harryson Pereira was born on December 13, 1994, in Biguaçu, Brazil, into a household where sport and physical activity were central to daily life. Movement was a constant in his upbringing, and that foundation proved essential to his development as a martial artist. Capoeira was his first deep passion — a discipline he practiced from age 5 to 14 — building the body awareness, coordination, and rhythm that would later translate naturally onto the grappling mats.

At age 10, while still immersed in capoeira, Pereira was introduced to jiu-jitsu through two key figures in his life: his father and an older cousin, both of whom were already active grapplers. That dual exposure to Afro-Brazilian movement arts and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu gave Pereira a uniquely well-rounded athletic identity from the outset — one shaped by multiple physical disciplines before he ever committed to a single path.

Few aspects of Harryson Pereira's development are as distinctive as his training lineage. Elexsandro Silvestre Machado was his first and only BJJ instructor, guiding him from his very first day on the mats through his black belt promotion. That kind of singular, unbroken coaching relationship is increasingly rare in modern competitive jiu-jitsu, and it left a clear imprint on the fighter Pereira became.

Coach Silvestre's strong judo background meant that throwing technique was woven into Pereira's game from the beginning — not added later as a supplement, but built in as a foundational element of his grappling education. Pereira competed in both judo and jiu-jitsu during his formative years, developing a natural comfort with gripping, off-balancing, and transitioning from standing exchanges into ground work. He eventually chose to focus exclusively on BJJ at the brown belt level, a decision that aligned his competitive energy with the circuit where his results had become most significant.

On June 6, 2019, that long and consistent journey under a single coach reached a formal milestone when Silvestre promoted Pereira to the black belt rank. Competing throughout his career under the banner of Ataque Duplo, Pereira has carried the influence of that foundational relationship into every performance on the international stage.

Harryson Pereira announced himself on the global BJJ stage during his brown belt years in a manner that left little doubt about his potential at the highest level. At the IBJJF World Championship, he earned silver medals in both 2018 and 2019 — back-to-back finishes that placed him among the most decorated brown belt competitors of his era. Reaching the final of the sport's most prestigious event once is a significant achievement; doing so in consecutive years signaled something far more sustained.

Beyond the World Championship, Pereira remained active and productive on the IBJJF circuit, adding a bronze medal at the 2019 IBJJF South American Championship to a brown belt campaign that stands as one of the more accomplished in Ataque Duplo history. His decision to narrow his competitive focus exclusively to BJJ at this stage proved strategically sound, allowing him to channel the judo and movement foundations built under Elexsandro Silvestre Machado into a specialized, high-performance grappling game.

Harryson Pereira occupies a rare position in elite international BJJ: he has consistently competed at the sport's top tier without being a full-time professional athlete. Balancing the demands of professional life with the rigorous preparation required to perform at the IBJJF's highest levels, Pereira's black belt results stand as a measure of exceptional discipline and commitment.

Black Belt Results

His black belt record reflects both consistency and competitive range. In 2019, he reached the final of the IBJJF South American Championship No-Gi. In 2020, he claimed gold at the IBJJF Southern Brazil Championship No-Gi while also earning a bronze in the gi division of the same event. The 2023 CBJJ Brazilian Nationals brought another bronze medal, and in 2024, Pereira stepped onto the podium at the IBJJF World Championship — the sport's most competitive stage — with a bronze medal finish.

A Model for the Dedicated Part-Time Competitor

Pereira's trajectory offers a meaningful counterpoint to the assumption that elite international results require a fully professionalized athletic lifestyle. His career — built on a single enduring coaching relationship, a multi-disciplinary athletic foundation, and sustained competitive focus — stands as a concrete and well-documented example of what dedication and a strong grappling education can produce, regardless of circumstance.