Igor Feliz

Igor Feliz was born on January 16, 1999, in the Santos Metropolitan Area along the coast of São Paulo, Brazil, and raised in the inland town of Porto Primavera, SP. His father, Thaisio Feliz, was already a dedicated jiu-jitsu practitioner, creating a natural gravitational pull toward the sport — though Igor did not step onto the mats until his 9th birthday. His parents, motivated by concerns over weight management, turned to grappling as a solution, recognizing its dual capacity to build physical fitness and mental discipline.

In 2016, the family's trajectory shifted decisively when Thaisio Feliz accepted a position as a jiu-jitsu instructor in Vero Beach, Florida. The entire family relocated to the United States, and Igor carried his training into his new American environment. The move proved formative, arriving precisely as the earliest major milestones of his competitive career began to take shape.

Igor Feliz distinguished himself as one of grappling's most promising young athletes during his colored belt years, competing effectively in both gi and no-gi formats across major IBJJF events. In 2016 — the same year the family relocated to Florida — he captured gold at the IBJJF World Championship at blue belt, an early signal of his elite competitive potential on the international stage.

In 2018, Thaisio Feliz founded Future School Of Jiu-Jitsu, which aligned with the R1NG alliance, a network of coaches and academies sharing common lineages. The school became Igor's competitive home and the foundation from which he continued to sharpen his craft. By 2020, competing at brown belt, Igor delivered the strongest performances of his colored belt career: he claimed gold at both the IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi and the IBJJF American Nationals No-Gi, while also earning silver at the IBJJF Pan Championship in the gi — a résumé that spoke to his versatility across formats.

On June 8, 2021, Thaisio Feliz formally promoted Igor to the rank of black belt, a milestone that represented both personal achievement and the culmination of a father-son training relationship that had defined his entire martial arts journey.

At the black belt level, Igor Feliz competes in the Peso Leve division (76.00 kg / 168.0 lbs), representing Future School Of Jiu-Jitsu and the R1NG association on the global circuit. He maintains the well-rounded, dual-format approach to competition that defined his colored belt years, remaining active and dangerous in both gi and no-gi events.

2022 Breakout Season

The year 2022 served as Igor's breakout season at the black belt level. He reached the final of the IBJJF World Championship No-Gi, finishing as runner-up and firmly planting his name among the elite competitors in his division. That same year, he added third-place finishes at both the Pan Championship and the IBJJF European Open — consistent podium performances across multiple major international tournaments that confirmed his standing as a top-level representative of Future School Of Jiu-Jitsu and R1NG on the sport's world stage.