Marcelino Freitas

Marcelino "Telino" Freitas was born on April 20, 1982, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and stands as one of the most decorated products of the Nova Uniao academy. His path to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu began on April 12, 1994, at approximately twelve years old, after Marco Sabara persuaded him to take up the sport — an introduction that would prove transformative.

Training at Nova Uniao under co-founder André Pederneiras, Freitas was welcomed onto the mats free of charge in recognition of his humble background, a gesture that embodied the academy's commitment to developing talent regardless of financial means. Immersed in one of Brazil's most competitive training environments, he honed his skills alongside some of the finest grapplers of his generation — a foundation that would sharpen both his competitive instincts and his future approach to coaching.

Freitas built one of the most consistent competitive records in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu across the full span of the belt system. Just two years after stepping onto the mats, he claimed the Brazilian National Championship at orange belt in 1996 — an early signal that his trajectory would be exceptional.

The titles accumulated with remarkable regularity from that point forward. In 1998, Freitas captured the World Championship at blue belt and contributed to Nova Uniao's Brazilian National Team Championship, a team title the academy also claimed in 2000, 2002, and 2003. A Brazilian National title at blue belt followed in 1999, and he secured a second World Championship at purple belt in 2000 — demonstrating sustained excellence across belt promotions rather than isolated peaks.

At brown belt, Freitas maintained his dominance, earning the Brazilian National Championship in 2001 before completing a remarkable sweep in 2002 by claiming both the World Championship and the Brazilian National title in the same year. The move to black belt did nothing to slow his output, as he added Brazilian National Championship gold in 2002, 2006, and 2008 — a six-year span that underscored the durability and adaptability of his game at the sport's highest level.

In 2010, Freitas extended his career internationally, spending several months in New York teaching and training alongside Vitor Ribeiro's team. The experience broadened his perspective as both a competitor and a coach, exposing him to a distinct competitive culture while allowing him to contribute directly to BJJ's growth in the United States.

During his time in New York, Freitas competed in the New York Open and carried that momentum into the Pan American BJJ Championship, advancing all the way to the final and finishing as runner-up in 2010. The result confirmed that his competitive level remained formidable well into his black belt career. An injury sustained in the lead-up to the World Championship in June 2010, however, cut short what had been a strong year on the international circuit.

Following his time in New York, Freitas relocated to Australia with the purpose of establishing a jiu-jitsu academy, carrying the Nova Uniao methodology and the lineage of André Pederneiras to a new continent. The move placed him among a broader generation of elite Brazilian black belts who expanded the sport far beyond its South American roots and into emerging BJJ markets worldwide.

By opening his own academy in Australia, Freitas merged the technical knowledge accumulated through decades on the mats at Nova Uniao headquarters with the international coaching experience forged in New York. His career arc — from a young athlete training free of charge in Rio de Janeiro to a coach establishing a school on the other side of the world — reflects both the depth of his personal journey and the global reach that Nova Uniao and its representatives have achieved throughout the sport's history.