Mathias Luna was born on February 21, 1995, in Recife, the capital of Pernambuco in northeastern Brazil. At the age of 8, he relocated with his family to Natal, the coastal capital of Rio Grande do Norte, where he spent the formative years of his childhood and adolescence. It was in Natal that Mathias discovered jiu-jitsu at 16, drawn to the sport after watching a neighbor's involvement in the martial art spark something in him that would define his life's trajectory.

His early development on the mats was shaped by coaches Fábio Rodrigues and Júlio e Rodrigo Salustino, under whose guidance he built the technical foundations that would later define his competitive identity. From the outset, he trained alongside his twin brother Matheus Luna — a dynamic that gave their shared journey a rare depth, two athletes developing in parallel, pushing one another toward excellence from their very first sessions on the mats.

As Mathias matured as a competitor, he joined the Barreto Brothers' Academy, a key developmental environment that accelerated his progression and exposure to higher-level training. The academy served as a bridge between his early formation in Natal and the international competitive circuit he would soon enter.

In 2017, Mathias and his twin brother Matheus made the pivotal decision to relocate to the United States, seeking elite-level competition and greater opportunities for growth. The move proved transformative. Both brothers connected with Checkmat, training under Ricardo Feliciano and Lucas Leite, two of the organization's most prominent figures. On August 24, 2019, Mathias received his black belt promotion from Lucas Leite and Ricardo Feliciano — a milestone that formally recognized years of elite competitive output across multiple belt levels. Some sources refer to his promoter as "Ricardo Pantcho," understood to be a nickname for Ricardo Feliciano.

The twins' ascent through the colored belt ranks had already generated significant attention within the BJJ community well before that ceremony. The black belt represented not a beginning of recognition, but a continuation of it.

Mathias Luna's colored belt career stands as one of the most decorated of his generation, built with remarkable consistency across gi and no-gi formats and multiple international circuits.

Blue and Purple Belt Dominance

At blue belt, Mathias captured gold at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro in 2015, then claimed the IBJJF World Championship title in 2016. He returned to the IBJJF World stage to claim gold again at purple belt in 2018 — the same year he secured a second Abu Dhabi Pro title at purple belt, confirming his dominance across two separate tournament series. His purple belt run also included the SJJIF World Championship in 2017, the IBJJF European Open in 2018, the ROYAL III Invitational in 2018, and the ACBJJ American Nationals in 2018 — a body of work that few competitors at that level have matched.

Brown Belt Success and Black Belt Arrival

Transitioning to brown belt, Mathias continued to perform at the highest level. He claimed the IBJJF World Championship NoGi title in 2019, a result that underscored his technical versatility across both formats. He added a bronze medal at the UAEJJF Grand Slam LA in 2018 and a third-place finish at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro at brown belt in 2019. By the time he received his black belt, his competitive résumé already rivaled those of seasoned black belts competing on the world stage.

Mathias Luna's transition to black belt competition brought no decline in output. Competing in the Meio Pesado division (88.30 kg / 195.0 lbs), he established himself as a consistent force on the North American IBJJF circuit, winning the IBJJF American Nationals in both 2021 and 2023. At the 2023 IBJJF American Nationals, he also earned a third-place finish in the absolute division, demonstrating his ability to compete effectively across weight classes.

On the global stage, he claimed a bronze medal at the IBJJF Pan Championship in 2022, testing himself against the world's elite in a tournament that consistently draws top black belts from every major team. In 2019, in the early months of his black belt career, he added a third-place finish at the IBJJF World Championship NoGi.

The 2025 IBJJF Pan Championship marked a landmark moment in Mathias's black belt career — he claimed the gold medal, his most significant black belt title to date and a result that reaffirmed his standing among the best in his division worldwide. Competing under the Brazilian flag, Mathias builds a black belt record that reflects the sustained excellence he demonstrated throughout every stage of his development.

Few narratives in modern competitive jiu-jitsu are as distinctive as that of Mathias and Matheus Luna. The twins trained together virtually from the beginning — from their early sessions under coaches in Natal through their relocation to the United States and their years at Checkmat. The same academies, the same coaches, the same pivotal decisions across continents: each brother's story is inseparable from the other's.

At purple belt, both twins simultaneously reached the top of competitive rankings, an achievement that drew widespread attention and was recognized as extraordinary even by the standards of elite jiu-jitsu. Their parallel trajectories through the colored belt ranks forged a collective identity that made them one of the most recognized duos in the sport during that era.

While their careers have developed individual identities at black belt — each accumulating his own titles and competitive record — their early journeys remain deeply intertwined. Understanding Mathias Luna fully means understanding the competitive environment he and Matheus created for one another: a dynamic that helped push both athletes to the summit of one of the most demanding martial arts landscapes in the world.