Matias Estevez

Matías Estévez was born on November 6, 1994, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and raised in the Ciudad Autónoma neighborhood of the Argentine capital. As a child, he carried a restless energy that his parents worked hard to channel productively, enrolling him in a wide range of physical and creative activities over the years. Football, basketball, volleyball, karate, taekwondo, judo, and even ceramic art classes all came and went — none holding his attention long enough to sustain a real commitment.

The turning point came with Rink Hockey, a sport deeply embedded in Argentine sporting culture and one already practiced by one of his older brothers. The combination of familiarity and competitive structure gave Estévez the outlet he had been missing, and he competed in the sport until his 12th birthday. From there, he transitioned to handball, representing his school team throughout high school and beginning to develop the athletic discipline that had eluded him in childhood.

As a teenager, Estévez's attention shifted to mixed martial arts, with the Strikeforce promotion serving as a formative influence on his early passion for combat sports. Watching elite fighters compete ignited a desire to test himself on the mats, and at age 17, he walked into Team 360 in the Belgrano district of Buenos Aires. Under coach Eduardo Amarante, Estévez took his first steps in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu — steps that would eventually carry him to the highest levels of international competition.

The environment at Team 360 proved formative in ways that extended well beyond technique. Training alongside future prominent figures in Argentinian BJJ — including Pablo Lavaselli, Joaquín Rodríguez, and Lucas Galbusera — Estévez developed within a group that would go on to shape the country's competitive landscape. Eduardo Amarante awarded him his blue belt, marking the formal beginning of a career that would unfold across multiple academies and continents.

Following a parting of ways with his professor at Team 360, Estévez did not step away from the sport. Instead, he continued training in an informal setting — working out of Pablo Lavaselli's garage alongside Lavaselli, Joaquín Rodríguez, and a small group of dedicated training partners. Modest in its surroundings but serious in its intent, this intermediate period kept his development moving forward while he sought a more permanent home.

That home came through a connection with Eduardo Duarte — known widely as Dudu — and Miguel Ángel Alderete, which brought Estévez into Nova União Argentina, based at the United Fight Center. The partnership proved to be the defining relationship of his athletic career. Under Dudu's guidance, Estévez's jiu-jitsu grew markedly, and his results on the competitive circuit began to reflect that growth. Every belt promotion from blue onward was earned at Nova União Argentina, culminating in his black belt, awarded by Dudu in August 2019. The United Fight Center also became the site of Estévez's coaching career, where he took on a teaching role at Nova União's Argentine headquarters, passing the art on to the next generation of Argentinian grapplers.

Building a National and International Record

For much of his career, Estévez built his competitive record primarily on the national stage, accumulating results that demonstrated consistent technical development through the colored belt ranks. At purple belt, he claimed gold at the 2016 AJP Argentina National Pro and the 2016 CBJJ Brazilian Team Nationals. At brown belt, he reached the podium at multiple international events — including the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals, the IBJJF Rio Winter Open, and the AJP Grand Slam in London — results that signaled his readiness for the upper tiers of the sport.

Black Belt Breakthrough on the IBJJF Circuit

The COVID-19 pandemic interrupted the competitive trajectory of athletes worldwide, and Estévez was no exception. When international competition resumed, he returned with renewed purpose, setting his sights on the IBJJF circuit in the United States. Competing in the featherweight division — Peso Pena, at 70 kg / 154.5 lbs — he faced and defeated some of the world's top competitors across multiple events. His 2022 campaign yielded gold medals at both the 2022 IBJJF Charleston Open and the 2022 IBJJF Dallas Open, with his appearance in the Dallas Open featherweight final among the defining moments of that run.

Dominance in the AJP Ecosystem

Beyond the IBJJF circuit, Estévez built a meaningful record within the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro ecosystem. He claimed back-to-back AJP South America Continental Pro titles, establishing himself as the dominant figure in his division on the continent. A 3rd-place finish at the AJP World Pro further underscored his standing on the global stage, placing him among the elite at one of the sport's most prestigious international events. Together, these results paint the portrait of a competitor whose ambitions and abilities have consistently extended well beyond Argentina's borders.