Mayko Araujo

Mayko Araújo Borges was born on March 19, 1987, in Brasília, the federal capital of Brazil. His affinity for combat sports surfaced early, leading him to begin karate training at the age of nine — a discipline he committed to for several years before his path took a decisive turn.

In 2001, conversations among friends about Royce Gracie's exploits inside the octagon during the early Ultimate Fighting Championship events sparked Araújo's curiosity. Drawn to the concept of a grappling-based system capable of neutralizing larger, more physically imposing opponents, he sought out recordings of those landmark UFC bouts. Witnessing the effectiveness of the style firsthand, Araújo wasted little time signing up at a local BJJ gym. His transition from karate to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu mirrored the broader wave of martial arts enthusiasm that Gracie's early UFC performances had ignited across Brazil and beyond.

Mayko Araújo's progression through the belt ranks reflected a deliberate pursuit of elite-level instruction, shaped by a series of mentors who each left a meaningful imprint on his game. His first instructor, Erico Pereira, introduced him to the foundational principles of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Ronny Lis then guided Araújo through the blue belt stage and ultimately awarded him his brown belt.

It was as a brown belt that Araújo took the most defining step in his development — beginning training under Leonardo Vieira, widely known as Leozinho, one of the most accomplished and respected figures in the history of Checkmat. The relationship with Vieira proved transformative. In December 2011, Araújo received his black belt directly from Leonardo Vieira, capping a journey through multiple instructors that had built his technical foundation layer by layer. The deliberate nature of that path distinguishes Araújo as a practitioner who sought out mastery at every stage of his development.

Even as Araújo climbed the competitive ranks, he was simultaneously building a coaching career in his native Brasília. Teaching from his home city, he refined the communication skills and technical vocabulary that would later distinguish him as an instructor at the highest levels of the sport.

It was in this coaching environment that Araújo crossed paths with Karen Antunes in 2009, when she walked into his academy as a student. What began as an instructor-student relationship evolved into both a personal and professional partnership of remarkable depth. Antunes went on to become one of the most accomplished female athletes in the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and the two built their careers in tandem — each sharpening the other's trajectory. Their shared commitment to both competition and instruction became the foundation upon which all subsequent academy ventures would be built.

The Araújo family's journey to the United States began in 2014, when Leonardo Vieira personally invited Mayko and Karen to join him in California and help establish Checkmat's American headquarters. In the early days of that transition, the Araújo family lived with the Vieira family — Leonardo and his wife Gle — until they found their footing in a new country.

Once Checkmat HQ was firmly established in California, Araújo stepped into the role of head instructor at the facility, playing an active part in the team's American expansion. The couple subsequently relocated to Minnesota, where they opened another Checkmat affiliate and continued extending the team's reach across the country.

After three years navigating life between California and Minnesota, Mayko Araújo and Karen Antunes marked a new chapter in 2017 by co-founding their own academy in Idaho. Built from the ground up by two athletes who had earned their stripes on both the competition mats and in the instruction room, the Idaho school stands as the flagship expression of their independent contribution to Checkmat's presence in the United States.

Mayko Araújo's competitive record reflects a career of consistent achievement across both gi and no-gi formats, with particularly notable results on the no-gi circuit. Competing at Peso Pluma (64 kg / 141.5 lbs) — a weight class recognized for its depth of talent — Araújo demonstrated a sustained ability to perform at the highest levels of IBJJF competition.

International Podiums

His most prestigious no-gi results came on the international stage. In 2012, he earned a third-place finish at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, announcing himself as a legitimate force at the sport's top tier. He returned to the podium at the IBJJF Pan American No-Gi Championship in both 2015 and 2016, reinforcing his consistency across multiple competitive cycles.

Domestic Success and Peak Season

2016 proved to be Araújo's most productive competitive season. He claimed gold at both the IBJJF Chicago Spring Open and the IBJJF Houston Open, while adding further podium finishes at the IBJJF Dallas Open, the USJJF/IBJJF American Nationals, and the IBJJF Chicago Open No-Gi Championship. A runner-up finish at the IBJJF South Brazil Championship in 2012 had earlier signaled his emergence as a serious contender at the regional and national level. Together, these results paint a picture of a competitor who combined technical precision with the competitive durability required to succeed across multiple tournament formats and weight-class environments.