Pedro Henrique Segura Veras was born on May 9, 1996, in Florianópolis, the capital of Brazil's Santa Catarina State — a city that would anchor his earliest years in the martial arts world. Raised in a family of dedicated combat sports enthusiasts, Veras stepped onto the judo mats at just five years old, competing in the sport for several years before broadening his horizons.

His appetite for martial arts proved insatiable. As a youth, Veras progressively added capoeira, karate, taekwondo, kung fu, and Muay Thai to his training schedule. Rather than diluting his focus, this wide-ranging exposure built a diverse athletic foundation that would later serve him well on the BJJ competition circuit.

Around ages 14 to 15, while Muay Thai occupied much of his training time, a friend persuaded Veras to give jiu-jitsu a try. The experience was immediately transformative. He fell in love with grappling from the outset, channeling that enthusiasm into consistent training — first under Carlos Rocha, then under Cláudio Arrais, where his early BJJ identity began to take shape.

The pivotal moment in Pedro Veras' development came in 2011, when the South American Championship was held in his hometown of Florianópolis. Watching the athletes of PSLPB compete left a lasting impression on the teenage Veras, who had already developed a deep admiration for Paulo Miyao and João Miyao and their highly technical, dynamic approach to the sport. That encounter stayed with him for two years.

In 2013, at 17 years old and holding a blue belt, Veras made a direct appeal to Cicero Costha, requesting entry into the PSLPB program. Costha agreed, and Veras relocated from Florianópolis to São Paulo to live in the PSLPB fighter house and train full-time — a significant commitment that reflected both his ambition and the confidence Costha placed in him.

Within one of the most prolific talent-producing academies in BJJ history, Veras developed rapidly in an environment defined by world-class coaching and an intensely competitive internal training culture. His association with PSLPB also opened the door to training opportunities at Unity JJ in New York City under Murilo Santana, adding an international dimension to his growth. After years of representing PSLPB across the colored belt divisions, Cicero Costha promoted Pedro Veras to black belt in July 2019.

Across the blue, purple, and brown belt divisions, Pedro Veras built a formidable competitive reputation on two of the sport's most demanding circuits — the IBJJF and the UAEJJF Grand Slam series. His results during this period chart a steady upward trajectory defined by increasing ambition and consistency at the international level.

Blue and Purple Belt Highlights

Veras announced himself as a competitor to watch with a silver medal at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals as a blue belt in 2015. Moving into the purple belt ranks, he escalated his output significantly: in 2017, he captured gold at the IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi and posted back-to-back runner-up finishes on the UAEJJF Grand Slam circuit, placing second in both London and Los Angeles. In 2018, still competing at purple belt, he claimed gold at the ACBJJ European Open before transitioning into the brown belt division.

Brown Belt Dominance

At brown belt, Veras proved particularly effective on the Grand Slam circuit's no-gi and submission-only formats. He won the UAEJJF Grand Slam in Tokyo in 2018, then followed with another Grand Slam gold in Abu Dhabi in 2019 — demonstrating a reliable ability to close out elite fields under pressure. A bronze medal at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2018 rounded out a productive brown belt campaign that established him as one of the more decorated colored belt competitors of his generation.

Pedro Veras wasted little time making his presence felt at the black belt level following his promotion in July 2019. Within months, he captured gold at the IBJJF NYC Fall Open in both the Gi and No-Gi formats, added another title at the IBJJF São Paulo Open, and traveled to Ireland to win the IBJJF Dublin Open in both disciplines — a remarkable burst of productivity across his debut black belt season.

2020 Competition Results

In 2020, Veras continued to build on that momentum. He earned a bronze medal at the 2020 IBJJF European Open, one of the IBJJF's flagship events on the international calendar, and claimed victory at the Para Bellum Quintet GP — a team-format grappling event that tested competitors in a structure distinct from the standard individual bracket.

The Canadian Alliance

Parallel to his competition career, an important relationship took shape that significantly extended Veras' reach in North America. Fernando Zulick, a black belt who heads Action Reaction MMA in Toronto, joined the Cicero Costha Association in 2017. Through that alliance, Zulick began bringing select PSLPB athletes from São Paulo to compete on the North American circuit, with Veras among those invited to represent the team in Canada beginning in 2018. The arrangement proved mutually beneficial: Veras gained valuable exposure and name recognition across the continent, while Zulick's Canadian team strengthened its competitive standing domestically. That cross-continental connection added another layer to an already internationally oriented career built across Brazil, Europe, the UAE, and the United States.