Pedro Keller De Souza

João Pedro Silva de Souza was born on October 29, 2002, in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil, into a household already deeply rooted in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. With his father, José Alberto, holding a black belt, Pedro grew up immersed in the culture and practice of BJJ from birth — an environment that cultivated an exceptional competitive drive. He began entering competitions at just eight years old, a level of dedication that set the tone for the decorated career to follow.

During his formative years in Manaus, Pedro trained under his father alongside Mestre Nabil, absorbing the technical foundations that would underpin his later development. Manaus is not historically regarded as one of Brazil's primary BJJ hubs, making the quality of training available to him there all the more significant. The combination of a knowledgeable father-coach and a dedicated mentor created a structured development environment that prepared him for elite-level competition long before he would relocate to the country's major competitive centers.

At the age of 15, Pedro Silva de Souza made the pivotal decision to leave Manaus and relocate to São Paulo, where he joined Cicero Costha's renowned academy on a scholarship. The move placed him within one of Brazil's most respected and competition-oriented training environments, accelerating his development considerably. His professional association with Dream Art was formalized when he was hired as a brown belt in early 2022, cementing a relationship that had developed over years of competitive involvement.

His colored belt career built steadily toward the sport's highest rank. At the juvenile level, he was already collecting titles at major international events, and that momentum carried uninterrupted through his blue, purple, and brown belt divisions. The culmination of that journey came on June 4, 2023, when Isaque Bahiense awarded Pedro his black belt — marking the official transition from one of the sport's most accomplished colored belt competitors to a practitioner at the elite open division level. His progression through the ranks was not merely consistent; it was decorated at virtually every stage.

Pedro Silva de Souza brings a distinctly modern approach to guard play, one built around the interconnected use of complex fabric-based and open guard systems. At the center of his game is the Lapel Guard, a system that leverages the opponent's gi jacket to create mechanical disadvantages and enable intricate sweeping sequences and submission entries — rewarding the kind of precise timing and deep technical understanding Pedro has cultivated throughout his career.

Underpinning that system is his command of De La Riva Guard, which provides a versatile open guard framework that feeds naturally into his lapel and lasso setups. The Lasso Guard completes his primary arsenal, giving him a third interconnected tool that allows him to shift between systems fluidly based on the opponent's reactions. Together, these three guard systems form a cohesive and difficult-to-predict game plan — one that reflects the sophisticated technical environment of Cicero Costha's academy and Dream Art, both of which are associated with high-level, competition-focused jiu-jitsu.

Pedro competes in the Meio Pesado division at 88.30 kg (195.0 lbs), a weight class where athleticism and technical refinement intersect. His guard-centric style suits the demands of that division well, placing a premium on mobility, timing, and spatial control — qualities that his chosen techniques naturally emphasize.

Juvenile Dominance

Pedro Silva de Souza's path through the colored belt ranks was defined by consistent success at the sport's most prestigious events. As a juvenile competitor, he announced himself emphatically on the international stage, capturing gold at the IBJJF World Championship in both 2018 and 2019, the IBJJF Pan Championship in 2019, and the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2018 — establishing himself as one of the most dominant juvenile competitors of his generation.

Blue and Purple Belt Progression

The transition to adult competition did not slow his momentum. At blue belt, he reached the podium at the 2020 IBJJF European Open Championship, earning a silver medal. At purple belt, he claimed gold at the 2021 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship while also securing multiple placements at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2019.

Brown Belt Peak

His brown belt campaign proved to be his most decorated phase at the colored belt level. A gold medal at the 2022 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship headlined a run that also included a gold at the 2023 CBJJ Brazilian Nationals, a silver at the 2022 IBJJF Pan Championship, and a bronze at the IBJJF World Championship in 2023 — results that underscored the breadth and durability of his competitive ability across circuits and formats.

Following the receipt of his black belt in June 2023, Pedro Silva de Souza wasted no time establishing himself on the international black belt circuit. His Grand Slam debut produced an immediate statement: a silver medal at the AJP Grand Slam in Rio de Janeiro in 2023, demonstrating his readiness to compete at the sport's highest level without a transitional period.

In 2024, Pedro raised the bar further by claiming gold at the AJP Grand Slam in Tokyo — a result that confirmed his standing as an emerging force in the Meio Pesado black belt division. The upward trajectory across his first two Grand Slam appearances reflects both the technical maturity built through years of elite colored belt competition and the preparation afforded by his training environment at Dream Art. His guard-based system translates effectively against the sport's top-ranked practitioners, and his performances on the AJP circuit signal that his transition to black belt competition has been seamless.