Pedro Maia

Pedro Maia was born on October 27, 1999, in Ceilândia, a satellite city on the outskirts of Brasília, Brazil's federal capital. Like many Brazilian athletes who would find their calling in jiu-jitsu, Maia's first encounter with martial arts came through tae-kwon-do — a discipline that instilled a foundational athleticism and competitive drive before he discovered the grappling art that would define his career.

His transition to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu came under the guidance of Cláudio Careca, his first jiu-jitsu instructor and the coach who introduced him to the technical demands of the ground game. Under Careca's tutelage, Maia showed immediate promise, stepping onto the competition floor at the teen level as early as 2014 and quickly establishing himself as one of the most compelling young prospects from the Brasília region.

Maia's early competitive career was defined by a rapid, purposeful climb through some of the sport's most prestigious age-group and colored belt divisions. His first major title arrived at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2014 at the teen level — an early signal of the competitive ceiling he was capable of reaching.

Juvenile Dominance on the International Stage

2016 proved to be a landmark year for Maia as a juvenile competitor. He swept the international circuit that season, claiming gold at the 2016 IBJJF World Championship, the 2016 IBJJF South American Championship, and the 2016 IBJJF European Open — a remarkable run that demonstrated both his technical maturity and his ability to perform under pressure on the sport's biggest age-group stages.

Purple Belt Progression

Carrying that momentum into the colored belt ranks, Maia made his presence felt immediately at the purple belt level. In 2017, he claimed victory at the 2017 IBJJF Rio BJJ Pro and earned a third-place finish at the IBJJF European Open. His progression continued through 2018 with a podium finish at the IBJJF World Championship, a result that underscored his consistent elite-level output. By 2019, Maia captured gold at the 2019 IBJJF South American Championship, capping his colored belt career with a continental title before turning his full attention to the black belt division.

A pivotal chapter in Maia's development unfolded when Saulo Ribeiro — a legendary figure in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and a multiple-time IBJJF World Champion — took notice of the young athlete's potential and offered him a full scholarship to train at his academy in California. For a competitor from a working-class suburb of Brasília, the opportunity was extraordinary.

Immersed in the Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu environment, Maia trained alongside world-class partners, absorbed refined competition preparation methods, and operated within the high-performance culture that Saulo Ribeiro's academy had become known for cultivating. The experience sharpened his technical game at a critical juncture — the transition from colored belt success to the demanding realities of black belt competition — and broadened his competitive perspective in ways that would pay dividends on the international stage.

After returning to Brazil, Pedro Maia received his black belt from Felipe Rair in 2020, formalizing his place among the sport's elite. His transition to the black belt division was immediate and assured. In 2021, a runner-up finish at the AJP South American Continental Pro announced him as a genuine force in the Peso Leve division (76 kg / 168 lbs).

Building a Black Belt Résumé

Maia built his black belt record steadily and without interruption. A third-place finish at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2022 reflected his growing consistency on the national stage. Then 2023 emerged as his most prominent year. He reached the final of both the 2023 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship and the 2023 IBJJF World Championship, earning silver medals at two of the sport's most prestigious events and cementing his status as one of the top lightweights competing internationally under the Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu banner. A runner-up finish at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals that same year further reinforced his podium reliability.

The 2024 season brought the validation his résumé had been building toward. Maia claimed gold at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals, converting years of consistent podium appearances into a national title. A third-place finish at the 2024 IBJJF World Championship rounded out a compelling body of black belt work that spans multiple seasons and multiple continents.

In 2021, shortly after earning his black belt, Pedro Maia channeled his competitive experience into founding the We Flow BJJ School in Brasília. The academy reflects both his personal identity as a martial artist and his continued connection to the Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu network, through which he competes internationally.

By planting roots in the same community of Ceilândia and Brasília that shaped his own development, Maia contributes directly to the growth of the sport in the Brazilian capital region. His dual role as a high-level competitor and academy founder reflects a commitment to transmitting the technical standards and competitive values instilled in him by Cláudio Careca, Saulo Ribeiro, and Felipe Rair. Through We Flow BJJ, Maia works to develop the next generation of athletes from a region that continues to produce competitive jiu-jitsu talent.