Pedro Veras

Pedro Veras was born on May 9, 1996, in Florianópolis, the capital of Brazil's Santa Catarina State — a city that shaped an unusually diverse martial arts upbringing. Raised in a family of combat sports enthusiasts, Veras began formal training in judo at just five years old. Over the following years, he expanded his repertoire to include capoeira, karate, taekwondo, kung fu, and Thai boxing, cycling through disciplines as his curiosity and competitive drive evolved.

By his mid-teens, Veras had committed to muay Thai when a friend persuaded him — around ages 14 to 15 — to step onto the BJJ mats for the first time. The experience proved immediately transformative. Despite years immersed in striking arts, Veras found in grappling a depth and problem-solving dimension unlike anything he had encountered before. He began his BJJ journey at Carlos Rocha's gym before transitioning to the academy of Cláudio Arrais, where his technical foundation in the sport took shape.

As Veras deepened his involvement in competitive BJJ, the dynamic grappling style of the Miyao Brothers — Paulo Miyao and João Miyao — became a defining influence on his ambitions. That admiration crystallized in 2011 when he witnessed Cicero Costha's students compete at the South American Championship, held that year in his hometown of Florianópolis. The impression left by PSLPB Cicero Costha athletes at that event stayed with Veras for two years.

In 2013, at age 17 and holding a blue belt, Veras took decisive action and reached out directly to Master Cicero Costha, requesting to join the team. Costha agreed, and Veras relocated from Florianópolis to São Paulo, moving into the PSLPB fighter house and immersing himself in one of the most elite competitive environments in the sport's history. Surrounded by world-class training partners and plugged into one of the world's most demanding competitive circuits, the move proved pivotal to his development.

His affiliation with PSLPB also opened the door to Unity Jiu-Jitsu in New York City, under Murilo Santana, providing invaluable international training exposure. After years of dedicated representation of the PSLPB Academy across colored belt divisions, Veras received his black belt from Cicero Costha in July 2019.

Colored Belt Dominance

Throughout his colored belt career, Pedro Veras established himself as one of PSLPB's most accomplished competitors, building an impressive record across both the UAEJJF and IBJJF circuits. His performances on the UAEJJF Grand Slam circuit were particularly striking — as a brown belt, he captured Grand Slam titles in Tokyo in 2018 and in Abu Dhabi in 2019. He also earned silver medals in Los Angeles in both 2017 (as a purple belt) and 2018 (as a brown belt), and in London in 2017 as a purple belt. On the IBJJF side, he claimed gold at the Pan Championship No-Gi in 2017 as a purple belt and won the ACBJJ European Open in 2018. His trajectory at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals further illustrated his consistency — reaching the final as a blue belt in 2015 and returning to the podium with a bronze in 2018 as a brown belt.

Black Belt Breakthrough

Following his black belt promotion in 2019, Veras carried his competitive momentum without interruption. That same year, he won the IBJJF NYC Fall Open, the IBJJF NYC Fall Open No-Gi, the IBJJF São Paulo Open, the IBJJF Dublin Open, and the IBJJF Dublin Open No-Gi — a prolific run spanning multiple continents within months of his promotion. In early 2020, he added a bronze at the IBJJF European Open and a victory at the Para Bellum Quintet GP, affirming his standing among the sport's competitive elite.

A significant chapter in Veras' career development unfolded through his relationship with Fernando Zulick, a black belt and founder of Action Reaction MMA in Toronto, Canada. When Zulick aligned his academy with the PSLPB Cicero Costha association in 2017, it created a new pathway for select athletes from Cicero's São Paulo gym to compete and represent the team within the North American circuit.

Beginning in 2018, Veras became one of the athletes brought to Canada through this connection, making regular visits to Toronto to compete under Zulick's banner. The arrangement proved mutually beneficial: Veras gained greater visibility across North America, while Zulick's team strengthened its competitive standing within the Canadian BJJ landscape. This cross-continental partnership added an important dimension to Veras' development as a competitor and helped cement his reputation well beyond the borders of Brazil.