Ricardo Soranço

Ricardo Soranço de Andrade Cruz was born on January 27, 1992, in Juiz de Fora, a city in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. Sport defined his upbringing from the start, with football (soccer) serving as his primary competitive outlet. He competed at a regional level in both striker and goalkeeper roles, though he eventually recognized that his true athletic calling lay elsewhere.

Alongside football, a curiosity for martial arts surfaced early. Soranço began practicing Capoeira at age 7 and later explored Taekwondo at 12, yet neither discipline held his attention for long. These early experiments left a six-year gap in his combat sports journey — one that would be closed in an unlikely fashion.

The turning point came when a close friend named Shermann expressed interest in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and persuaded Soranço to join him for a trial class. The outing took an ironic turn when Shermann suffered a badly broken toe on his very first day, ending his introduction to the sport before it began. Ricardo, however, was immediately captivated by grappling. He enrolled that same day, marking the start of a serious and lasting commitment to BJJ.

Ricardo Soranço's progression through the belt ranks began under a coach known as "Barney," who guided him from white belt through to brown belt. During this period, a deep admiration for the legacy of BTT Juiz de Fora drew Soranço to train there periodically under Ricardo Marques. The gym held particular significance — it was the same institution that had developed two of his most respected athletes, Bernardo Faria and Leonardo Saggioro.

In 2018, what had been an occasional arrangement became permanent. Soranço made a deliberate move to BTT Juiz de Fora with a clear goal: to pursue a more professional and competitive path in jiu-jitsu. The decision proved consequential. After years of dedicated training within the BTT system, Ricardo Marques promoted Soranço to black belt in January 2021 — a milestone that formally recognized both his technical development and his unwavering commitment to the sport.

Soranço competes in the Peso Leve division (76 kg / 168 lbs), representing Brazil under the BTT banner.

Following his black belt promotion in January 2021, Ricardo Soranço built a consistent and wide-ranging competitive record on the IBJJF Masters circuit. His ability to perform across both gi and no-gi formats became one of the defining characteristics of his black belt career.

Regional Dominance and Recurring Titles

Among his most notable results, Soranço captured gold at the IBJJF South Brazilian Championship No-Gi in 2023 and claimed back-to-back titles at the IBJJF Rio Fall Open in 2022 and 2024, adding a no-gi gold at the same event in 2022. His repeated appearances in the finals and semifinals of the IBJJF Rio Summer Open — where he took silver in both 2022 and 2023 — further illustrate the sustained consistency that defines his black belt record.

International Reach and Major Circuit Results

Soranço also demonstrated his capabilities on larger stages. In 2022, he reached the podium at the IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi, earning third place, and claimed the same result at the IBJJF Masters South American Championship. That same year, he extended his reach internationally with a third-place finish at the AJP Grand Slam in Miami — a result that underscored his competitiveness beyond domestic borders.

Long before his black belt promotion, Ricardo Soranço had already established himself as a credible and determined competitor. His brown belt career stretched from at least 2014 through 2019, producing a résumé that reflected both ambition and competitive durability.

Early Promise and No-Gi Strength

An early signal of his competitive drive came at the 2014 IBJJF Rio BJJ Pro, where Soranço reached the podium as a purple belt — a result that foreshadowed the trajectory ahead. As a brown belt, he claimed gold at the IBJJF Rio Fall Open No-Gi in 2017 and added another title at the IBJJF São Paulo Open No-Gi in 2019, demonstrating particular strength in no-gi competition.

National and International Podiums

On the national stage, Soranço twice reached the final of the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals No-Gi at brown belt, finishing as runner-up in both 2016 and 2019 — placing him among the more competitive brown belts in Brazil during that period. He also accumulated multiple podium appearances at the IBJJF Rio BJJ Pro across different years, earned third place at the IBJJF South American Championship in 2019, and rounded out his brown belt campaign with a third-place finish at the AJP Brazil National Pro in 2018. Taken together, these results laid a strong foundation for the black belt years ahead.