Thalison Soares

Thalison Soares was born on May 21, 1999, in Manacapuru, a municipality in the Brazilian state of Amazonas, and raised in the state's capital, Manaus. A naturally active child, he gravitated toward football (soccer) and swimming through school programs before encountering jiu-jitsu at age 10, when he joined a local academy and quickly developed a genuine passion for the sport. That chapter proved short-lived — his parents' separation forced a relocation with his father to a different town, pulling him away from training for roughly two years.

Tragedy soon deepened the disruption when Thalison's father passed away, a devastating loss that ultimately brought him back to Manaus. Returning to the city he called home, Soares gradually reestablished familiar routines — and it was through that process that jiu-jitsu re-entered his life. Two black belts, Laercio Junior and Robson Correia, had launched a community social project and grappling academy in Thalison's neighborhood, offering free classes to local youth. When they encountered Soares and extended an invitation to train, he accepted, reigniting the spark first lit at age 10.

Under the guidance of Laercio and Robson, Soares progressed from white to green belt, competing in every available tournament. Given the financial constraints of living in the remote state of Amazonas, covering competition entry fees required resourcefulness — Soares famously sold raffle tickets to fund his participation. He embraced competition not only as athletic pursuit but as a means of channeling the grief of losing his father, finding in jiu-jitsu both purpose and emotional grounding during one of the most formative and difficult periods of his life.

By the age of 14, Thalison Soares had set his sights on a professional career in jiu-jitsu, but the opportunities available in Amazonas were limited compared to Brazil's major competitive hubs. The turning point came through Melqui Galvão, a black belt from the Manaus region and personal friend of Cicero Costha, one of Brazil's most accomplished BJJ instructors. Galvão facilitated an introduction between the two, and with his mother's blessing, Soares arranged to relocate to São Paulo and train full-time under Costha's direction.

At just 15 years old, Soares moved alone to São Paulo to take up residence at the Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem (PSLPB) Fighters House — a well-established training environment that had already produced some of Brazil's most elite competitors. Among his teammates were Paulo Miyao and João Miyao, accomplished black belts whose highly technical, guard-heavy grappling system bore a striking resemblance to the style Thalison would develop. Training daily alongside the Miyao brothers shaped his early technical identity in immediate and lasting ways, eventually earning him the nickname "Little Miyao" within the competitive community.

After establishing himself on the local São Paulo competition circuit, Soares began preparing for a larger stage. The professional infrastructure and elite training environment of the PSLPB Fighters House provided the foundation for what would become one of the most decorated colored belt careers in BJJ history.

Juvenile and Blue Belt Breakthrough

Thalison Soares announced himself to the international BJJ community in 2016, debuting as a juvenile blue belt and immediately claiming gold at the IBJJF World Championship in both gi and no-gi formats. He also captured the IBJJF European Open Juvenile title that same year, establishing a pattern of multi-event dominance that would define his colored belt years. It was also in 2016 that Soares first connected with Unity Jiu-Jitsu in New York, a relationship that would grow into one of his most significant professional affiliations.

Purple and Brown Belt Dominance

The success of 2016 proved no anomaly. At purple belt, Soares claimed the IBJJF World Championship in both 2017 and 2018, while also winning the IBJJF Pan Championship and CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in each of those years. He added the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro title at purple belt in 2017 and 2018 as well, demonstrating that his dominance extended across multiple competitive organizations. The progression continued seamlessly into brown belt, where he replicated much of the same success in 2019 — winning the IBJJF World Championship, Pan Championship, Brazilian Nationals, and the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro once more before receiving his black belt promotion in June 2019.

By 2017, Soares had achieved a milestone he had long aspired to: financial independence through jiu-jitsu, living solely from the sport. His repeated dominance across belt levels, organizations, and formats cemented his reputation as one of the most accomplished colored belt competitors the sport has seen — and his black belt promotion marked the close of a chapter few athletes have matched in its consistency and breadth of achievement.

Immediate Impact at the Elite Level

Soares transitioned to black belt competition without missing a beat, winning the IBJJF World No-Gi Championship and the IBJJF Pan Pacific Championship within the same year his black belt was awarded in 2019. These early results signaled that the dominance he demonstrated as a colored belt would carry forward into the sport's most demanding competitive tier.

Championship Consistency

The 2022 season marked a defining moment in his black belt career when Soares claimed gold at the IBJJF World Championship in the gi — one of the most prestigious titles in all of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. That year also saw him win the IBJJF Pan Championship and IBJJF European Open, reaffirming his status as one of the premier competitors in the Peso Galo division (57.50 kg / 127.0 lbs). He carried that momentum into 2023, earning a second IBJJF Pan Pacific Championship, reaching the final of the IBJJF World Championship, and extending his run at the IBJJF European Open. In 2024, Soares added a second IBJJF Pan Championship and a third consecutive IBJJF European Open title to his black belt résumé.

International Circuit Performance

Beyond the IBJJF circuit, Soares competes across major international platforms including the UAEJJF and AJP circuits. He reached the final of the UAEJJF Grand Slam in Moscow in 2019 and claimed a podium finish at the AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2023, demonstrating competitive range across different rulesets and organizations. Competing in one of BJJ's most fiercely contested weight classes, Soares has established himself as a consistent force at the very top of the Peso Galo division on the global stage.

Origins of a Technical Identity

The nickname "Little Miyao" was not assigned arbitrarily. During Soares' early years at the Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem (PSLPB) Fighters House, his grappling drew immediate comparisons to that of teammates Paulo Miyao and João Miyao. Training daily alongside two of the most technically sophisticated guard players in the sport left an unmistakable imprint on his approach — particularly in his guard retention, leg entanglement entries, and positional creativity.

A Distinctive Competitive Identity

Over time, Soares moved beyond that early influence to cultivate his own competitive identity. What began as a stylistic echo of the Miyao system evolved into a distinctive personal brand that rivals and coaches within the sport came to recognize on its own terms. Years of high-volume tournament experience accumulated since childhood — competing at every available opportunity, often under financial strain — forged a tournament-hardened competitive mindset that complements his technical depth.

The Black Belt Competitor's Mindset

At the black belt level, Soares frames competition through the lens of error management, describing the difference between colored and black belt competition as a "game of errors" in which the margin for mistake narrows considerably. This philosophy reflects both the maturity he has developed as a competitor and his commitment to the disciplined training habits that drove his colored belt success. The emphasis on consistency, precision, and preparation has remained central to his approach regardless of the belt around his waist.

Establishing Roots in New South Wales

In August 2019, Thalison Soares made a significant life transition when he relocated to New South Wales, Australia, extending his BJJ footprint well beyond the Brazilian and North American markets where he had built his reputation. Shortly after arriving, he founded The Academy Byron Bay, establishing himself as both a gym owner and head instructor in a region with a growing appetite for high-level jiu-jitsu. He has also served as a jiu-jitsu instructor at We Roll, further broadening his coaching presence across Australia.

Competitor, Coach, and Community Builder

Throughout this transition, Soares maintained his long-standing affiliation with Unity Jiu-Jitsu in New York — a connection first established in 2016 that grew into one of his most enduring professional relationships. The dual role of competitor and coach has become central to how Soares defines his career, with teaching serving not merely as a professional function but as a genuine path to self-knowledge. He views each discipline — training for competition and instructing students — as mutually reinforcing, with insights from the mat informing the classroom and vice versa.

The move to Australia represented a deliberate broadening of his identity within the sport, from decorated competitor to community builder and educator. Soares brings to his teaching the same depth of tournament experience and technical understanding that characterized his rise through the ranks, offering students in Australia access to expertise shaped by years of elite international competition.