Delson “Pé de Chumbo” Heleno

Delson Heleno came to jiu-jitsu from capoeira, where he earned the nickname Pé de Chumbo, lead foot, from his master Batata because of his heavy kick. In jiu-jitsu he built a reputation as a guard passer in Teresópolis, in the mountains of Rio de Janeiro state, and received his black belt from Adilson “Bitta” Lima.

He was a blue belt world champion in 1998, took bronze in the purple belt open class in 2000 and won the brown belt title in 2001. In 2002, his first year at black belt at the Worlds, he won the middleweight division for Gracie Barra, beating Bruno Fernandes on points in the final.

He moved up a division and returned to the podium at medium-heavyweight, with bronze in 2004 and silver in 2006, when he lost the final to Braulio Estima. He stayed active for many years and in 2019 submitted Fernando Tererê at BJJ Stars.

In MMA he was one of the standouts of the New York Pitbulls, Renzo Gracie’s team that won the IFL title in 2007, when he submitted Jake Ellenberger with an armbar in the final. He later fought on TUF Brasil, in the UFC and at events in Russia. He now teaches seminars around the world.