Bernardo Pitel

Bernardo Pitel won the roosterweight world title in 2001, in his first year at black belt, in a final against Nova União teammate Alison Melo. A year earlier, still a brown belt, he had already won the Worlds in the same division.

Born in Brasília in 1976, he did judo and capoeira before starting jiu-jitsu at 18 with João Roque, who gave him his black belt, in André Pederneiras’s Nova União lineage. At blue belt he took bronze at the 1998 Worlds, and at brown belt he won bronze in 1999 and gold in 2000.

At black belt he returned to the Worlds podium in 2006 with silver at light-featherweight, after losing the final to Bibiano Fernandes, in 2007 with bronze in the same division and in 2009 with bronze at roosterweight. He became known for his reverse half guard, the subject of an instructional that bears his name. He also earned a physical education degree.

A sixth-degree black belt, he moved to the United States and runs Bernardo Pitel Jiu Jitsu in Missouri City, Texas. He still competes in the masters divisions.