Murilo Bustamante

Murilo Bustamante won the heavyweight world title in 1999 in a final against teammate Paulo Filho, both representing Carlson Gracie. It capped a consistent run at the event: silver in 1996, when he lost the final to Fabio Gurgel, and bronze at heavyweight and in the open class in 1998.

Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1966, he started jiu-jitsu as a child and received his black belt from Carlson Gracie. He also trained judo and boxing, and in 1991 he beat Marcelo Mendes in the jiu-jitsu versus luta livre challenge. In 2000 he left Carlson’s academy and founded Brazilian Top Team with Bebeo Duarte and Zé Mario Sperry.

In MMA he won the UFC middleweight belt in 2002 by stopping Dave Menne and defended it against Matt Lindland. He then moved to Pride, where he reached the final of the 2005 welterweight Grand Prix and lost to Dan Henderson by split decision. He closed his career with 15 wins, 8 losses and a draw.

A coral belt since 2019, he received his eighth degree in August 2026 at a ceremony in Rio attended by names such as Minotauro, Ricardo Arona and Ricardo Libório. “I was an insecure boy when I started training, and what BJJ did for me, it can do for other kids too,” he told GRACIEMAG.