Is Tainan Dalpra retiring? Decision comes in January
In an interview with VF Comunica, the four-time world champion says the desire to compete “always comes back” and that he is focused on his academy plans for now
Tainan Dalpra heard the question many people in jiu-jitsu have been asking, and he answered it. In an interview with VF Comunica, the four-time world champion talked about the rumors that he is retiring. He did not confirm it or rule it out, and he said the answer should come in January.
“Man, it looks like people don’t want to see me compete, because everybody is talking about retirement and all that,” the Art of Jiu-Jitsu (AOJ) athlete said, in Portuguese, before Vitor Freitas asked him if the story was true or not.
“That desire to compete always comes back”
His answer came next. “You compete and compete, right? You want to take a break. A few months go by and I think that desire to compete, that competition, always comes back,” Dalpra said.
He explained where his head is right now and gave a deadline. “At the moment, I’m very focused and engaged with the plans for the academy. And when January comes, I think I’ll have that decision,” he said. Asked if he could still compete in 2026, he did not name any date or event.
Two seasons in a row with all four titles
The question comes at the most successful moment of his career. At 25, Dalpra won the European, Pan, Brazilian National and World championships at middleweight in 2026, exactly as he had done in 2025. Those are the four biggest gi tournaments of the IBJJF, the sport’s main federation, and winning all four in one season is called a Grand Slam. The IBJJF recognizes him as the first man to complete two of them.
At Worlds, in June, he had a quick run: four matches, four chokes from the back and about six minutes of total mat time, with a win over Natan Chueng in the final. It was his fourth black belt world title, after 2021, 2022 and 2025.
Born in Florianopolis, Brazil, Dalpra moved to California at 14 to train at Art of Jiu-Jitsu, the academy of the Mendes brothers, and received his black belt from Guilherme Mendes at 19. He has only three losses as a black belt. His full story is on the Tainan Dalpra profile page on VF Comunica.
What about the Crown?
The next big event on the calendar is the Crown, on November 8 in Long Beach, California. Dalpra won the middleweight division at the first edition, in 2023, but he was not among the names the IBJJF had announced for the 2026 middleweight bracket as of early October.
Do you think Tainan Dalpra will compete again in 2027? Leave your opinion in the comments.
