Moura and Victoria: two wins from the same training room
The two Brazilians prepared together under Bruno Bastos in Texas and both won at UFC BJJ 12; Claudia Gadelha praised the work and said she did not expect Victoria’s performance
Two of the Brazilian wins at UFC BJJ 12 came out of the same training room. Cassia Moura, who won her second belt in the organization, and Thaynara Victoria, who submitted Danielle Kelly in her debut, prepared together under Bruno Bastos, the head of LEAD BJJ in Midland, Texas. Their work came up at the press conference after the event, on Thursday, October 8, in Las Vegas.
“Anybody that is in that room with Cassia, I know they raise their standards, cuz Cassia is different. She’s built different and she’s very disciplined,” UFC BJJ president Claudia Gadelha said. “I talked to Bruno and to her on the side, and it looks like they got her training camp dialed in. Her mindset is great. So anybody that comes in to train with them will perform different.”
Victoria surprised even the president
Victoria came into the event known for her leg attacks and won with an armbar at 2:53 of the first round, against one of the best-known athletes in the division. Her performance earned her one of the submission bonuses of the night.
“To be honest with you, I wasn’t expecting Thaynara’s performance to be the way it was, and she pulled off that beautiful submission and finished one of the best in the world,” Gadelha said. In another answer, she came back to it: “In less than 5 minutes, Thaynara threw a bunch of submissions in Danielle Kelly and surprised everybody.”
A 2025 Pan champion, Victoria joined Moura and Bastos to prepare for her UFC BJJ debut. Her story is on the Thaynara Victoria profile page on VF Comunica.
“Good people by your side, good coach”
Moura also talked about the preparation when she was asked how Bastos got her ready for Adele Fornarino’s guard. She said her coach is always there with the group, working hard to make sure everything goes well. “When you have a good camp, good people by your side, good coach, everything is going to be fine,” she said.
The two go back a long way. Moura started jiu-jitsu in 2014 in Realengo, a neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, at a social project supervised by Bastos. In 2023, at 17, she traveled to the United States to compete at Worlds and stayed to live and train with him in Texas. One year later, he gave her the black belt.
That fast rise is what made Gadelha question the coach at the time. “I asked him, ‘Bruno, are you sure?’ And he was like, ‘She’s different, believe me, she’s different,’” Gadelha said. Her full story is on the Cassia Moura profile page.
Two more names at UFC BJJ 13
Bastos’ name shows up again at the next event. Jaine Fragoso, who makes her debut at UFC BJJ 13 against Ffion Davies, from Wales, thanked him when she announced the match and called him her manager. “Now its official! My debut at @ufcbjj has date and time set! Ffion Davies is my opponent and I have been working so hard not just now but for so long to be ready to this kind of opportunity! And I am!” Fragoso wrote.
The match is at bantamweight, the division where Moura has been champion since March, when she beat Davies herself. Joao Nicolite, who also returns at that event, listed Bastos among the people he thanked when he confirmed his match against Martin Gonzalez. UFC BJJ 13 is set for October 29 in Las Vegas and has six announced matches.
After her debut, does Thaynara Victoria deserve a top opponent in her next match? Leave your opinion in the comments.
