Fernando “Margarida” Pontes

On the Sunday of the 2001 Worlds, at Tijuca Tênis Clube, Fernando Margarida faced Saulo Ribeiro twice in about a hundred minutes. In the medium-heavyweight final he took his rival down, passed the guard, settled into knee on belly and finished with a choke. In the open class final he opened the scoring with another takedown and held the lead to the end. GRACIEMAG described the double as unprecedented at the time.

His path there included wins over Eduardo “Jamelão” and Roberto “Gordo” Correa at medium-heavyweight and over Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros, who had always beaten him until then, 13-8 in the open class semifinal. The year before, at his first Worlds as a black belt, he had taken silver in both divisions, losing to Roberto Roleta and to Comprido.

From São Paulo, he started jiu-jitsu at 13 and received his black belt in 2000 from Roberto Godoi. That same year he became known beyond the mats on MTV Brazil’s reality show 20 e Poucos Anos, wearing his gi from the very first episode. World champion Lucas Lepri told GRACIEMAG he had never heard of the sport until he saw Margarida on MTV and decided to become a fighter because of him.

He became famous for his submission game and his endless gas tank. At the 2001 Pans he submitted Fabio Gurgel with a cross collar choke from open guard, and in 2005 he armbarred Márcio “Pé de Pano” Cruz at a Yamasaki tournament. He was also Pan champion in 2000 and 2001, took bronze at the 2005 Worlds and has two wins in MMA.