Gabriel Arges

There were 30 seconds left in the 2019 middleweight world final, and Gabriel Arges was down one advantage to Isaque Bahiense, stuck in a 50/50. He came out the back door, rose on a body lock and finished the takedown that turned the match. It was the second world title for the Brazilian from Minas Gerais, after wins over Dante Leon 4-0, Claudio Calasans 6-4 and Marcos Tinoco 2-0.

Born on January 29, 1993, in Belo Horizonte, he got the nickname Frodo on his school football team because of a haircut that looked like the Lord of the Rings character’s. After a short spell in Thai boxing, he started Jiu-Jitsu at 16 with Fernando Fialho at Gracie Barra BH, later training at the headquarters with Marcelo Uirapuru. From 2011 he trained with Felipe Pena and, in 2012, followed his friend to Romulo Barral’s academy in California. Barral gave him his brown belt after his 2014 purple belt world title, and Barral and Pena gave him his black belt on the podium of the 2015 No-Gi Worlds.

His first year at the new rank was a statement. In 2016 he took middleweight silver at Worlds, behind teammate Otavio Sousa, and won the Europeans, the World Pro and the Los Angeles and Tokyo Grand Slams. In 2017 he won his first world title, with Marcos Tinoco in second, and won the World Pro again. In 2018 he won Pans but went out in the Worlds quarterfinals to Tommy Langaker. Before his second title in 2019 he also beat Bahiense 6-2 in the King of Mats final.

At ADCC 2019, at 88 kg, he beat Alec Baulding 5-0 and lost in the quarterfinals to Matheus Diniz. In the years that followed he focused on superfights and no-gi: he faced Rafael Lovato at Fight 2 Win, entered the 2022 No-Gi Pans and No-Gi Worlds and fought twice at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational, losing to Dan Manasoiu in 2023 and Giancarlo Bodoni in 2024. He also entered the 2024 ADCC South American trial.

He now teaches at Gracie Barra Highland Village in Texas, still with the team he has represented since the start of his career.