Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu had the biggest day of his career in October 2013, in Beijing, when he won the ADCC open class with a 10-0 win over Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida in the final. On the way he beat Garry Tonon and, in the semifinal, Keenan Cornelius, and that same weekend he also took bronze at over 99 kg.

Born in Campo Grande, Mato Grosso do Sul, on December 20, 1980, he started training after a smaller, skinnier friend submitted him three times. In 2000, still a blue belt, he was in a car accident that shattered his left arm and required more than 300 stitches. Four months later he was runner-up at the Brazilian Nationals with an arm that would not fully straighten, and the nickname “Cyborg” was born there. He trained under Claudionor Cardoso and then at Nova Geração, in Rio, under Francisco “Toco” Albuquerque, who gave him his black belt on December 20, 2004, the day he turned 24.

In the gi, he made the IBJJF Worlds podium four times: bronze in the open class in 2006, bronze at super-heavyweight in 2008, silver at ultra-heavyweight in 2010, in a final against Rodrigo Cavaca, and bronze in 2011. In no-gi, he was a six-time world champion between 2010 and 2021, with double gold in 2010. The tornado guard became his trademark. In March 2023, USADA, the United States anti-doping agency, announced a three-year suspension for the athlete after a test taken at the 2022 No-Gi Worlds.

At ADCC he made nine appearances and won seven medals between 2009 and 2026. In 2024, at 43, he reached the open class final, which he lost to Kaynan Duarte, and took bronze at 99 kg. In 2026, in Kraków, at 45, he beat Eli Braz by decision and went out in the quarterfinals against Achilles Rocha, the son of his training partner Vagner Rocha. After the tournament he said goodbye to the event on social media: “17 years. One hell of a journey. Thank you, ADCC.” The leader of Fight Sports, in Miami, he told VF Comunica in 2023: “I never fought for the titles. I did it, and still do it, for the pleasure of fighting and living my dream and my purpose in life.”