Thierry “Tche Tche” Felipe

Thierry Felipe Alves Lima de Souza, known as “Tche Tche,” was born and raised in São Gonçalo, a neighborhood of Salvador, Brazil. He played soccer, trained capoeira for a while and started Jiu-Jitsu at age 10, on June 29, 2014, to learn to manage stress and lose weight. His first coach was Osvaldo Ribeiro Neto, known as Netão, of Nova União, who promoted him up to blue belt.

At 15, already competing often, he decided to make a living from the sport. “I decided to turn pro when I saw that this was the chance to change my life and my family’s life,” he told VF Comunica. He finished school at 16 and began dedicating himself only to Jiu-Jitsu. At blue belt, competing at ultra-heavyweight, he took silver at the Brazilian Nationals in 2021 and 2023 and at the 2023 IBJJF Worlds.

His purple belt came in 2023, from Fábio Andrade and André Marola, and he began competing on the American circuit for Marcio André Jiu-Jitsu (MAJJ), in Arizona. At purple belt he took bronze at the 2024 Worlds and, in 2025, won Europeans and Worlds, plus silver at Pans.

Promoted to brown belt by Marcio André, he won the 2025 American Nationals and the 2026 Europeans and took silver at the 2026 Worlds. In June, back at the American Nationals, he won gold in his weight class and the open class.

He got his black belt from Marcio André on September 8, 2026, twelve years after first putting on a white belt. A week later the IBJJF announced him for The Crown. He moved up his debut at the new rank to the IBJJF Sacramento Fall Open on October 17, 2026, and won the open class: he beat Seungmoon Baek, Lucas de Oliveira Lima and, in the final, Francisco Papasidero, a rival at The Crown. At ultra-heavyweight, he lost to Nolan Stuart in the semifinal and took bronze. The same day, he won the no-gi ultra-heavyweight title. “My first tournament at black belt and I’m already on top of the podium!” he wrote on Instagram, in Portuguese. At 22, he heads to The Crown on November 8 at ultra-heavyweight.

Tche Tche is known for the classic heavyweight game in an advanced version, with flying guard passes, takedowns and submissions. He competes at ultra-heavyweight, yet he moves like a lightweight.