Windson “Wind” Torres

Windson Alves de Oliveira Torres was born on May 17, 2000, in Formosa, in the central Brazilian state of Goiás, and started out in judo. Jiu-Jitsu came in at 16, as a way to sharpen his ground game, at the academy of Jakson Oliveira, the coach who promoted him at every belt. “I started judo at 10 and switched to Jiu-Jitsu after the pandemic,” he said in an interview published by VF Comunica in 2025.

He has a degree in Physical Education and spent years splitting his time between training and college. “My story with the sport is very sincere. I can say my judo coach rescued me from a very difficult moment in my life and gave me the chance to be someone better,” he said.

As a brown belt he took bronze at the 2023 Worlds and, in 2024, silver at Europeans and Pans, bronze at Brazilian Nationals and the world title at super-heavyweight. His black belt came days after that title, on June 5, 2024.

His first major title at the new rank came in January 2025 at Europeans, with two submissions along the way and a win over Pedro Lucas in the super-heavyweight final. The tournament also marked the start of his work with Xande Ribeiro at Six Blades. “It’s really a privilege; like, the guy is a wizard. He is extremely technical and makes me feel like a white belt, but that’s a very good thing, because I can see I have a lot to learn and improve,” he said.

For the rest of 2025 he went out in the quarterfinals at Pans and Worlds, won the São Paulo BJJ Pro at heavyweight and made his debut at The Crown, in November, losing to Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa by referee decision. That same month he moved to the United States to train with Xande.

In 2026 he won his weight class and the open class at the Austin Open in no-gi, in February, and the Houston Open, in April. At Worlds he beat Harry Loseby and Nolan Stuart, the 2025 Crown heavyweight champion, before losing the semifinal to Vinicius Liberati 2-0. The bronze was his first Worlds podium as a black belt. “I’m very happy with my performance, but I know we can go further,” he wrote on Instagram. In September he won Jiu-Jitsu CON, in Las Vegas, with three wins at super-heavyweight.

Judo gave him his takedowns and his top pressure. His favorite finishes are chokes: the cachecol (a lapel “scarf” choke), the attack from the back and the arm-triangle account for 12 of his 16 submissions as a black belt. “I draw a lot of inspiration from the jiu-jitsu of sensei Xande, André Galvão, Bochecha; I think it’s the classic basics that work,” he said.

At The Crown on November 8 he returns to heavyweight, one division below the one he competes in at IBJJF tournaments. In the bracket are Liberati, who kept him out of the Worlds final, and Leo Ferreira, who has already beaten him.