Fellipe Andrew wins Master Worlds after two back surgeries
The black belt took Master 1 heavyweight gold in Las Vegas and told VF Comunica that months earlier he could not get out of bed. Next up: The Crown.
Fellipe Andrew left Las Vegas with the Master 1 heavyweight title at the IBJJF World Master Championship, held in early September at Jiu-Jitsu Con. The gold came just a few months after two lower back surgeries, and this is how he described what it meant to VF Comunica: “If you think that maybe two or three months ago I couldn’t get out of bed, and now I’m here as a world champion, even if it’s Master, and with me still competing at adult, that’s a huge win for me. It means a lot.”
Fellipe won by submission and mixed up his attacks throughout the day. “Now we’re versatile. Today it was a triangle, a choke from mount, a footlock and a new one, a calf slicer,” he said.
Worried about his back on day one
There was some fear going in. After his first matches, Fellipe admitted he did not know how his back would hold up. “It’s going well, better than I expected, honestly. I was still a bit worried because of my lower back, my surgeries, but I can see it’s working out so far,” he said.
The calf slicer, which surprised even people watching up close, came from the no-gi training he does every day. As for his favorite finish, Fellipe said a different move is leading the way right now: “These days I think the arm triangle has been my go-to.”
Putting weight back on
Unlike most athletes who show up after cutting weight, Fellipe spent the past few months trying to gain it. “No, I had to gain weight. After the two surgeries my weight dropped to around 85 kilos. Since then I’ve been trying to put weight back on, and today I weighed in about 2 kilos under,” he explained.
His diet, set by his nutritionist, goes against what a lot of people do. “The basics are a ton of rice, a ton of pasta, protein, mixing it up, and bread,” he said with a laugh. “One thing he does differently, that I really felt, is raising my carbs and lowering my protein so I have energy to train. To train well.”
“We went through some battles”
Those who followed his recovery up close got emotional at the end of the day. Letícia, Fellipe’s partner, cried beside the mat. “I think it’s a lot of overcoming, because the comeback is beautiful, but what made him stop for a while was really scary. And I think we went through some battles before this. So seeing this comeback is very rewarding,” she said.
Next stop: The Crown
Born in Caruaru, in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, a black belt under Rodrigo Cavaca and now with Art of Jiu Jitsu, Fellipe won the IBJJF Worlds open class in 2021 and the heavyweight title in 2023, and also won the first edition of The Crown in 2023. In September 2024 he was stripped of that year’s Pan title and suspended for two years after testing positive for clomiphene.
He is now confirmed for the heavyweight division at The Crown on November 8 in Long Beach. “God willing, it’ll all work out,” he said.
Full video on YouTube
Fellipe Andrew’s matches and interview are in VF Comunica’s Day 2 vlog from Las Vegas, on the VF Comunica YouTube channel (in Portuguese).
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