João Miyao: “The flame of competition has not gone out in me”
A world champion as an adult black belt and winner of three World Master titles in a row, the 35-year-old says he will only stop when he no longer wants to compete
João Miyao has won almost everything a Jiu-Jitsu competitor can win, and he keeps signing up for tournaments. At 35, the black belt has a simple reason to stay on the mat, with no date to stop.
“To this day, this flame of competition has not gone out in me. When it goes out, I will accept it. But until now I do not feel like stopping,” he told VF Comunica right after winning the 2024 World Master Championship.
What happened after the interview
The interview is from 2024, and the next two years showed he meant it. João won the World Master again in 2025 and in 2026. That makes three titles in a row. This season alone, his athlete page on the IBJJF website also lists gold medals at the European, Pan and Brazilian championships. The IBJJF is the sport’s main federation.
At the 2025 Brazilian Championship he had already shown his pace. He won the Master 1 light-featherweight division with four submissions in four matches. A submission is a move that makes the opponent give up.
How the master division works
The IBJJF splits adult athletes by age from 30 years old. Master 1 is for fighters aged 30 to 35, and this is where João competes today. Many champions from the adult division move to the master division during their careers. This has raised the level of the division. The World Master, held in Las Vegas, is now one of the biggest events of the year.
One of the most successful names of his generation
João was born on May 11, 1991. He is the twin brother of Paulo Miyao, and together they became one of the best-known pairs in the recent history of the sport. As an adult black belt, João was a world champion, won the Pan Championship five times in a row and took three European titles. Today the brothers run Studio 1908, an academy in the United States.
And you, until what age do you plan to compete?
