Megaton Dias says he has faced every generation of Jiu-Jitsu
The 59-year-old coral belt, back in the adult division at Worlds in 2026, lists opponents from Mario Reis to Renato Canuto and says he has no date to stop: “I see myself dying on the mat”
Megaton Dias does not have a retirement date. Asked by VF Comunica whether he has already picked a day to stop, the 59-year-old coral belt answered with a prediction about his own end: “I think the IBJJF is going to have a big problem with me, because I see myself dying on the mat, brother, at a tournament like this.”
He says his body still holds up. “I still feel good,” he said, before admitting there is a limit when the opponents are in their twenties. “I can beat one, I can beat another, but the very best, no.” At Worlds, he added, it gets even harder: “I’m the guy with the fewest points in the bracket.”
“Why wouldn’t I compete?”
Megaton has competed at the IBJJF World Championship since the first edition in 1996, when he took silver at light-featherweight, and he reached the podium three more times, with bronze medals in 1999, 2001 and 2002. In 2026 he signed up for the adult division again. He says he keeps hearing the same question: why compete at Worlds at his age, when he could lose in the first match?
His answer has two parts. The first is simple: “I have the points, I can compete, so why wouldn’t I?” The second is about the people who are not there. “Some people would love to be at this tournament and can’t, for one reason or another. I’m competing for the people who can’t,” he said.
From Mario Reis to Renato Canuto
In a conversation this year with Bruno Malfacine, a ten-time world champion at roosterweight, Megaton did the math on something he is proud of. “I think I’m one of the guys, and I’m not sure I’m not the only one, who has fought every generation, all the top guys,” he said.
The list he pulls from memory covers decades: Mario Reis, Cobrinha, Mendes, Renato Canuto, Malfacine himself, Miyao, Fredson Paixão and Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro. He is plain about the results. “I fought those guys, right? I didn’t win, right? But man, I got the chance to fight all the top guys, at least at my weight,” he said.
That is why he talks about leaving satisfied. “That’s something that, man, when I die, I’ll die happy,” he said. “I’m really glad I had that chance, to have fought all those beasts.”
A coral belt with 20 World Master titles
Outside the adult division, the résumé keeps growing. In 2026, Megaton won his 20th World Master title, at Master 7 lightweight, and he says he became the first coral belt to complete the IBJJF Grand Slam. A Royler Gracie black belt, he teaches in Phoenix, Arizona, where he moved in the late 1980s.
In the same conversation, he asked for a place in the IBJJF Hall of Fame and explained why he hated training with Rickson Gracie.
Full video on YouTube
The conversation, in Portuguese, is in the vlog “Um dia com Megaton Dias, lenda do Jiu-Jitsu” on the VF Comunica YouTube channel.
Who else do you think can say they faced every generation of Jiu-Jitsu? Leave your opinion in the comments.
