Why is everyone from Manaus good at armbars? Mica Galvão answers: “The truth is I get more chokes”
The armbar reputation of Manaus runs through generations, from Bibiano Fernandes to Mica Galvão. VF Comunica put the question to two black belts from the city
There is an old joke in Jiu-Jitsu that anyone born in Manaus, the biggest city in the Brazilian Amazon, leaves home already knowing how to armbar. The list of examples keeps the reputation alive: Bibiano Fernandes, a three-time world champion, and Mica Galvão, the best-known name of the current generation, are two armbar finishers who came up in the city.
VF Comunica took the question to Mica himself in June, at the New Jersey Open, the tournament where he returned to competition and submitted every opponent. Why is everyone from Manaus good at armbars? Is there a secret?
“The arm is what’s left out there the most”
Mica started by admitting he likes the move and quickly took the mystery out of it. “I was always someone who liked the arm, but I never really chose,” he said. “Whatever showed up in front of me, we went for it. The arm is sometimes what’s left out there the most, so we don’t waste the opportunity.”
Then came the part that goes against the reputation. “For me, statistically, I have more chokes than armbars,” he said. For him, the armbar sticks in people’s memory for a simple reason: “They are submissions that look a little prettier, people like them more. But the truth is I get more chokes.”
The tournament itself was an example. Mica’s first match that day ended with a guillotine.
The basics that come from white belt
The same question was asked in September, in Las Vegas, during the week of the World Master, to Luquinha, a black belt from Manaus who now trains in California. He started with the answer everybody gives. “People say it, right? The water in Manaus is different,” he joked.
Then he got serious and pointed to the start of his training. “In Manaus, right at the beginning, when I was a white belt, it was mostly the armbar from mount, from closed guard. It was always the basics. The basics that, over time, we kept shaping,” he said.
The two answers meet at the same point. Neither of them talks about a secret. Mica describes a game that takes what the opponent gives, and Luquinha remembers a school that repeats the fundamentals from day one.
Where the reputation comes from
Manaus has produced champion after champion over the past three decades, and many of them became known for their attacking game. Bibiano, who now has an academy in Canada, told VF Comunica at the 2026 Worlds that the city builds fighters through hardship. “In Manaus, a guy has to fight to go after what he wants,” he said.
Full video on YouTube
Mica Galvão’s answer is in the New Jersey Open vlog on the VF Comunica YouTube channel (in Portuguese).
Which athlete from Manaus has the prettiest armbar in Jiu-Jitsu? Leave your opinion in the comments.
