André Galvão facts for kids

Quick facts for kids André Luiz Leite Galvão
André Galvão setting up a choke on his opponent at the 2008 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship.
Born	(1982-09-29) September 29, 1982 (age 42) São Sebastião, São Paulo, Brazil
Other names	Deco
Residence	San Diego, California
Height	5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st)
Division	Welterweight
Reach	71.5 in (182 cm)
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	San Diego, California
Team	Atos Jiu-Jitsu (2008-present) Team Brasa (2007–2008) TT jiujitsu (2003–2006)
Rank	4th deg. BJJ black belt Judo black belt
Years active	1996 – present
Mixed martial arts record
Total	7
Wins	5
By knockout	1
By submission	3
By decision	1
Losses	2
By knockout	1
By decision	1
Medal record Men's Submission Wrestling ADCC World Championship Bronze 2007 -77 kg Bronze 2007 Absolute Silver 2009 -88 kg Gold 2011 -88 kg Gold 2011 Absolute Gold 2013 Super Fight Gold 2015 Super Fight Gold 2017 Super Fight Gold 2019 Super Fight ADCC South American Championship Gold 2007 -77 kg Gold 2009 -88 kg World Championship Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Gold 2017 -88 kg (black) Gold 2016 -94 kg (black) Gold 2014 -94 kg (black) Bronze 2013 -88 kg (black) Gold 2008 -88 kg (black) Bronze 2008 Absolute (black) Silver 2007 -82 kg (black) Silver 2006 -82 kg (black) Gold 2005 -82 kg (black) Gold 2004 -82 kg (brown) Gold 2004 Absolute (brown) Gold 2003 -82 kg (purple) Gold 2003 Absolute (purple) Gold 2002 -82 kg (blue) Silver 2001 -82 kg (blue) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan American Championships Gold 2014 Absolute (black) Gold 2014 Ultra heavy (black) Silver 2013 Absolute (black) Gold 2013 Medium heavy (black) Gold 2011 Medium heavy (black) Gold 2008 Medium heavy (black) Gold 2008 Absolute (black) Gold 2006 Middleweight (black) Gold 2005 Middleweight (black) Gold 2005 Absolute (black) Gold 2004 Middleweight (brown) Gold 2004 Absolute (brown) Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Cup Gold 2014 Abu Dhabi, UAE -88kg Bronze 2014 Abu Dhabi, UAE Absolute Gold 2013 Abu Dhabi, UAE -88kg Gold 2012 Abu Dhabi, UAE -88kg Silver 2012 Abu Dhabi, UAE Absolute

André Luiz Leite Galvão is a famous Brazilian grappler and former professional mixed martial artist. He was born on September 29, 1982. He holds a 4th-degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu and also a black belt in Judo.

André Galvão is known as one of the most successful athletes in his sport. He has won many big international tournaments multiple times. He is also a co-founder and head coach of Atos Jiu Jitsu in San Diego, California. This team is one of the best in competitive Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He has coached many world champions.

He also wrote a book about martial arts called Drill to Win: One Year to Better Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. In 2022, André Galvão was honored by being added to the IBJJF Hall of Fame and the ADCC Hall of Fame. These are special places for the best athletes in the sport.

What is Submission Grappling?

Submission grappling is a type of martial art where fighters try to make their opponent give up using holds and chokes. André Galvão is especially good at this. He has won the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship multiple times, including both his weight class and the open-weight division in 2011. He also won the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and Pan American Championships many times.

Key Wins and Achievements

• In 2007, he took third place at the ADCC World Championship in two different categories.
• In 2009, he finished second in his weight class at the ADCC World Championship in Barcelona, Spain.
• A big year for him was 2011. He won the Ultimate Absolute NYC event. Then, at the 2011 ADCC World Championship, he won gold in both his weight class and the absolute (open) division. He beat tough opponents like Rousimar Palhares and Pablo Popovitch in the finals.
• He continued his winning streak at the ADCC Superfight events. He defeated Braulio Estima in 2013 and Roberto Abreu in 2015.
• In 2017, he won against Claudio Calasans at ADCC.
• His winning streak continued in 2019 when he beat Felipe Pena at ADCC.
• In 2021, he was inducted into the ADCC Hall of Fame. This was because he was the longest-serving superfight champion and one of the most decorated competitors.
• In 2022, he lost his superfight title to Gordon Ryan.

André Galvão has said that he only started learning Wrestling as an adult. This was after he moved to America in 2008. This shows how dedicated he is to improving his skills.

His Mixed Martial Arts Journey

André Galvão also competed in mixed martial arts, which combines different fighting styles. He started his MMA career in 2008.

Early Career in MMA

• In 2009, he joined DREAM's Welterweight Tournament.
• After the tournament, he fought in Strikeforce. He had a record of 2 wins and 1 loss in this promotion before he decided to retire from MMA for a while.

Return to MMA and Grappling

Even after being retired from MMA for over ten years, André Galvão announced in 2020 that he was thinking about returning to professional MMA. In 2021, he signed a contract with ONE Championship. He made his debut there in a grappling match against Reinier de Ridder in March 2022. Their match ended in a draw after 12 minutes, as neither fighter could make the other give up.

Instructor Lineage

André Galvão's training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu comes from a long line of famous instructors:

• Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda
• Carlos Gracie, Sr.
• Helio Gracie
• Rolls Gracie
• Romero "Jacare" Cavalcanti
• Alexandre Paiva
• Fernando "Tererê" Augusto
• André Galvão

Published Works

André Galvão wrote a book called Drill to Win: One Year to Better Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in 2010. This book teaches people how to improve their Brazilian jiu-jitsu and submission wrestling skills. It covers things like proper diet, exercises, and special training drills.

See Also

• List of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners
• List of current ONE fighters