Head Coach · Co-Founder
Léo Santos
World Champion · UFC Veteran · President of Nova União · Lake Mary, FL
Head Coach · BJJ World Champion · UFC Veteran
Léo Santos
An international jiu-jitsu legend who started on the mat at four years old, became one of the youngest world champions in the sport's history, and then spent nearly a decade in the UFC. Today, every class he runs at Brabus carries all of it. When you train here, you train under him.
Multiple-time World Champion
ADCC Veteran
UFC Lightweight
TUF Brasil 2 Winner
The Record
A champion, then a coach.
Every figure here is part of the public record. He earned all of it on the mat — first in the gi, then in the cage.
4CBJJO World Cup titles (2002–2005)
18Career pro MMA wins
DecadeA UFC lightweight (2013–2022)
TUFBrasil 2 Champion
Began jiu-jitsu at age 4 under Nova União co-founder Wendell Alexander · one of the youngest BJJ World Champions in history · later named President of Nova União · two UFC Performance of the Night bonuses.
The Gi Years
One of the great grapplers of his generation.
Léo built his name inside Nova União — the legendary Rio system founded in 1995 — and stayed at the front of the lightweight grappling world for years.
- 4× CBJJO World Cup Champion — 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2005, undefeated in the event for over five years.
- IBJJF World Championship medalist at black belt — Silver (2001) and Bronze (2000).
- ADCC veteran — Brazilian Trials Champion (2005) with finals-level finishes on the world stage.
- One of the youngest BJJ World Champions in the history of the sport.
- President of Nova União — entrusted with the legacy of the team that raised him.
“He famously submitted future UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre on the ADCC mat — a reminder of just how high the level was.”
From the public record
The Cage Years
Nearly a decade in the UFC.
Santos proved the same precise, pressure-based jiu-jitsu under the brightest lights the sport offers — and stayed at the elite level into his forties.
01
TUF Brasil 2 Champion
Won The Ultimate Fighter Brasil 2 in 2013 — at the time the oldest fighter ever to win a season of the show — earning his UFC contract on merit.
02
Undefeated UFC run
Built a long unbeaten stretch inside the UFC lightweight division, with a career pro record of 18–6–1 and two Performance of the Night bonuses.
03
A full career, 2002–2022
Twenty years as a professional, the back half of it among the best 155-pounders in the world before retiring in 2022 to coach full-time.
The Story
The technician.
Léo Santos stepped onto a jiu-jitsu mat at four years old, under Wendell Alexander — a co-founder of Nova União, the legendary Rio system founded in 1995. He grew up inside that team and became one of the youngest World Champions in the history of the sport, then stayed at the top of the lightweight grappling world for years.
He didn't stop at the gi. Santos carried his grappling into mixed martial arts, won The Ultimate Fighter Brasil 2, and spent nearly a decade as a UFC lightweight — proving the same precise, pressure-based jiu-jitsu under the brightest lights the sport offers. The team that raised him later made him its President.
From competing to coaching.
The rarest thing in jiu-jitsu isn't a world title — it's a world champion who can teach. Santos is that. At Brabus he is the head coach and technical backbone, the one who breaks championship-level technique into pieces a first-day beginner can actually use.
His coaching philosophy.
Léo coaches the way he competed: details first, ego last. Positions before submissions. Understanding before memorizing. He builds students who know why a technique works, not just the steps — because that's the only kind of jiu-jitsu that holds up under a resisting opponent.
He runs a room that's demanding and welcoming at the same time. The standard is high, but the door is open: kids, adults, competitors, and complete beginners all learn from the same world-champion source.
Why students train under him.
You can learn jiu-jitsu in a lot of places. Very few let you learn it directly from a 7× world champion who has chosen to spend his career making other people better. That's the difference at Brabus — and it's standing on the mat every week.
The Standard
World-champion coaching, every week.
The same standards that produced seven world titles now shape every class on the Brabus mat. You don't have to be elite to train under elite coaching — you just have to show up.
Forged by Legends
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Why this matters to you
What it means to learn from a champion.
Coaching is its own skill. Here's what training under Léo Santos actually changes about your jiu-jitsu.
01
You learn the why.
Léo doesn't hand out moves to memorize. He teaches the principle behind each position, so your jiu-jitsu keeps working against opponents he never showed you.
02
Beginners are built right.
The fastest way to improve is to be taught correctly from day one. Learning fundamentals from a world champion means no bad habits to unlearn later.
03
A standard worth chasing.
Whether you want to compete or just get better than you were yesterday, the bar in the room is set by someone who reached the very top — and wants you to climb.
Your first class is on us
Learn jiu-jitsu from a world champion.
No experience required. No commitment. Just step on the mat.
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