The journey to black belt is filled with triumphs and losses on the competition mat. Once the black belt is earned, the journey starts all over again. 

We asked some high-level athletes what it was like to enter the land of legends and infinite skill level and compete for the very first time as a black belt. Here is what they had to say…

Mikey Musumeci

"My first tournament at black belt was the IBJJF American Nationals in 2015, and I was extremely excited for it. A month before, I had won the brown belt worlds and was eager to already test myself and throw myself into the fire at black belt. I knew how high the level at black belt was so it motivated me to train harder if I wanted to become champion. I wanted to fight the best person I could immediately to test my level and see what I have to improve on. 

"I begged my parents to let me go to this tournament because I saw Joao Miyao, someone I watched since I was 14, competing in my division. That was going to be my second match in the tournament, which was good because I didn't think as much about the first match. I was able to get like 20-0 and then choke my opponent from the back in the first match and reach the final. 

"I was starstruck competing with Miyao. I started the match and immediately got a really cool berimbolo position to the twister hook, almost getting to the back. Then after that I was able to keep sweeping and attacking positions the whole match to win by four advantages. I think this was pretty cool because then we both fought in the worlds final two years after. My first tournament at black belt was so much fun, I felt I had to prove to myself what I am capable of and can achieve!"

Rafael Lovato Jr.

I received my black belt in August 2004 after the World Championship and entered a couple small tournaments that year. They weren't anything too big. The first major tournament was the 2005 Pans, and I closed out the weight division with a teammate. 

"The absolute is when the fun began. I won first match and then went against Pe de Pano, the first black belt world champion I fought. He was already a two-time absolute world champ and No. 1 guy around that time. I was really proud of myself even though the match ended 2-4. 


​Photo: Mike Calimbas

"You have to remember this was 2005 so it was a completely different playing field. I was fighting this guy that I watched and looked up to. It was like fighting these superheroes. You didn't feel like you knew them so well. There wasn't social media and you had to watch DVDs to learn from them, and they were like mystical creatures when you were around them. I definitely felt scared but excited. I didn't win, but I felt it was a positive experience. 

"It's funny because the very next week there was a tournament where I faced Fernando Margarida. I really, really loved his game and studied him a lot and so there I am facing him. And he toeholds me in less than a minute. That was my rude awakening. I went from kind of feeling good to just getting destroyed. To me there was definitely a learning curve where you have to get your confidence. Two years later, I was a world champion in 2007. But it was much different in that time. The landscape has changed a lot. But I think it's good to learn the hard way by learning from losses. It makes winning that much more rewarding."

Robson Moura

"My first black belt match was a long time ago, in 1997. I went against Otavio Ratinho Couto. He was the big name back then, and I won by two points. The first thing I thought was, 'It's gonna be a fun fight in the black belt division.' In 1996, I was a purple belt, and by 1997 I was a black belt. I won the first World Championship at purple belt in January 1996. I got my brown belt on that day, and in November 1996 I got my black belt. I was young; when you are young you think you are ready for anything."

Claudio Calasans

"My first championship in the black belt division was the 2006 World Cup in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I had five fights in total in the lightweight division, and I was champion. First fight I submitted with toehold, second fight was against Celso Vinicius, who at the time was the current world champion of this weight. And another interesting fact is that the final was against Ramon Lemos, with whom a few years later in 2009 I went to train. 



"The event was unforgettable for me as it was the day I dreamed about: being able to fight against black belts. That was something that, since I started to train jiu-jitsu, I wanted to do. I remember when I was a blue belt and did not understand why I could not compete with black belts! 

"The experience that has remained with me of that championship is that I never enter a fight against a name. The opponent is just another guy like you and independent of everything, trust that you are able to beat any opponent. The end result is a consequence of a lot of factors."

Erberth Santos

"My debut in the black belt was against Tiago Gaia, on January 18, 2015, at the Abu Dhabi World Pro trials in Sao Paulo. I was weight and absolute champion of the event. I remember that I was a little anxious to test myself against the black belts. It was something new, and I knew that I could reach a high level after that first championship. But I would have to win and finally I gave everything. Right then I gained confidence to continue my work and win the most important title of my life in 2017 [the world title]."

Marcio Andre

"My first fight at black belt was in October 2014 at the South Americans in Brazil. I finished my first opponent in less than two minutes with a berimbolo to the back and a choke. I then won my final against Ilke Bulut. When I came into the fight, I knew that at the black belt level any mistake is fatal. That's why I tried to be as calm as possible. And in the end, it worked: I was the champion." 

Horlando Monteiro

"My first black belt match was at the IBJJF Paris Open against Karim Mohamed Ait Khalifa in November 2016. He's a good athlete from Alliance. I was a little nervous inside but very confident, because I just came from winning the 2016 Worlds as a brown belt and I was training super hard to have a great debut at black belt. 

"I finished my opponent with a triangle, but I still had two more fights after that. I ended up winning the tournament. After I won the finals I felt great, that feeling of hard work paying off! This is just the beginning of a long and hard but enjoyable journey that I love."

Darragh O'Conaill

"My first black belt match was at the IBJJF London Open in 2014. I fought Nic Ruben Nikolaisen from Frontline Academy and got a quick submission. What is probably a more interesting story is my second black belt match versus Luca Anacoreta in the finals of the same tournament. In the lower belts I had lost seven times in a row to Luca, but my first time fighting him as a black belt I was lucky enough to take a win. I only felt excitement the whole time to be competing as a black belt." 

Isaac Doederlein

"My first black belt match was against Sergio Calderon at the 2016 IBJJF European Championship. I pulled guard and he popped my foot with an estima lock, but I spun under him and swept.

"When he put me in single leg X-guard, I backstepped, leg-dragged, took the back, and submitted him with a bow and arrow choke. The mental side was tough because I put a lot of pressure on myself to perform the same as I did at brown belt." 

Dante Leon

"My first match as a black belt was against Piter Frank at the 2017 IBJJF No-Gi American Nationals. I won 4-0. It felt very different. No matter what anyone says, the majority of the attention is on the black belts during competition. It's where the best athletes are with the best resumes and abilities in the sport. 


​Photo: Michael Sears

"I felt the same as I had in the other ranks before the fight but during the fight it was different. The change of rank, time limit, and the eyes of the crowd make for a much harder task. Competing at black belt is a dream come true. Nothing can match the feeling of working your whole life to finally be able to stand next to and compete against your idols."

Tommy Langaker

"My first black belt match was against DJ Jackson at the Copa Podio Middleweight Grand Prix in August. I have never been beaten like that -- he beat me by four advantages. But I know I will come back better and stronger. I also fought Kywan Gracie and Hugo Marques in the same tournament and beat them both, so I know I am up there with the best. All I can do now is trust the process and work on becoming the first European/Norwegian to win and dominate at black belt worlds."

Catherine Fuhro Perret

"Fear is a liar. I fought the 2017 IBJJF Chicago Summer Open in August versus a seasoned black belt, Laurah Hallock. My nerves were going crazy until my toes touched the mat. Then I felt relaxed and ready for battle. I won 5-0."