José Mário Saraiva Sperry

Mario Sperry is a 6th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu who leads the Mario Sperry Academy in Miami and personally oversees its training programs. From Porto Alegre, Brazil, he began with judo and later trained under Carlson Gracie, becoming a multiple-time IBJJF and ADCC world champion: he won double gold at the 1995 IBJJF Worlds and in 1998 became the first ADCC absolute champion, later serving as Brazil's team captain at ADCC and medaling in several editions. In MMA, Sperry fought in PRIDE FC and finished his career with a 13–4 record that included a win over Igor Vovchanchyn. He co-founded Brazilian Top Team and helped train champions such as Minotauro Nogueira and Ricardo Arona. Today he coaches at his Miami academy and teaches seminars around the world.