Growing up in a Rio de Janeiro neighborhood that was full of future legends of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, it was probably only a matter of time before Rodrigo "Comprido" Medeiros tried BJJ. When that time came a 9 year old Comprido did not like the sport and he quickly moved on to Taekwondo and kickboxing. It wouldn't be until several years later that he would give it another chance.
His second attempt at BJJ came when his Aunt and cousin convinced Comprido's mother that he needed something productive in his life. Comprido was 16 at the time and was often grounded for being a bit of a troublemaker. This time, after just a couple of months, Comprido fell in love with BJJ and he left all other sports behind.
Once he became a blue belt, Comprido began competing and he began losing. Comprido doesn't hold back about his first year as a competitor, often referring to it as awful and disastrous. But after that first year things changed and he began winning major tournaments and moving closer to his black belt.
When Comprido became a black belt he made history at Worlds. He became the first to win the Absolute division within their first year as a black belt and the first to win it by submission. That submission still holds the record for being the fastest at an astonishing 17 seconds!
Comprido moved to the US in 2006. He settled in Illinois to partner with others and open a BJJ academy. This partnership didn't last but it had afforded Comprido the opportunity to train MMA fighters like Mike Russo, Demian Maia, and Brock Lesnar. With Lesnar's encouragement, Comprido opened his own academy in 2011 and now has two successful locations in Illinois. Comprido still competes from time to time but now dedicates his life to teaching and coaching others, as well as hosting BJJJ camps all over the world.
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