Marcelo da Silva Pereira

Marcelo Pereira is the professor behind Marcelo Pereira Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, which teaches gi and no-gi jiu-jitsu to kids and adults at two locations in Fort Myers and Naples, Florida. He leads most classes himself, and the coaches who cover for him all came up under his instruction. Pereira's lineage runs through Nova União, the team co-founded by Wendell Alexander and Andre Pederneiras, and back to the Gracie family and Mitsuyo Maeda. It was with Nova União that he won several world championships while training alongside champions such as BJ Penn, Leo Santos, Robson Moura, Bruno Bastos and Vitor "Shaolin" Ribeiro. He has since coached competitors from white belt through black belt, including world champions, drawing on his own experience as a high-level athlete.