Fellipe Andrew and Leticia Cardozo have just made the decision to leave Alliance Jiu-Jitsu and from now on they will be representing Art of Jiu-Jitsu in competition instead. It’s a huge move that will undoubtedly affect the landscape of professional grappling, as both Andrew and Cardozo are among the best grapplers in the world. They will both be sorely missed from the Alliance competition team of course, particularly when it comes to challenging for team trophies in major events. They will also be huge assets to the incredible team that the Mendes brothers have managed to develop over the years as well.
Andrew in particular is one of the best gi competitors on the planet right now and he’s won every major title possible in the sport. He was first promoted to black belt back at the end of 2017 and in the years since then, he’s won hundreds of matches against the best opponents imaginable. This all culminated in the peak of his career as a black belt in 2023, when he won the IBJJF World Championship at heavyweight. Even though he primarily trains and competes in the gi, Andrew is also a fantastic no gi competitor and recently made it all the way to the final of the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational.
Although Leticia Cardozo isn’t quite as well-known as her partner Fellipe Andrew, she’s still a very talented and successful grappler. Cardozo actually won the IBJJF No Gi World Championship at super-heavyweight in 2022 and has proven herself several times over against elite female grapplers in both gi and no gi competition. AOJ have really focused on building an incredible women’s team over the last few years and Cardozo will be joining Mayssa Bastos and other big names like Margot Ciccarelli and Janaina Lebre as recent additions to their roster. It’ll be interesting to see in the coming months how both Cardozo and Andrew are able to develop under their new coaches, the legendary Rafael Mendes and Guilherme Mendes.
The Mendes brothers announced the news that Fellipe Andrew and Leticia Cardozo had left Alliance to join Art of Jiu-Jitsu in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
