Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa has just been promoted to third degree BJJ black belt, signifying that he has now spent 9 years as a black belt. Although all promotions after black belt are done based on time in rank, it’s still a huge honour and undoubtedly a special moment for Barbosa. He received the promotion from ATOS founder and head coach Andre Galvao, the same man he has been training under for almost his entire black belt career. Barbosa received his black belt and most of his prior belt promotions from Andre Fabiano, but he moved to train at ATOS shortly after receiving his black belt in 2015.
Barbosa actually won the IBJJF No Gi World Championship at black belt on his very first attempt in 2015 and immediately positioned himself as one of the best grapplers in the world. He’s since gone on to win three more gold medals at the same event and a pair of IBJJF World Championship gold medals too, winning hundreds of matches over the last decade. Barbosa has also been a frequent face on the podium of ADCC as well, winning both a silver and bronze medal at under 88kg and under 99kg respectively. Barbosa hasn’t been content with just being an elite grappler either, he’s also had plenty of experience as an MMA fighter too.
Barbosa went 2-1 on the regional MMA circuit during his initial stint as a fighter between 2011 and 2012, but the biggest moment of his MMA career was his return to the sport in 2023. After more than a decade of focusing exclusively on BJJ competition instead, Barbosa was taking an opportunity to compete for a PFL contract and potentially fight on an even bigger stage. He lost a decision and currently has a 2-2 professional MMA record, but he’s since returned to BJJ with just as much as success as he’s always had. Barbosa is showing no signs of slowing down either, and will likely continue competing in 2025 and beyond.
Lucas ‘Hulk’ Barbosa announced the news that he was promoted to third degree BJJ black belt in a recent post to his official Instagram account:
