Melqui Galvao has been responsible for generating some of the most talented BJJ prospects of the last few years, and now he will be opening a gym in Sao Paulo while starting an entirely new team. He and his stable of champions were previously affiliated with Fight Sports, but Melqui himself has been responsible for his athletes on a daily basis. Perhaps the most well-known of his competitors is his son Mica Galvao, who is one of the youngest BJJ black belts ever after being awarded the belt by his father at just 17 years-old.
Of course, his success hasn’t stopped there though. While Mica Galvao has been on everyone’s radar for a long time, two other young prospects training under of Melqui reached the highest level of the sport before him. Diogo ‘Baby Shark’ Reis won his place at ADCC 2022 at the same trials event as Mica but where Mica won silver, Reis went that final step further at ADCC 2022 and brought back a gold medal. Additionally, Mica became the youngest IBJJF black belt world champion earlier this year but his teammate Fabricio Andrey was Melqui Galvao’s first champion the year before.
Melqui Galvao spoke to FloGrappling to announce his decision to open a new BJJ gym in Sao Paulo under his own team:
“We have decided that from now on we will walk alone. We will be grateful for everything Fight Sports has done for us but we are no longer part of the team. It is the first time in more than ten years of our project that I have decided not to join a large team in order to have financial resources.”
Melqui Galvao also went in more detail about where the new Sao Paulo gym would be located, and why it’s vital for the growth and development of his BJJ team:
“The new school located in Jundaí will bring logistical support to the Manaus unit. Jundiaí is located 50 kilometers from Guarulhos airport and 30 kilometers from the Campinas airport. Before, it used to take us 20 hours to arrive in the United States. Now, we take 8 hours when we fly to Florida and 10 hours to arrive in Dallas. Besides that, we are located in an area where people can visit us more easily. People from different states can come to us by car, whereas in Manaus it is only possible by airplane or boat. Another important point is that we are in a bigger commercial zone, and this gives the boys more opportunities to make money so that the school can profit more with selling products and memberships.”
Melqui Galvao also explained that although the Sao Paulo gym is the next stop in his BJJ journey, it isn’t his last and his new team will continue to spread throughout the world:
“With the decision to leave Fight Sports and to follow our own path we need income so the Manaus unit does not close. The idea is that Manaus will be responsible for producing new talents and the Jundaí unit can be an important step in the professionalization of the boys. Our next goal is to make the Jundaí academy one of the best schools in Brazil and then open a Melqui Galvão school in the United States. We are already talking to possible investors and I believe that in a year we will already be opening our first school outside Brazil.”
