Amaury Bitetti is a Brazilian

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

former fighter and promoter holding the rank of 7th degree black and red coral belt in

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

(BJJ). Considered by many as one of the best BJJ competitors of all time, Bitetti is a two-time

world jiu-jitsu champion The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Worlds or Mundials) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held once every year by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered to be the most important and ...

in open weight, the first-ever to win the category, and a two-time Brazilian national champion. After competing in

Vale Tudo Vale Tudo (; en, Everything Goes/Everything Allowed), also known No Holds Barred (NHB) in the United States, is an unarmed, full-contact combat sport with relatively few rules. It became popular in Brazil during the 20th century and would event ...

MMA Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on strike (attack), striking, grappling and ground f ...

Bitetti founded the MMA fight organization ''Bitetti Combate''.

Brazilian jiu-jitsu career

Bitetti trained under the late

Carlson Gracie Carlson Gracie (August 13, 1932 – February 1, 2006) was a practitioner of Brazilian jiu-jitsu. A member of the Gracie family, he was the eldest son of Carlos Gracie, and nephew to Hélio Gracie, founders of Gracie jiu-jitsu. Carlson Gr ...

starting at age five at the Carlson Gracie Academy in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil. He won the

World Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Worlds or Mundials) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held once every year by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered to be the most important and ...

in the Absolute division in 1996 and 1997. Bitetti went on to win the

Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship The Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Brazilian Nationals) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament that is held in Barueri, Brazil. They are hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. ...

in 1998 and 2000 in the -94 kg division, as well as a bronze medal at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in 1999.

Mixed martial arts career

Desafio

Bitetti's first fight was going to be in the Desafio – Jiu Jitsu vs Luta Livre event in 1991, a challenge between

and

Luta Livre Luta Livre (, lit. ''freestyle fighting''), known in Brazil as Luta Livre Brasileira (lit. ''Brazilian freestyle fighting'') or Luta Livre Submission, and also Brazilian Submission Wrestling, is a Brazilian martial arts and combat sport created ...

fighters. He was originally escalated to face Luta Livre expert

Marco Ruas Marco Antônio de Lima Ruas (; born 23 January 1961) is a Brazilian former mixed martial arts fighter, Submission Wrestler, Kickboxer and instructor. Ruas was the UFC 7 Tournament Champion, and also competed for the World Vale Tudo Champions ...

, but Ruas ended up cancelling his participation and Bitetti was declared the winner by W.O. Amaury had his debut in 1995 for the Desafio: International

tournament. Entering the competition representing the art of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, he was pitted at the first round against

karate (; ; Okinawan language, Okinawan pronunciation: ) is a martial arts, martial art developed in the Ryukyu Kingdom. It developed from the Okinawan martial arts, indigenous Ryukyuan martial arts (called , "hand"; ''tii'' in Okinawan) under the ...

stylist Francisco Nonato, but he defeated him by taking the fight to the mat and raining punches on him. Bitetti next defeated

kickboxer Kickboxing is a combat sport focused on kicking and punching. The combat takes place in a boxing ring, normally with boxing gloves, mouthguards, shorts, and bare feet to favour the use of kicks. Kickboxing is practiced for self-defense, general ...

James Adler the same way, and he advanced to the finals, where he faced

capoeira Capoeira () is an Afro-Brazilian martial art that combines elements of dance, acrobatics, music and spirituality. Born of the melting pot of enslaved Africans, Indigenous Brazilians and Portuguese influences at the beginning of the 16th century ...

fighter Mestre Hulk. The grappler waited after some spinning kicks and tried to

shoot In botany, a plant shoot consists of any plant stem together with its appendages, leaves and lateral buds, flowering stems, and flower buds. The new growth from seed germination that grows upward is a shoot where leaves will develop. In the spri ...

, but he was suddenly caught by a right hook from the capoeirista and fell to the ground, where he received fourteen unanswered punches until referee Joao Alberto Barreto stopped the match.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

In 1996, Bitetti debuted in

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

at its event

UFC 9 ''UFC 9: Motor City Madness'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 17, 1996, at the Cobo Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The event was seen live on pay-per-view in the United States, and later released on ...

, replacing an injured

in his fight against

Don Frye Donald Frye (born November 23, 1965) is an American former mixed martial artist, professional wrestler, and actor. In MMA, he was one of the sport's earliest well-rounded fighters and won the ''UFC 8'' and ''Ultimate Ultimate 96'' tournaments an ...

. The match would become infamous for the amount of punishment Amaury received, as Frye stopped his early takedowns and started landing punches, knees and elbows on the Brazilian, both standing and on the ground. After a hard series of elbows to the spine and head, the referee stopped the match to declare Frye winner. Amaury returned to UFC in

UFC 26 ''UFC 26: Ultimate Field of Dreams'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on June 9, 2000, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. History The main card featured Welterweight Champion Pat Miletich defending his title against J ...

, where he faced

Ken Shamrock Kenneth Wayne Shamrock (''né'' Kilpatrick; born February 11, 1964) is an American bare-knuckle boxing promoter and semi-retired professional wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kickboxer. He is best known for his time in Ultimate Fighting Champ ...

trainee Alex Andrade. This time Bitetti started aggressively, but Andrade answered and followed with a kick to the face, which gained him a yellow card as he was wearing

wrestling shoes Wrestling shoes are active wear used in competition and practice for the sport of wrestling. Generally light and flexible, they try to mimic the bare foot, while providing slightly more traction and ankle support and less chance of contracting a ...

and thus he couldn't legally kick. The Brazilian continued landing several combinations through the match, but he ended winning by disqualification instead, as at the second round he was kicked in the head again, which got Andrade out of the match.

After retirement

Bitetti was also in

Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (, born 2 June 1976), better known as Minotauro or Big Nog, is a Brazilian retired mixed martial artist. He competed in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former Inter ...

's corner when Nogueira submitted

Tim Sylvia Timothy Deane Sylvia (born March 5, 1976) is an American retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter, professional wrestler, and a former two-time UFC Heavyweight Champion. He has competed as a Super Heavyweight and Heavyweight. While he is best kno ...

to win the

UFC Heavyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

UFC 81 ''UFC 81: Breaking Point'' was a mixed martial arts (MMA) event held on February 2, 2008, by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on the Las Vegas Strip. Background The main event featured Tim Sylvia and Ant ...

. He also holds a win over UFC veteran

Dennis Hallman Dennis Lloyd Hallman (born December 2, 1975) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed from 1996 to 2015. A veteran of 75 fights, he competed in various promotions including the UFC, Strikeforce, IFL, the World Series o ...

. He founded his own mixed martial arts organization called ''Bitetti Combat'' in 2002. The company hosted its 14th event on 9 March 2013. Bitetti stated that he wished to compete against

Roberto Traven Roberto "Spider" Traven (born September 16, 1968) is a retired Brazilian mixed martial artist whose fighting style is based in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission wrestling. He was a sporty person growing up, it took him 16 years to find Brazilia ...

at the 2013 ADCC. Bitetti was awarded his coral belt in May 2020 by master Osvaldo Alves after 31 years as a black belt

Championships and accomplishments

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

* 2 x IBJJF World Champion (1996 / 1997) * 3rd place IBJJF World Championship (1999) * CBJJ Brazilian Nationals Championship (1998 / 2000)

Mixed martial arts

*Desafio **International Vale Tudo Tournament Finalist (1995)

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 5-2 ,

, Decision (split) , Shogun 1 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Honolulu, Hawaii Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island o ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4-2 , Alex Andrade , DQ (kicking with shoes) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:43 ,

Cedar Rapids, Iowa Cedar Rapids () is the second-largest city in Iowa, United States and is the county seat of Linn County, Iowa, Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River (Iowa River), Cedar River, north of Iowa City, Iowa, Iowa City and north ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–2 , Maurice Travis , Submission (rear-naked choke) , Vale Tudo O Lutador , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:17 ,

, Brazil , , - , Loss , align=center, 2-2 ,

, TKO (punches) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 9:22 ,

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Michigan, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 2-1 , Mestre Hulk , KO (punches) , Desafio: International Vale Tudo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:23 , Brazil , Tournament finals , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 , James Adler , Submission (punches) , Desafio: International Vale Tudo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:51 , Brazil , Tournament semifinals , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Nonato Nonato , Submission (punches) , Desafio: International Vale Tudo , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:57 , Brazil , Tournament quarterfinals

References

External links

*
Bitetti Combat homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bitetti, Amaury Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters World Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship medalists