Yuri Simões (born June 18, 1990) is a Brazilian

grappler Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a Grappling position, position or causing ...

BJJ 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 ...

practitioner and

mixed martial artist 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, incorpo ...

, signed with Singapore-based mixed martial arts promotion

ONE Championship ONE Championship (formerly ONE Fighting Championship) is a Singaporean combat sports promotion. Founded on 14 July 2011 by entrepreneur Chatri Sityodtong and former ESPN Star Sports senior executive Victor Cui, its events have featured mixed ...

. He is a three time ADCC World Champion in three different weight divisions.

Background

Simões started training

judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...

at the age of four, transitioning to Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the age of nine. He received his black belt from

Ricardo Vieira Ricardo Alcantara Vieira commonly known as Rico Vieira or Ricardinho is a Brazilian grappler, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor, and Competitor. He was born on the 9th of January 1979. He is one of the Viera brothers (Léo and L ...

in 2011, and in 2013 he changed teams to train under

Caio Terra Caio Terra (born 8 February 1986 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) competitor and world champion. Caio began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu i ...

Martial arts career

Grappling career

Simões won his first ADCC medal in 2015, when he won the 2015 ADCC 88 kg gold medal. During the tournament, he managed to beat

Keenan Cornelius Keenan Kai-James Cornelius is an American martial artist. His competitive achievements include what has been called a "grand slam" in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having won double ...

Romulo Barral Rômulo Barral (born May 3, 1982, Diamantina-MG) is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competitor. He is a black belt under Vinicius Magalhaes and competes for Gracie Barra, where he has won numerous championships. Rômulo Barra ...

, Zbigniew Tyszka and Ricardo Mesquita. He took part in the 2017 edition of the ADCC as well, competing in the 99 kg weight category. Yuri beat Roman Dolidze by points in the opening round, Mike Perez by decision in the quarterfinals,

Jackson Sousa Jackson Sousa dos Santos is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) and grappling competitor and instructor. A winner of several major championships in coloured belts, such as IBJJF World Championship, IBJJF European Championship and CBJJ Brazilian Nation ...

by points in the semifinals and

Felipe Pena Felipe Carsalade Araujo Pena is a Brazilian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioner and ADCC world champion. Career Pena, nicknamed ''Preguiça'' meaning "Sloth", has won several medals at both the IBJJF and ADCC world championsh ...

by points in the finals, to once again win the gold medal. Simões also won four gold medals in the

World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a no- gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation held at California State University in Long Beach, California. The 2022 edition ...

, winning the gold medal in both his and the absolute weight categories, in both 2014 and 2016. Simões won his third ADCC title, this time in Absolute after defeating Lachlan Giles, Nick Rodriguez,

Roberto Abreu Roberto de Abreu Filho (commonly known as "Cyborg" Abreu) is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) competitor, academy owner and instructor. A 7-time World No-Gi Champion, Abreu is known for his trademark ''Tornado Guard'' position which involves inverti ...

and

Nicholas Meregali Nicholas Meregali (born 27 May 1994) is a Brazilian submission grappler and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor. A multiple time world, Pan, European and Brazilian champion at colored belts, Meregali is a 3x IBJJF black belt World Ch ...

in the final of the 2022 ADCC World Championship.

Mixed martial arts

Having begun training martial arts several years prior, he announced in August 2020 that he had signed with

. His first fight was announced for ONE Championship: Inside the Matrix 3, where was scheduled take on Fan Rong on November 13, 2020. Yuri lost his promotional debut by unanimous decision. He is scheduled to face Daniyal Zainalov at ONE: Full Circle on February 25, 2022. Simões lost by split decision. After suffering two straight losses to start his MMA career, he was released by ONE.

Mixed martial arts record

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Kallang Kallang is a planning area and residential town located in the Central Region of Singapore. Development of the town is centered around the Kallang River, the longest river in Singapore. Kallang Planning Area is bounded by Toa Payoh in the ...

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, Singapore , , -

References

External links

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Yuri Simões highlights
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Simoes, Yuri 1990 births Living people Brazilian male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Rio de Janeiro (city) ADCC Submission Fighting World Champions (men)