In late January, Pedro Lucas traveled outside his home country of Brazil for the first time in his career to compete at the 2023 European Jiu-Jitsu Championships in Paris, France. He competed in the brown belt super-heavy division, where he took gold after several tough matches. The event was significant for Pedro’s career not only because his first place finish, but also because of the adversity he overcame to get there.

“Fighting at Europeans was an incredible experience. I’ve dreamed of going to this event since I was a blue belt, but we never had the structure to go to events outside the country and with that it was an opportunity to show myself to the world and thank God they made it work.”

Pedro has been a full-time athlete for most of his career, training in various academies across Brazil as he ascended the belt ranks. His efforts were paying off, as he was able to hit the podium at major championships. Pedro described his current training situation as he prepares for his next black belt tournaments.

“Today I train at Recreio dos Bandeiras, with Mestre Honório Filho at the CT Honório academy. But I also intersperse my training at my Garage Team gym in Jacarepaguá with my closest friends and at Victor Bonfim during breaks as well. I train with Victor Bonfim, Leandro Soares, Victor Honório and a few other young guys who are growing colored belts.”

In mid-February Pedro was promoted to black belt after over ten years of training and competing. He wasted little time testing out his new rank in competition, signing up for the Rio Fall Open just a month and a half after his promotion. After three tough matches, Pedro took gold in the super heavy division.

“Fighting with black belts was a very good experience. Since I was young I always tried to train with the best black belts in my academy and that made me evolve technically and mentally. Reaching the black belt was special after 10 years training jiu-jitsu. I believe I’m just a kid with a lot to evolve. I’m dying to be fighting among the best. It will be an honor for me.”

Next up for Pedro are the 2023 Brasileiros, his first major gi championship as a black belt. He’ll be at super heavy alongside Erich Munis, Helton Junior, Devhonte Johnson, and Vinicius Liberati, among others.

You can catch Pedro competing at the 2023 Brasileiros starting on Saturday May 6th. Coverage for the entire event will be brought to you exclusively by FloGrappling.