01
Piauí to Michigan
De onde ele veio.
Wellington Da Silva Andrade grew up in Piauí. He teaches in Lake Orion now.
When English doesn’t quite get it, he switches to Portuguese. The line he comes back to is jiu-jítsu é para todos.
The story
They said
I’d never
come back.
From Piauí to the podium.
“Falaram que Jiu-Jitsu não era pra mim, mas jiu-jítsu é para todos.”
02
The break
Quatro meses.
In 2021 he broke his femur. The doctors told him high-level jiu-jitsu was finished, and that the bone would take a year and a half.
He was back on the mats in four months.
03
The room
O tatame.
He runs the adult classes at Gracie Barra Lake Orion, under Professor Robert Goodloe. Brown belt, third stripe. He fights at light.
New students get the basics until they have them. If you compete, you get the details — especially the foot locks.
04
The climb
Ouro, depois ouro de novo.
Pan No-Gi gold in 2024, purple belt, feather. Four fights, three submissions. Silver at the same weight the year before.
Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Denver. That’s the brown-belt run. He hunts the finish.
Last time out he got slammed. Then he finished the fight. Do it again.
05
What he credits
Gratidão.
Ask him who got him here and he’ll name three: God, Professor Robert Goodloe, and the people he trains with.
06
What’s next
O próximo campo.
Next is Pan No-Gi. October 2–4 in Secaucus. He already has the 2024 gold.
The black belt is the longer aim. He hasn’t put a date on it.