IGOR PAIVA

Instructor & Program Director

Igor Paiva is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Bruno "Tank" Mendes and Program Director at Combate Academy, representing the Soul Fighters academy on the sport's international circuit. One of the most avid competitors of his generation, Paiva climbed the ranks while conquering titles at major tournaments — including the IBJJF World Championship and the CBJJ Brazilian National Championship, in both gi and no-gi.

Instructor & Program Director at Combate Academy
Instructor & Program Director at Combate Academy
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IGOR PAVIA

Igor Paiva is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Bruno "Tank" Mendes and a representative of the Soul Fighters academy on this martial art's international circuit. As Program Director at Combate Academy, he brings that championship pedigree directly to the mats in Crossroads. One of the most avid competitors of his generation, Paiva climbed the ranks of BJJ while conquering titles in important tournaments such as the IBJJF World Championship and the CBJJ Brazilian National Championship, both with gi and in no-gi.

Growing up in the Grajaú area, Igor started out in sports the way most Brazilian children do — through football (soccer), which he played at a competitive level from the age of seven. Although he was deeply invested in athletics during his formative years, from football to swimming to track, Paiva set his extracurriculars aside at 14 to focus on his studies.

Everything changed at 17. Igor and his brother Vinicius were invited by a good friend to try a jiu jitsu class at a gym led by the Mendes brothers — Bruno "Tank" and Augusto "Tanquinho." Paiva quickly became one of the academy's top students, conquering several important trophies and earning the confidence of his coaches to serve as an assistant instructor while still a purple belt.

His string of strong results in the lower-belt divisions of the international circuit earned Igor Paiva his black belt on June 14, 2017, awarded by his coach, Bruno Mendes. Today he carries that lineage forward at Combate Academy, shaping its programs and the next generation of athletes who train there.

A martial arts instructor, dressed in a black gi, demonstrates a technique on two students on a gray mat in a dojo. One student, wearing a blue gi, is in a grappling position with another student, while the instructor observes closely.
Martial arts class with students practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on mats, instructor observing, wall with hats and gloves, and students wearing gis.
Three martial artists in gis standing in a dojo, smiling and talking.
Two men practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu on a black mat inside a gym. One man in a white gi with a purple belt is on top, applying a submission hold on the other man in a black gi.