André Luiz Leite Galvão is a Brazilian grappler and former professional mixed martial artist. He was born on September 29, 1982, in São Paulo, Brazil.
When Galvão was a young boy, his family relocated to the Vale da Paraba area. It was there that he began his martial arts training in judo.
Tererê helped André Galvão improve his abilities significantly. Galvão stayed with Tererê for over three years, during which he remained unbeaten in the purple belt class.
Galvão is one of the most decorated athletes and has a fourth-degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Fernando “Tererê” Augusto, in addition to a black belt in judo.
Galvão when he got the black belt
Galvão made his mixed martial arts debut in 2008. He competed in the 2009 Welterweight Tournament of DREAM the following year.
Galvão has said that despite his repeated competitive success, he just started learning wrestling as an adult after moving to America in 2008.
Galvão competed in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship in 2009, which was held in Barcelona. He finished second in the -88 kg division.
Galvão competed in MMA from 2008 until 2010. Before retiring from the sport, he had a record of 5 victories and 2 losses. He notably competed against future UFC world champ Tyron Woodley.
More recently, Galvão distinguished himself in 2011 by taking home the Ultimate Absolute NYC title. He defeated Rousimar Palhares and Pablo Popovitch in the finals of both the -88 kg and absolute weight divisions at the 2011 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship to win gold in both.
In August 2014, Galvão competed against Chael Sonnen at Metamoris IV. He submitted Sonnen with a RNC to win the match.
Galvão won via decision against Claudio Calasans at the 2017 ADCC.
At ADCC 2019, Galvão beat Felipe Pena by points (2-0).
Galvão joined the first class of the ADCC Hall of Fame in November 2021. This was due to his accomplishments as the most iconic competitor and the longest-reigning super fight champion.
Galvão lost his mega event against Gordon Ryan at ADCC 2022. He was submitted in the match by a RNC.
Galvão was inducted into the IBJJF Hall of Fame in June 2022 and the ADCC Hall of Fame in September 2022, respectively.
In March 2022 at ONE: X, Galvão made his professional debut in a grappling match. He competed against Reinier de Ridder, the ONE Middleweight and ONE Light Heavyweight Champion. After 12 minutes, the two competitors weres still squaring off after neither could get the submission.
Galvão has won multiple times in the Pan American Championships, World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Brazilian National Championship, and the 2011 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship (weight and absolute). He also finished third in the 2007 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship at both -77 kg and open weight.
Galvão has coached a number of world champions. He is also the co-founder and head coach of Atos Jiu Jitsu in San Diego, California. It is one of the most successful BJJ teams in competitive sports.
Additionally, Galvão wrote a martial arts book ‘Drill to Win: One Year to Better Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.’
Galvão relocated to San Diego with his wife Angelica Galvão, who is also an avid competitor. The couple has a daughter named Sarah, who also competes in BJJ. He started working as a head coach of the Atos headquarters while simultaneously taking up a position as a deacon in an evangelical church, Project New Life.
