Legendary grappler and coach André Galvão believes his star pupil Kaynan Duarte has the potential to become the greatest jiu-jitsu athlete of all time. In a recent interview, Galvão reflected on Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s dominant performance at the 2024 ADCC World Championships, where the team secured six gold medals.
Galvão praised Kaynan’s incredible showing, where he won double gold with seven submissions in eight matches. “This for sure was the best performance of Kaynan,” Galvão said. “He almost matched Roger Gracie’s record.”
With four ADCC titles at just 26 years old, Kaynan is already among the most decorated athletes in the sport’s history. Galvão believes the sky’s the limit for his prodigy.
“I told Kaynan, ‘You have to come up and break all the records,'” Galvão revealed. “I said, ‘Kaynan, you’re so gifted that if you want, you can be the greatest of all time. You can be the best.'”
Duarte is just 26 years old.
Galvão cited Kaynan’s talent, ideal body type, intelligence, and mindset as factors that could propel him to unprecedented heights in the sport. While praising Kaynan’s current level, Galvão also emphasized there’s still significant room for improvement.
“I believe Kaynan can be like probably five, six times better than he is right now,” Galvão said.
With the next ADCC superfight title on the horizon in 2026, Kaynan has a chance to add to his legacy and potentially surpass the gold medal tallies of legends like Galvão himself and Gordon Ryan. His coach believes Kaynan has all the tools to cement his place as jiu-jitsu’s GOAT if he continues on his current trajectory.
As Kaynan enters his prime years, the jiu-jitsu world will be watching to see if he can fulfill the lofty expectations set by his legendary coach and mentor. If Galvão’s assessment proves correct, we may be witnessing the early stages of an all-time great career.
