Gutemberg Pereira

Gutemberg de Jesus Santos Pereira, widely known as Berg, was born on May 16, 1993, in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. BJJ Heroes places his upbringing in Jardim Cajazeiras, an underserved neighborhood of Salvador, where sport became an important outlet before jiu-jitsu took over his life. After trying sports such as soccer, swimming, karate, muay Thai, and basketball, he began Brazilian jiu-jitsu at the local Fight Club academy under Marcio Bittencourt, Marcilio, and Marcelo Villas-Boas.

Pereira's competitive path changed when, as a blue belt, he traveled to Rio de Janeiro for the CBJJ Rio International Open. Inspired by Rodolfo Vieira, he asked Master Julio Cesar Pereira for a place in the GF Team competitors' program and was accepted. He became one of GF Team's most recognizable big-man athletes, later spending key development years in the United States through the GF Team network, including a stay connected to Roberto Abreu's Miami camp and Kelly Hymore's GF Team Toledo academy in Ohio.

After two years competing and training in the United States, Pereira was promoted to black belt by Master Julio Cesar Pereira in 2017. His black-belt career has been built around a high-output, crowd-pleasing heavyweight style: pressure from top, an active guard for a man of his size, back attacks, kimuras, and a willingness to chase submissions in both gi and no-gi. FloGrappling's match data reflects that profile, listing dozens of submission wins, with choke-from-the-back and kimura among his most frequent finishes.

At the highest level of the gi scene, Pereira has repeatedly reached the podium in the sport's deepest heavyweight and absolute brackets. He won AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro gold in 2021, ADCC Brazilian Sao Paulo Trials gold in 2022, and returned to IBJJF major prominence with 2024 European double gold for AOJ at ultra-heavy and open class. The same season he won the 2024 Pan open class, then repeated as Pan absolute champion in 2025 while also making both the 2025 World Championship ultra-heavy and absolute finals.

Team context around Pereira has shifted with his career. He spent more than a decade associated with GF Team, announced his departure in late 2023, and joined Art Of Jiu-Jitsu in Costa Mesa under Guilherme Mendes, a move covered by BJJ Heroes, FloGrappling, and grappling media. By 2026, IBJJF listed him with CheckMat USA, and he won the 2026 Brasileiro ultra-heavyweight title before taking silver at the 2026 IBJJF World Championship ultra-heavy division. Through those moves, his technical identity has remained unusually broad for a heavyweight: heavy pressure when needed, lapel and closed-guard work in major finals, and explosive finishes from the back.