# Victor Hugo

> Six Blades ultra-heavyweight, multi-time IBJJF World Champion, and one of the most complete big men in modern gi and no-gi.

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- **Last updated:** 2026-07-15

## Identity

- **Name:** Victor Hugo
- **Full name:** Victor Hugo Costa Marques
- **Nickname:** The Mountain
- **Belt:** black belt
- **Team:** Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu
- **Nationality:** Brazil
- **Born:** 1997-05-01
- **Birthplace:** Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
- **Weight class:** Pesadíssimo / Ultra-Heavyweight (+100.5 kg / +222 lbs)
- **Height:** 6'4" (1.95 m)

## Biography

Victor Hugo Costa Marques was born on May 1, 1997, in Fortaleza, the capital of Brazil’s northeastern state of Ceará. As a child he tried soccer, basketball, swimming, and judo without ever feeling like a natural athlete. He largely dropped organized sports in his early teens until July 2011, when his father noticed a new jiu-jitsu gym—Day Bu Kan Academy (DBK)—had opened where Victor’s old judo school once stood. Both father and son signed up under coach Ricardo Costa. Hugo later said what hooked him was that jiu-jitsu did not demand raw athleticism: consistent training produced consistent progress.

By the mid-2010s he was already a Brazilian national champion at colored belts. In 2016, as a purple belt, he traveled to the United States for the IBJJF World Championship and took gold in both his weight class and the absolute. There a mutual friend, Gustavo Dias, introduced him to Saulo and Alexandre “Xande” Ribeiro. Offered a full scholarship at their University of Jiu-Jitsu project, Hugo left his nutrition studies in Brazil and joined the Ribeiro team professionally that September. Under the Six Blades banner he became one of the most decorated lower-belt competitors of his generation—stacking World, Pan, European, and Brazilian National titles in gi and no-gi.

His 2019 brown-belt season remains historic: he completed the IBJJF Grand Slam (Europeans, Brazilian Nationals, Pans, and Worlds) in both ultra-heavyweight and the absolute, becoming the first athlete widely credited with that double Grand Slam. Saulo and Xande promoted him to black belt in June 2019. Within months he announced himself at the elite level—winning ACB World gold, Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Moscow, and, most dramatically, the 2019 IBJJF World No-Gi absolute by kneebarring Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu in the final after only about six months at black belt.

At black belt Hugo established himself as a perennial ultra-heavyweight and open-class contender. He won IBJJF World Championship gold at ultra-heavyweight in 2021 (after a tournament-defining path that included a clash with Nicholas Meregali), 2022 (final over Gutemberg Pereira), and 2023, when he also took absolute gold by submitting Erich Munis with a kneebar—double gold at the highest level of gi competition. Additional black-belt hardware includes the 2021 IBJJF Pan Championship, the 2021 IBJJF Grand Prix, double gold at the 2023 Brazilian Nationals, and silver medals at No-Gi Worlds (2021, 2022). In mid-2020 FloGrappling ranked him the number-one pound-for-pound gi fighter in the world.

Beyond the IBJJF calendar he has been a regular on ADCC and the pro no-gi circuit. He competed at ADCC 2019 (defeating Jared Dopp before falling to Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida) and ADCC 2022 (beating Davi Manasoiu, then losing to Gordon Ryan at +99 kg and later to Cyborg in the absolute). Superfights and invitationals have featured wins over Nick Rodriguez—including a WNO 22 main-event decision and a 2025 UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 submission—plus finishes of Tim Spriggs, Max Gimenis, and others. At the Craig Jones Invitational he has mixed results (a 2024 first-round loss to Lucas Karnard; 2025 CJI 2 wins by katagatame with draws against Dante Leon and Vagner Rocha). In February 2026 he won the IBJJF Absolute No-Gi Grand Prix and its $50,000 prize. Based in Austin, Texas, with Six Blades Lake Travis, Hugo is known for mobility unusual for a roughly 115 kg (255 lb), 6'4" frame: open guard, leg attacks (kneebars, toe holds, ankle locks), katagatame, triangles, and choking sequences from the back and mount. Instagram @victorhugojj identifies him as a 2nd-degree black belt absolute World Champion.

## Lineage

Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Royler Gracie > Saulo Ribeiro (> Alexandre Ribeiro) > Victor Hugo

## Instructors

- Saulo Ribeiro
- Alexandre Ribeiro (Xande)
- Ricardo Costa

## Signature techniques / game

- Kneebar and lower-body attacks
- Katagatame (arm-triangle)
- Triangle choke
- Rear naked choke / choke from the back
- Open guard and guard retention (mobility for size)
- Ezekiel choke and mounted pressure finishing
- Toe hold / straight ankle lock

## Major achievements

- IBJJF World Championship — Ultra-Heavyweight gold (2021, 2022, 2023)
- IBJJF World Championship — Absolute gold (2023); double gold at Worlds 2023
- IBJJF World No-Gi Championship — Absolute gold (2019)
- IBJJF World No-Gi Championship — 2nd place Ultra-Heavyweight (2021, 2022)
- IBJJF Pan Championship — Ultra-Heavyweight gold (2021)
- CBJJ Brazilian Nationals — Ultra-Heavyweight and Absolute gold (2023)
- IBJJF Grand Prix champion (2021); Absolute No-Gi Grand Prix champion (2026, $50K)
- 3CG Kumite II and Kumite VI challenge winner (2020)
- WNO 22 main-event win vs. Nick Rodriguez (2024); UFC Fight Pass Invitational 10 submission of Rodriguez (2025)
- ADCC World Championships competitor (+99 kg / absolute, 2019 and 2022)
- Craig Jones Invitational competitor (2024, 2025)
- FloGrappling #1 pound-for-pound gi ranking (mid-2020)

## Colored belt highlights

- IBJJF World Championship — weight and absolute gold (2016 purple; 2018 / 2019 brown; weight gold 2017 purple)
- IBJJF World Championship No-Gi gold (2016 purple; 2018 brown)
- IBJJF European Open — weight gold (2017 purple; 2018 / 2019 brown); absolute gold (2019 brown)
- IBJJF Pan Championship — weight gold (2017 purple; 2018 / 2019 brown); absolute gold (2019 brown)
- CBJJ Brazilian Nationals gold (2015 blue; 2016 purple; 2019 brown weight and absolute)
- Historic 2019 brown-belt double Grand Slam (Europeans, Brasileiro, Pans, Worlds — weight and absolute)

## Official / social links

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victorhugojj/

## Sources

- [BJJ Heroes — Victor Hugo](https://www.bjjheroes.com/bjj-fighters/victor-hugo)
- [Wikipedia — Victor Hugo (grappler)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Victor_Hugo_(grappler))
- [FloGrappling — Victor Hugo](https://www.flograppling.com/people/6566365-victor-hugo)
- [IBJJF — 2023 Absolute GP preview (Worlds double gold context)](https://ibjjf.com/news/2023-ibjjf-absolute-gp-preview)
- [BJJEE — Victor Hugo “The Mountain” feature](https://www.bjjee.com/articles/victor-hugo-the-mountain-the-next-big-thing-in-jiu-jitsu/)

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