4th Degree Black Belt
Head Instructor of Gracie Barra Downers Grove

Prof. Carlos Lemos Jr. was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, being the son of Carlos Lemos (Senior) and Tulla Lemos. He was introduced to martial arts at the age of 3 through Tae Kwon Do and moved to Judo when he was 10 years old, where he achieved great results. Lemos was also an avid surfer who may have turned pro if not for Jiu Jitsu.

Prof. Lemos’s first coaches were none other than three legends of the sport: Professors Roberto “Gordo”, Alexandre “Soca” Carneiro and Renzo Gracie. He was graded as a blue belt by Prof. Gordo and became an assistant coach at his gym, one of the GB schools in Rio. Once Prof. Gordo moved to Sao Paulo, Carlos started to train under Master Carlos Gracie Junior, who advanced him in the main Gracie Barra school in Brazil from blue belt to black belt. In October of 2001, Lemos established an exceptional BJJ fighting career in Brazil and international.

Prof. Lemos attended Law school at the University Estacio de Sa, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for four years. Eventually inspired by his master’s passion for the art, Lemos decided to teach Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and was given the opportunity to become Master Carlos Gracie Jr.’s personal assistant instructor. During his group classes, Lemos sharpened his teaching skills. Seen as a bright promise by Master Carlos Gracie Jr., Lemos was encouraged to learn different languages. Master Gracie had the vision back in the 90′s that Gracie Barra one day would turn into a worldwide organization. His vision was fulfilled a decade later.

In 2002, after a becoming a Black belt World Champion, Lemos, now a Professor, shot his first series of DVDs for the “LEGENDS OF GRACIE BARRA”.

In 2003, Professor Lemos was invited to live for a couple of months in South Korea to expand the GB family in the Far East and spread Brazilian Jiu Jitsu there. Once there, he became the first Brazilian to teach martial arts on Korean soil.

In 2004, Prof. Lemos, was given the task to spread the Jiu Jitsu of Gracie Barra in Europe. “Escorrega” followed Master Gracie’s instructions and decided to move to England and resume his studies there. Now fluent in four languages and with communicating skills in another three, Lemos successfully built several Gracie Barra franchises on the continent where he graduated a couple BJJ black belts, namely: Niclas Gustafsson (2008) and Peter Berglund (2010) from Sweden, Salvatore Pace (Bristol- Bath Spa UK), (2013) Gibran Alvarez (Cancun /Playa del Carmen Mexico), Federico Tisi (Rome) who is the head of the Tribe JJ in Italy. In 2016 Prof Carlos formed again six new black belts in Europe black belts Mats Ekman, Pelle Röjfors , Andreas Widén , Kjell Abrahamssson ( All GB Gothenburg, Sweden ), Richard Weathrall- awarded by prof Lemos & prof Salvo Pace (GB Street, UK ), Markku Tapiola ( GB Finland ) and Professor Johan Ahlberg 2015 , Mattias Sandstrom (GB Ümea ) 2017, Danijel Brajcic ( GB Serbia) 2017, Pat Reeves- awarded by Prof Lemos & prof Salvo Pace ( GB Swindon) 2017 , Prof Hector Vargas ( GB Downers Grove) 2017 , Prof. Pedro Tello ( GB Downers Grove) 2017.

In December of 2008, after his adventure in Europe, Carlos moved to the United States as instructed by Master Carlos Gracie Jr. He made Chicago his new home, where he established himself and resumed his competitive career after almost a 5 year break. It was also in the United States that Carlos made his MMA debut in 2011.

Prof. Lemos has made Worlds, Pan Americans, National and International champions and has trained several UFC, PRIDE and K-1 fighters.

In 2015 Prof. Carlos Lemos Jr received his 4th degree from the hands of Master Carlos Gracie Jr.

Some of the champions who trained with Prof Lemos: Salvo Pace, Federico Tisi, Ronnie Maan, Pele Reid, James Thompson, George St-Pierre, Spencer Fisher, Gibran Alvarez and Ryo Ominami.

Main Competition Achievements:

• 4X World Champion (1999 purple, 2002, 2015, 2018 Black)
• American No gi Champion (2009)
• 3 X Brazilian National Champion (1996,1998,1999)
• European Champion (2004 black)
• Pan American Champion (2000 brown, 2015 Black)
• Brazilian Teams Champion (2003)
• Chicago Open Champion (2010 Open Weight)
• World Silver Medalist (2003 black)
• American No gi Silver Medalist (2009 Open weight)
• 2 X World Bronze Medalist (2000 brown, 2005 Black)
• MMA record 2×0, Weight Division: feather weight/ Pena