Instructor Marcio Cruz

Marcio Cruz, ring name Marcio Pe de Pano Cruz, was born in Rio de Janeiro on April 24th, 1978.  He was introduced to martial arts when he was only 12 years old, and started training karate at an academy close to his home. But soon after he started, the academy closed down. Marcio was an active child and it was time to get to know other sports like soccer, handball, basketball, and swimming among others before starting his victorious career in jiu-jitsu. Marcio lived for a few years at his grandfather’s home, and it was then that an old friend took him to a jiu-jitsu academy for the very first time.  From that moment on he decided he wanted to be a black belt.  Unfortunately, back home there was no jiu-jitsu academy nearby, so he had to train judo for a while.

It was not until 1996 that Professor Marcio Cruz finally started training jiu-jitsu. By that time, he was 17 years old and it was a little late to get started and become a professional. But he decided to follow his dream and soon noted he had exceptional talent. To become a professional at such late age, he had to be extremely dedicated and determined and so he trained diligently without rest. Very soon, he started getting his first titles at state championships. Marcio’s talent shocked the jiu-jitsu world, as in 1999 he became Pan-Am champion in January as blue belt, World Champion in July as purple belt and Brazilian National Champion in October already as brown belt. With amazing talent and with unrivaled dedication to training, Marcio became a true phenomenon in the sport. In 2000, he won all his fights at the World Championships and defeated the World Black Belt Champion at the open category when he was still a relatively unknown brown belt. The next year, Marcio won all of his fights by submission and became World Champion on two categories, Heavyweight and Open, and was immediately awarded his black belt from Master Carlos Gracie Jr. For those who thought he had received his black belt too soon, he answered becoming Brazilian National Champion again on two categories, Heavyweight and Open, defeating other famous black belts. For two years in a row, Professor Marcio Cruz was elected best jiu-jitsu fighter in the world, winning two world championships as black belt in categories of Heavyweight and Open, the two most important categories of the sport.

Professor Marcio Cruz is a six-time BJJ World Champion, five-time BJJ Jiu-Jitsu National Champion, eight-time BJJ Pan-Am Champion.  With unquestionable credentials, Marcio is a third degree black belt and has traveled around the world conducting seminars and for over 12 years he has been teaching the “gentle art”. In 2003 Marcio was also Abu Dhabi Champion, proving that his talent goes beyond the jiu-jitsu championships. Since then, he has also been a UFC fighter.  Marcio is the current Heavyweight Champion of Art Of Fighting and is actively competing in many jiu-jitsu, submission and MMA championships worldwide.

With his first academy opened in Tampa, Professor Marcio Cruz aims to pass on to his students the passion for the sport, the discipline in training, and dedication to reach your objectives that nurtured his career and made him an amazing jiu-jitsu champion in such a short time, and unquestionably one of the best in the world.