GUILHERME MENDES

Guilherme 'Gui' Mendes is the elder of the Mendes brothers and one of the co-founders of the Atos team that has produced multiple generations of elite BJJ competitors. Born in 1987 in Brazil and trained under Ramon Lemos alongside brother Rafael, Gui accumulated three IBJJF Mundial championships at black belt and multiple Pan-American and European Open titles across his competitive career.

Gui's competitive style synthesized the same lightweight technical vocabulary that Rafael developed but with subtle differences in execution — Gui tended to use slightly different berimbolo entries and emphasized a slightly different sweep system than his brother. The two brothers competing alongside each other in adjacent weight classes (Gui at light-featherweight, Rafael at featherweight) produced one of the most-watched sibling rivalries in modern competitive BJJ and helped establish the Mendes brothers as the central figures of Atos' early dominance.

Gui's role in co-founding the Atos team alongside Rafael and Ramon Lemos established the institutional framework that has subsequently produced Mica Galvao, Tainan Dalpra, the broader Atos roster, and the pedagogical tradition that has influenced modern competitive BJJ globally. Gui's pedagogical work through Art of Jiu Jitsu (the academy he founded in Costa Mesa, California with Rafael) has contributed substantially to modern lightweight BJJ instruction. As of 2026 Gui continues to coach at Art of Jiu Jitsu and focuses on the next generation of competitors.