LUCAS LEPRI

Lucas Lepri is one of the most decorated lightweight competitors in the history of IBJJF black-belt competition and a figure who dominated the 76-kilogram weight class across the mid-2010s. Born in Belo Horizonte, Brazil in 1983 and trained under Marcos Costa, Lepri won the IBJJF Mundial at black belt five times — 2008, 2012, 2014, 2016, and 2017 — establishing one of the longest competitive runs at the highest level of any lightweight competitor in BJJ history.

Lepri's competitive style was characterized by an unusually disciplined and pressure-oriented approach for a lightweight: where most lightweight competitors of his era specialized in open-guard offense and high-mobility play, Lepri emphasized the knee cut pass, the reverse de la riva guard, and a tight top-pressure game that resembled the heavyweight passing style scaled down to lightweight execution. His matches against the Mendes brothers, Cobrinha, Michael Langhi, and the broader lightweight competitive roster across 2008–2017 produced some of the most technically intricate black-belt matches in IBJJF history.

After relocating to Charlotte, North Carolina in the early 2010s, Lepri founded Alliance Charlotte, which has become one of the most productive Alliance branches in the United States. His coaching has produced multiple competitive black belts, and his instructional materials covering the knee cut pass and the reverse de la riva are considered standard study material at every serious competitive program. Lepri continues to compete at the master and elite levels and remains active in BJJ instruction as of 2026.