Ricardo Vieira

Ricardo Alcantara Vieira commonly known as Rico Vieira or Ricardinho is a Brazilian grappler, a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Instructor, and Competitor. He was born on 9 January 1979. He is one of the Viera brothers (Léo and Leandro), who lead and fight for Checkmat.

Early life Ricardo first stepped on a jiu-jitsu mat at the age of five, joining the kids class of IBJJF Hall of Fame coach Romero Cavalcanti (Jacaré). Vieira also played football (soccer) at a high level, making the junior squad of the famous Rio de Janeiro club Flamengo, though an injury kept him from progressing further in this activity.

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Since beginning training at the age of five, Vieira's aptitude for BJJ shone through right from the get go. He won multiple won in the junior leagues, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, a competition in which he won in every belt division he competed, from blue belt to black belt. He won the IBJJF World Championship as a black belt in 2001. In 2009 Ricardo made a reappearance to a BJJ competition in Stockholm, Sweden, winning the absolute division in the Stockholm BJJ Open. Team Checkmat also came in first for the Brazilian Nationals (Gi) 2010 and Brazilian Nationals (No-Gi) 2010.