OLD SCHOOL BJJ MATCH: Leonardo Leite VS Mario Sperry Mundials 1999 IBJJF World Championship

This was the finals of the Super Pesado division of the 1999 Mundials IBJJF World Championship at the Tijuca Tenis Clube in Rio De Janeiro. Leo Leite, a relative newcomer to the black belt scene, facing Mario Sperry, the champion from the previous year. Leonardo Leite, also known as Léo, is possibly the most successful Judoka to have entered the world of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. The Brazilian National Judo Team representative is also a BJJ black belt under Alexandre “Gigi” Paiva from the Alliance Rio de Janeiro academy having won 2 world BJJ championships and 3 Brazilian Jiu Jitsu National gold medals. Leo Leite also competed in mixed martial arts (MMA), having debuted in 2013 with a submission victory over Alessandro Macedo. Leo now fights for Bellator MMA One of the main competitors in both Jiu Jitsu and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, José Mário Sperry, also known as Zé Mário or Zé Maquina, was a big figure of the Pride Fc organization in Japan. Though he was awarded his black belt by the late Master Carlson Gracie, Sperry left the Carlson Gracie Academy at the turn of the century, to form and lead the Brazilian Top Team (BTT), a controversial move at the time that turned him into a persona non grata in his masters circle. BTT would become one of the most successful MMA gyms in the world for most of that decade an achievement highly influenced by Sperry’s presence. FOLLOW ME: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RiccardoAmmendoliaBJJ/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/riccardoammendoliabjj/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/RiccardoAmmendoliaBJJ Twitter: https://twitter.com/riccardobaleia #Judo #LeoLeite #IBJJF #BJJ #MarioSperry #BJJ