# Carlos Gracie Junior ("Carlinhos")

> Coral Belt | Brazil

## Overview

**Name:** Carlos Gracie Junior

**Nickname:** Carlinhos

**Belt Rank:** Coral Belt

**Nationality:** Brazil

**Gender:** Male

**Date of Birth:** January 17, 1956 (age 70)


## Bio

Son of Gracie patriarch Carlos Gracie, raised under Hélio Gracie’s supervision but deeply shaped by older brother Rolls’ cross-training ethos, Carlos Gracie Junior spent his early years competing in sambo and wrestling alongside Rolls before taking over the Copacabana academy after Rolls’ fatal hang-gliding accident. Defying advice, he moved to Barra da Tijuca in 1986 to found Gracie-Barra with Crolin Gracie, Rilion, and Zé Beleza, a gamble that grew from 20 to 200 students within a year. In 1992 he co-created the Associação de Jiu Jitsu da Barra with José Leão Teixeira and Jean Jacques Machado, which evolved into the CBJJ in 1994 and later the IBJJF, the sport’s most prestigious federation. He also launched the Jornal Gracie in 1994, later rebranded as GracieMag, while producing a generation of elite competitors. Awarded his coral belt in 2008 and his 8th-degree red-and-white belt in 2015.
## Lineage

- Carlos Gracie (Red Belt)
- Hélio Gracie (Red Belt)

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**Last Updated:** September 24, 2026

**Data Source:** bjj.space (https://bjj.space/people/carlos-gracie-junior)