# Diego Bispo

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## Overview

**Name:** Diego Bispo


## Bio

Diego Bispo was born on March 30, 1983, in Salvador, the capital of Brazil’s northeastern state of Bahia, moving to Duque de Caxias, Rio de Janeiro, at the age of 6.

As a child, Bispo was far removed from the world of martial arts, and more akin to traditional sports, particularly basketball. It was only once he saw jiu-jitsu as a competitive outlet that grappling sparked an interest in Diego. At the time Bispo was 19 years of age and started attending a few of his friends BJJ tournaments. Realizing that BJJ was a highly competitive sport, he decided to join an academy.

Diego’s first training ground was at the Associação Caxiense de Jiu-Jitsu (ACAJJ), located close to his neighborhood, where he  met,  and trained under professor Claudio  Marculino . His training at ACAJJ was short-lived as once the young athlete got accepted by a Rio de Janeiro University, (Bispo has a Masters Degree in Computer Science at Pontifical Catholic University, RJ,) he was forced to leave his gym, then picking up BJJ training at the Strauch Academy in Gavea, with coach Victor Leite (Maninho) where he remained until his brown belt.

As a brown  belt  Bispo started training at the world famous Carlson Gracie Academy headquarters, under the tutelage of  Alan Moraes . The work with Moraes proved to be of great relevance to Diego’s evolution, as he went on to conquer the most important titles of his colored belt career, at brown belt, namely the Brazilian Nationals and the most important Masters division tournament in the sport at the time: the IBJJF International Masters & Seniors tournament (2014), conquering his black belt from Moraes while on the podium of that same event.

By the end of 2014 Diego Bispo was invited to come and train at a gym in Virginia Beach in southeastern Virginia. In an odd turn of events, the academy closed down after 6 months of Bispo arriving. Unsure of how to proceed from there, Bispo decided to seize the moment and start his own gym – a venue that opened its doors on that same town, in 2015, quickly becoming recognized as one of the best academies in the region.

In 2016 the Ares team was created with the support of Alan Moraes, who left CGA and joined Ares. In a show of support for his instructor, Diego Bispo also joined the team that same year.

Diego Bispo vs CJ Murdock

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**Last Updated:** March 21, 2026

**Data Source:** BJJ.Space (https://bjj.space/people/diego-bispo-8c749527d3be)