# Pete Letsos ("The Greek")

> Black Belt | United States

## Overview

**Name:** Pete Letsos

**Nickname:** The Greek

**Belt Rank:** Black Belt

**Nationality:** United States

**Gender:** Male

**Date of Birth:** December 31, 1979 (age 46)


## Bio

A mainstay of the Chicago scene who cut his teeth in the late 90s under Carlson Gracie Junior, Pete Letsos took the archetypal American grappler’s pilgrimage to Brazil in 2002 and ended up staying four years. Arriving during the Carlson Gracie team’s fracturing into BTT, he trained with the MMA squad and took privates from Cassio Cardoso, then competed for Gracie Barra at the Brazilian National Teams tournament as a purple belt, his guard passing earning him that spot. He lived on Osvaldo Alves’s mats cleaning to pay tuition and later bunked with Andre Galvão to train with Terere at TT academy. Brown and black belt from Carlson Junior, he opened Rio Jiu Jitsu in Chicago in 2007.

---

**Last Updated:** September 24, 2026

**Data Source:** bjj.space (https://bjj.space/people/pete-letsos)