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Five-time Brazilian jiu-jitsu World Champion Leandro Ataides is one of the most successful grapplers to test his skills in ONE Championship. Despite his BJJ black belt credentials, the Brazilian powerhouse has grown into a complete martial artist, and has since registered half of his wins by way of spectacular knockout to showcase his growing striking skills.

As a child, Leandro Ataides was always in trouble picking fights, so his mother decided to enrol him in BJJ classes to learn discipline. It proved to be a wise decision, as Ataides soon changed for the better training under famous coach Wendell Alexander, who founded the famed Nova Uniao fight gym at around the same time. After reaching the pinnacle of BJJ, Ataides made his professional cage debut in 2008, and ran up a record of 6-0 before successfully debuting with ONE Championship. On the global stage, he soon won his first two bouts in devastating fashion, and earned a shot at the ONE Middleweight World Championship.

After suffering a disappointing string of losses, Ataides trained twice as hard in a bid to regain his footing at the top of the division. The Brazilian’s dedication and hard work paid instant dividends, as he knocked out Egyptian star Mohamed Ali via flying knee in Manila, earning ONE’s 2016 Knockout of the Year honors as he battles his way back to the top.