Ricardo Arona

Ricardo Arona, born in 1978 in Niteroi, is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist, submission grappler and fourth degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Trained by Carlson Gracie from the age of eighteen, he was a two-time World IBJJF champion in the lower belts and later a triple-crown winner of the ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship, taking his weight class, the absolute division and the superfight. He is the only ADCC competitor to go undefeated without losing a single point in a match, which earned him a place in the inaugural ADCC Hall of Fame class in 2021. As a professional fighter from 2000 to 2009 he competed in PRIDE and RINGS and finished as runner-up of the 2005 PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix.