BJJ Academies in São Paulo.

São Paulo is one of the deepest BJJ-producing states in the world. The Federação Paulista de Jiu-Jitsu (FPJJ) runs the state circuit — Circuito Paulista, Campeonato Paulista, Copa Litoral BJJ, Copa Grandes Mestres — with the results portal at fpjjresultados.com.br. The IBJJF Brasileiro (Brazilian Nationals) has been held at Ginásio Poliesportivo José Corrêa, Barueri (a municipality in Greater São Paulo) every year since 2013, drawing nearly 8,000 athletes over ten days; the 2026 edition runs April 24 – May 3.

The team map is dense and historically rich. Alliance São Paulo opened in 1994 when Fabio Gurgel relocated to expand the team's southern base, and Gurgel still leads the academy today. Cicero Costha International / PSLPB sits at R. Lino Coutinho, 426 in Ipiranga — Cícero Costha's "Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem" produced Leandro Lo, the Miyao brothers, Thalison Soares, Hiago George, and Tiago Barros. Atos was founded in October 2008 by Ramon Lemos and André Galvão in Rio Claro, São Paulo, before HQ moved to San Diego in 2010. Dream Art opened in São Paulo in October 2018 under Isaque Bahiense and was the #1 IBJJF academy in 2022 and 2023, with team-of-the-year wins (men's and women's) at the 2023 World Championship. Cia Paulista, founded by Marcelo Behring in the late 1980s, was the original São Paulo answer to Rio's dominance.