Leonardo "Leo" Leite (born in March 1978, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), initiated his career in judo in 1984 at the Federal Club under Omar Brazil. In 1988, at age 10, he transferred to the Clube de Regatas do Flamengo and began to participate on official competitions of the Judo Federation of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian Judo Confederation. In 1997 he achieved a place in the Brazilian junior national team, and in 1998 the first call for leading the Brazilian judo team, which he continued until 2012. Parallel to his judo career, in 1993 he began his career in jiu-jitsu under Alexandre Paiva supervision, who coaches him still today. In 1999 Leite decided to compete in the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Jiu Jitsu’s most important competition, for the first time. He was a brown belt then and was expecting to compete in that division, but his coach “Gigi” Paiva had other plans for him, and two weeks before the event he promoted him to black belt. Leonardo Leite won the competition, winning in the final against a legend in the sport, Mario Sperry. In 2013, he started his MMA career (Record 3-0-0). Leite also works as a TV commentator for Judo and MMA events.
Accomplishments
JUDO
Brazilian Olympic Team - Pekin 2008 and London 2012
3x Pan American Champion
2x South American Champion
Three medals on the World Judo Championships Team competition
2x Second place on the Judo World Cup Championship
1x Third place on Judo World Cup Championship
JIU - JITSU
8x Brazilian Champion
4x World Champion
2x World Cup Champion
South American Champion heavy weight and open weight
6x Second place on Jiu-Jitsu World Championship
