“I already fell in love with jiu-jitsu” - Cleber Sousa says it only took one class for him to find his passion

Grappling star Cleber Sousa found his passion early in his teenage years, and it only took one class for him to fall in love with it.

Sousa was raised by a single mother of nine on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Needless to say, living on the bare minimum wasn’t the most comfortable upbringing. However, the large household meant he wasn’t short on playmates, and he met lots of friends at school and on the streets.

At 13 years old, he found purpose when a cousin of his brought him to the Almeida Jiu-Jitsu social project. The initiative was co-founded by brothers Caio, Diogo, and Gustavo Almeida, and has since turned into one of the biggest grappling stables in Sao Paulo today.

In an interview with ONE Championship, Sousa revealed how he first stepped on the mats and why he never looked back:

“As soon as I arrived at the project, I immediately went to play ‘pass the teacher’s guard.’ Even without understanding anything, I put my fight instinct out and just went for it [laughs]. I did my best even without any technique. In the first classes, I already fell in love with jiu-jitsu, and I never stopped training.”

‘Clandestino’ trained for free in the Almeida brothers’ social project, which helped him channel his energy to a purpose. His love for the sport grew the more he learned about it.

“In jiu-jitsu, you have to overcome yourself every day. When I started participating in competitions, I fell even more in love with this sport.”

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Cleber Sousa has a chance to make history at ONE on Prime Video 2

On September 30, US primetime, Cleber Sousa has a chance to make an immediate impact in his debut match on the global stage of ONE Championship.

The 27-year-old is set to take on grappling prodigy Mikey Musumeci for the inaugural ONE flyweight submission grappling world title at ONE on Prime Video 2 live from the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Musumeci made his promotional debut at ONE 156 earlier this year, where he submitted leg lock legend, Masakazu Imanari, with a deep rear-naked choke. The impressive win no doubt played a huge role in him being considered part of the historic matchup against Cleber Sousa.

Sousa and Musumeci are no strangers to one another, splitting their first two meetings on the mats. Their rubber match will be much more than just bragging rights, with a place in history - and ONE Championship gold - on the line.