Bruno Lima is a Portuguese grappler and a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Alexandre Machado, who is widely recognized as one of the top European grapplers of his generation, referenced as one of the sport’s rising stars by BJJ Heroes in 2017. Bruno earned his reputation in BJJ while competing in the lower belt divisions of this martial art, a time when he conquered numerous important titles of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) and the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF).

Bruno Lima was born on September 04, 1993, in Lisbon, the capital city of Portugal, growing up in the Cacém neighborhood.

From the very get-go, Bruno did not feel a connection with traditional sports such as football (soccer), instead, he spent his childhood playfighting and doing parkour, an activity he practiced up until his mid-teens.

As a 16-year-old, Lima looked to finally put his love for fighting to some training, then joining the MiraSintra boxing club, immediately jumping into the competitive ring with an amateur debut that year. Wanting to pursue the mixed martial arts (MMA) avenue, at the age of 19 Bruno joined a local Gracie-Barra Academy led by a blue belt named Mário Santos.

In between his white and blue belt progression, Bruno entered the cage on 7 occasions, winning 5 of those bouts. He would join his jiu-jitsu team’s headquarters in Central Lisbon during this transitioning process from MMA fighter to grappler, there following the guidance of black belts coach, Alexandre Machado and Handre Peters. By his second year as a blue belt, Lima was already fully committed to BJJ.

Once Bruno focussed his efforts on to jiu-jitsu, his talent started shining through in the Portuguese national circuit, and at an international level, performances that held throughout Lima’s progression through the rank system. The consistency of Bruno’s results led to his black belt promotion by professor Alexandre Machado in June 2019.