How Diogo Reis Left BJJ College, Announced His Departure in 4 Days, and Competed 13 Days Later at a Higher Weight Class

The Brazilian jiu-jitsu world watched one of its brightest young competitors navigate an impossible situation with a clarity that's rare in professional sports. Diogo Reis, a two-time ADCC champion and current ONE Championship flyweight world champion, found himself connected to one of the most serious scandals the sport has faced in recent memory — and his response was a masterclass in decisive action.

On April 28, Melquisedeque Galvao Ferreira, head coach of BJJ College — one of Brazil's more prominent academies — was arrested in Manaus on allegations of sexual abuse involving minors. A 17-year-old had reported alleged misconduct during a competition trip to Italy. As investigators dug deeper, they uncovered at least two additional victims, including a girl who was 12 years old at the time of the alleged abuse. The responses from governing bodies came swiftly: both the IBJJF and the Confederação Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu issued permanent bans, prohibiting Galvao from all sanctioned competition.

For Reis, the implications were immediate. He was a flagship athlete at BJJ College, having built his entire competitive resume under that banner. His two ADCC world titles — won in 2022 at 66 kilograms by defeating Gabriel Sousa in the final, then again in 2024 with a victory over Diego 'Pato' Oliveira at the same weight — were achieved wearing that team's colors. His ONE Championship flyweight world title, earned through years of consistent performance at the highest levels of submission grappling, also carried the BJJ College affiliation on official records and in media coverage.

What happened next revealed something important about how Reis thinks.

Initially, he stayed. Four days passed with no statement, no announcement of a split. The silence might have signaled that he was still processing, waiting to see how the situation would develop, or perhaps trying to separate his own career from the institution's crisis. That lasted exactly four days. On May 2, just four days after Galvao's arrest and a full 13 days before his next scheduled fight, Reis announced his departure from BJJ College. His statement was direct and unpretentious: "The magnitude of the facts makes my continued stay on the team unbearable, as they go completely against my principles and values."

No hedging. No carefully-worded PR that left room for interpretation. No vague "taking time to reflect" language designed to buy space until the news cycle moved on. He was out, and he said so plainly.

The timing of what came next is where the story becomes genuinely interesting.

Thirteen days after announcing his departure — just 11 days after leaving the team — Reis was scheduled to compete at ONE Fight Night 43 on May 15. The fight itself was significant in ways beyond the typical undercard bout. He faced Yuki Takahashi, a legitimate bantamweight competitor, in a division above where Reis had established himself as the world champion. At 66 kilograms, Reis had proven himself capable of operating at the highest levels of grappling, winning ADCC's most competitive weight class twice. But moving to bantamweight represented a genuine step up in competition, a new proving ground where he wasn't the established name and where he'd have to earn his respect through performance rather than accumulated credentials.

Consider the context of this decision. Thirteen days earlier, Reis had been affiliated with a team that was now permanently banned from competition. His coach was in custody on serious charges. The academy he'd built his career around was effectively dismantled overnight by two governing bodies. The entire infrastructure that had supported his rise — the training partners, the coaching staff, the institutional support — was now off-limits to him. And instead of taking time to regroup, reorganize his training camp, find new coaching relationships, or even just process the emotional weight of everything that had happened, he showed up at an international event in a higher weight class to prove something.

The 66-kilogram division at ADCC is not soft. That needs to be stated clearly. This isn't a minor weight class where competition is thin or where past success guarantees future results. Reis won this division in back-to-back Olympic cycles, in 2022 and 2024, defeating experienced, technical grapplers in finals matches. Those wins were earned against the deepest talent pool in submission grappling. So when he moved up to bantamweight just two weeks after leaving his team, he wasn't stepping into a retirement home for veteran athletes. He was genuinely testing himself in a new environment.

What's equally important is what Reis didn't do during this 13-day window. He didn't go quiet and hope the news would pass. He didn't cancel his scheduled fight and cite "personal reasons" that would have been completely understandable given the circumstances. He didn't ask ONE for a postponement or a different opponent. He didn't craft a seven-paragraph Instagram statement with strategic pauses for effect. He didn't use the scandal as an opportunity to build a redemption narrative around himself or position himself as a victim of circumstance. He simply left, announced it, and kept his fight date.

There are two possible readings of this timeline. The first is that the May 15 booking was always on the calendar, scheduled months in advance as is typical for athletes at Reis's level, and the optics of competing 13 days after his departure announcement were incidental. Major promotions book their cards far in advance, and ONE Championship is no exception. It's entirely reasonable that this fight was locked in before anyone had heard of Melqui Galvao outside of Brazilian jiu-jitsu circles, before the arrest, before the investigation became public. The second reading is that Reis consciously chose to compete quickly as a way to move past what had happened and establish a new normal for himself as an independent competitor. There's no way to know which one is accurate, and honestly, it probably doesn't matter much. The effect was the same either way.

The broader significance of Reis's actions lies in what they represent about professional responsibility. Everyone connected to BJJ College faced a choice in late April 2026. Mica Galvao, who trained under Melqui and had built his own following in the sport, announced a new team and publicly distanced himself from his former coach. Amit Elor, an Olympic wrestling gold medalist with connections to the academy, issued her own statement of separation. Others who trained at BJJ College or had been associated with Melqui's coaching left without public statements, opting for quiet departures. Some took longer to decide, waiting to see how the situation would develop before committing to a move. All of these responses were, in their own way, understandable. The situation was unprecedented in its severity, and people needed time to process.

Reis didn't need much time. Four days to recognize the magnitude of what had happened, and then a decisive move out. Then, 13 days later, he fought a legitimate competitor at a higher weight class. The belt goes where he goes — that was the implicit message. Two ADCC world titles, a ONE flyweight championship, and a 2025 submission grappling award of the year are not going to disappear because a team imploded. Those achievements are portable. They're part of his record as an athlete, earned through years of consistent performance and intelligent competition.

What happened between May 2 and May 15 was essentially Reis proving that to himself and to everyone watching. He left a team, competed 13 days later in a higher division against real opposition, and did it without the institutional scaffolding that had previously supported his career. The belt doesn't care what team name is on the bracket. Neither did Reis.

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked below. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.

Sources

• Diogo Reis Announces Departure From Melqui Galvao Team
• Diogo Reis Vs. Yuki Takahashi Added To ONE Fight Night 43
• Diogo Reis Moves Up In Weight To Face Yuki Takahashi At ONE Fight Night 43
• Top BJJ Coach Melqui Galvao Arrested, Banned From IBJJF
• Mica Galvao, Amit Elor and Diogo Reis Issue Statements Distancing Themselves From Melqui Galvao