Master Moura. Photo: Personal Archive

Jiu-Jitsu has lost another grandmaster. He died on January 28, aged 86, the pioneer of the sport in the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Master Jurandir Moura. Promoted to black belt by George Gracie, Jurandir was an 8^th-degree Jiu-Jitsu red-and-black belt.“I’m sure all the fighters in the North and Northeast know the story of this great fighter. He certainly is part of the history of Jiu-Jitsu in Pernambuco! ” said the master of Gracie Barra-PE, Zé Radiola.

Master Jurandir arrived in Recife in the mid-‘50’s, when Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was just getting started. He opened his academy in 1955 and also competed in MMA at the Portuguese Club, between ‘60 and ‘64.

Black Belt George Gracie was the largest producer of champions in MMA at the time, at the old Pernambuco Academy of Jiu-Jitsu. From there came such stalwarts as Ivan Gomes and his brother José Gomes, the brothers Stariovitis (known as the Gypsies), Amaro Pé de Pombo, Cabo Vasco (aka Calango Elétrico) and many others who fought MMA on the old TV Ring-Torres.