Diogo Reis was born on March 20, 2002, in Manaus, in northern Brazil, a city with a strong Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tradition. He grew up in a lower-middle-class family where his parents worked long hours; he and his siblings “essentially raised themselves,” with his older brother Adriano serving as his main source of support. As a child, Reis initially dreamed of a career in soccer and even trained at a soccer academy with his brother.
At the age of ten, he was introduced to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu through that same brother, and the sport proved life-changing. At first, it mainly taught him discipline and respect. By his own account, he was a “lazy, rebellious, and unruly” child who gradually chose a different path through training. After barely three years of training, he had already won gold in the junior division at the Brazilian national championships, repeating the achievement the following year. Financially, the road to the top was anything but easy: he sold raffle tickets and asked friends for help covering the costs of airfare, entry fees, and visas for international tournaments. A period of training in the United States, where he came into contact with legends such as Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, convinced him that a career in jiu-jitsu was achievable.
Under the guidance of Melqui Galvão, he quickly progressed through the belts and earned his black belt on December 13, 2020. As a black belt, he built an impressive record: two ADCC world titles in the -66 kg division in 2022 and 2024, multiple IBJJF world titles, a Brazilian championship in 2023, and the Who’s Number One featherweight title in 2023. In March 2025, he made his ONE Championship debut with a technically flawless victory over Shoya Ishiguro. In December 2025, he captured the vacant ONE Flyweight Submission Grappling World Title at ONE Fight Night 38 by defeating Daiki Yonekura via unanimous decision, an achievement that earned him the title of ONE Championship’s Submission Grappler of the Year 2025.
As of September 2026, Reis remains the reigning ONE Championship flyweight world champion. On May 15, 2026, he recorded a dominant victory over rising Japanese star Yuki Takahashi at ONE Fight Night 43 at Lumpinee Stadium in a non-title bantamweight bout. His career suffered a major personal shock in early 2026: his longtime coach and mentor, Melqui Galvão, was arrested on suspicion of sexually abusing minors. Reis publicly distanced himself from his former team and permanently left it in May 2026. Since then, he has followed his own path, and the exact composition of his current coaching staff has not been publicly confirmed.
Thailand
