Roberto Traven

Roberto "Spider" Traven (born September 16, 1968) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) Coral Belt practitioner. He is a former ADCC Absolute Champion, IBJJF World Champion, and UFC veteran. Traven is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the global BJJ community, known for both his competitive achievements and his coaching legacy.

Early life and Brazilian jiu-jitsu career

Traven was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and began training in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu at the age of 16 under Romero "Jacaré" Cavalcanti, founder of Alliance Jiu-Jitsu. He earned his black belt in just four years, training alongside future legends such as Fábio Gurgel, Léo Vieira, and Eduardo "Jamelão" da Conceição. His natural talent and dedication led him to train three times a day, enabling him to quickly rise through the ranks.  He was promoted to Corel Belt (7th degree black) on July 10, 2021.  There are only approximately 50 to 60 living BJJ coral belts worldwide.

Competitive achievements

• First Place - Brazilian National Championship - 1995
• First Place - Brazilian Team Championship - 1995
• First Place - Brazilian Team Championship – 1996
• First Place - AFC Russia Ultimate Fighting – 1997
• First Place - World Jiu-Jitsu Championship – 1998
• First Place - open class in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship (grappling) – 1999
• First Place - Brazilian Team Championship – 1999
• First Place - World Jiu-Jitsu Championship – 1999
• First Place - Rings Japan – 2000
• Second Place - Super fight in the ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship (grappling) – 2000
• Second Place - Masters World Championship– 2002
• First Place - Master's World Cup super heavy-weight – 2002
• First Place - Master's World Cup open class – 2002
• First Place - Master's World Cup heavyweight – 2003
• First Place - Pan Ams open and super heavy weight division (class Senior I) - 2006
• First Place - Pan American Senior II Heavy Weight division - 2010
• Third Place - ADCC Trials New Jersey Adult division - 2011
• First Place - World Master Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship Heavy Weight Division (class Master IV) - 2014
• First Place - Pan Ams open and super heavy weight division (class Master IV) - 2015
• First Place - World Master Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship Heavy Weight Division (class Master IV) - 2016
• First Place - IBJJF World No-Gi Championship - 2024

Mixed martial arts career

Traven made his MMA debut at UFC 11 in 1996, defeating Dave Berry by TKO. He later faced Frank Mir at UFC 34, losing via armbar in the first round. His professional MMA record stands at 6 wins, 4 losses, and 1 draw, with victories in promotions such as UFC, Rings, and IAFC.

Mixed martial arts record

|- | Loss | align=center| 6–4–1 | John Salter | KO (punches) | Adrenaline MMA 3 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 2:15 | Birmingham, Alabama, United States | |- | Draw | align=center| 6–3–1 | Yukiya Naito | Draw | Warriors Realm 3 | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Brisbane, Australia | |- | Loss | align=center| 6–3 | Elvis Sinosic | KO (punch) | Warriors Realm 1 | | align=center| 2 | align=center| 0:35 | Queensland, Australia | |- | Loss | align=center| 6–2 | Frank Mir | Submission (armbar) | UFC 34 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:05 | Las Vegas, Nevada | |- | Loss | align=center| 6–1 | Dave Menne | Decision (unanimous) | | | align=center| 3 | align=center| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | align=center| 6–0 | Mikhail Borissov | Decision (unanimous) | | | align=center| 2 | align=center| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | align=center| 5–0 | Gueorguiev Tzvetkov | Decision (majority) | | | align=center| 2 | align=center| 5:00 | Tokyo, Japan | |- | Win | align=center| 4–0 | Maxim Tarasov | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Absolute Fighting Championship 2 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 2:47 | Moscow, Russia | <small>Won IAFC 2 Day 1 Tournament</small> |- | Win | align=center| 3–0 | Leonid Efremov | TKO (submission to punches) | Absolute Fighting Championship 2 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 2:54 | Moscow, Russia | |- | Win | align=center| 2–0 | Artyom Vilgulevsky | Submission (rear-naked choke) | Absolute Fighting Championship 2 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 2:28 | Moscow, Russia | |- | Win | align=center| 1–0 | Dave Berry | TKO (submission to strikes) | UFC 11 | | align=center| 1 | align=center| 1:23 | Augusta, Georgia, United States |

Grappling record

Notable Black Belts Associated with Roberto Traven

• Muzio de Angelis – One of Traven’s earliest students and later his business partner in Brazil.
• Jared Dopp – High-level competitor and ADCC veteran, known to have trained under Traven at various points.
• Raphael Assunção – UFC veteran and BJJ black belt under Traven.
• Jeff Joslin – Canadian BJJ black belt and MMA fighter, trained under Traven.
• Carlos David Oliveira - 5th degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, under Roberto Traven.
• Anna Salome - Roberto Traven's first female black belt, promoted on September 9, 2017

Many of Traven’s black belts are instructors at Team Octopus locations or affiliated academies across the U.S., especially in the Southeast.

References