Faustino Neto

Main Achievements & Elite Coaching Legacy

• Founder of Clube Pina — Established one of the most prolific and historically significant submission grappling academies in South America, effectively anchoring Manaus as a global epicenter for the sport.
• Master Maker of Champions — Developed and graduated a legendary roster of home-grown Amazonian talent into elite black belt world champions and prominent mixed martial artists.
• Distinguished Roster Produced:
  • Bibiano Fernandes (Multi-time IBJJF Black Belt World Champion & Long-reigning ONE Championship Bantamweight King)
  • Carlos Diego Ferreira (Elite UFC Lightweight Contender)
  • Jaqueline Amorim (IBJJF World Champion & UFC Strawweight Athlete)
  • Carlos “Esquisito” Holanda (Multi-time IBJJF Pan American Champion)
  • Alex Martins & Rodrigo Pinheiro (Elite international competitors and master coaches)

Overview

Faustino Martins Neto, universally revered throughout the martial arts world by his iconic moniker “Mestre Pina” (Master Pina), is a highly distinguished 5th-degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt master and master strategist. As the founder and head instructor of the legendary Clube Pina de Jiu Jitsu (CPJJ), Neto is widely credited by historians as a primary architect who put the isolated jungle metropolis of Manaus, Amazonas, permanently on the international grappling map. His unique pedagogical methodology transforms raw, underprivileged youth into world-conquering combat icons.

Early Life & The Judo Revelation

Faustino Neto was born on February 19, 1966, in Manaus, the sprawling capital city of the Amazonas state in Northern Brazil. He officially initiated his formal journey into competitive martial arts at the age of 18, enrolling in a traditional Judo program where he developed exceptional baseline balance, spatial awareness, and throwing mechanics.

His athletic trajectory altered permanently during a regional Judo tournament. Neto was matched against a rival competitor who cross-trained extensively in the then-obscure art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Once the match hit the canvas, Neto was systematically controlled and decisively submitted on the ground. This humbling, eye-opening encounter exposed him to the undisputed authority of submission grappling leverage, prompting him to instantly change combat disciplines to study the “gentle art.”

The Golden Era Education Under Alves and Penha

Around 1987, Neto officially commenced his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu training under the guidance of Carlson Gracie Junior. Possessing an insatiable drive to absorb the absolute highest echelon of the art’s evolving defensive architectures, Neto implemented a grueling interstate commuter lifestyle. He split his years evenly between his home in the Amazon and the sport’s primary epicenter in Rio de Janeiro.

Neto spent months at a time embedded in Rio, training daily under the hyper-technical supervision of the legendary Grandmaster Osvaldo Alves and master strategist Sergio Penha. Under Alves’ meticulous, high-leverage curriculum, Neto sharpened his signature open guard structures and guard-passing systems. He progressed seamlessly through every colored belt tier before Master Osvaldo Alves officially awarded him his black belt in 1997.

The Birth and Global Dominance of Clube Pina

Long before receiving his black belt, Neto discovered a profound, rare gift for combat pedagogy and sports psychology. In 1991, while carrying the rank of purple belt, he began organizing and coaching grassroots classes for youth in his hometown of Manaus. The immediate competitive success and explosive regional growth of his student base led him to formally establish his independent flagship academy, Clube Pina de Jiu Jitsu, in the year 2000.

Despite possessing very little personal international tournament experience due to the geographic isolation of his youth, Mestre Pina’s uncanny, flawless understanding of grappling physics, kinetic levers, and mindset coaching transformed his humble academy into an absolute global powerhouse. Operating from CPJJ, Pina engineered an international reputation as a definitive “maker of champions.” His academy became world-famous for taking raw local talent and forging them into elite black belts capable of conquering the highest tiers of the IBJJF World Championships and top-flight Mixed Martial Arts promotions like the UFC and ONE Championship. Today, as a 5th-degree master, Faustino “Pina” Neto remains an enduring vanguard of authentic Brazilian grappling heritage, continuing to guide his Amazonian empire with a legendary standard of martial excellence.