FloGrappling Note: Abuse and harassment stands at odds with the core values as taught by martial arts. FloGrappling stands with victims. If you or somebody you know has been affected by sexual harassment or abuse please seek assistance from law enforcement. For more information and resources go to www.rainn.org.

World champion Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu and noted grappler / former MMA fighter Vagner Rocha have publicly answered to their alleged involvement in associating with a team member charged with felony sexual assault of a 16-year-old student. 

Abreu, 40, of Miami FL, is the owner and team leader of Fight Sports, a South Florida-based jiu-jitsu academy with a worldwide network of affiliated gyms. He is one of the most recognizable figures in the world of no-gi submission grappling, having won the 2013 ADCC absolute division. In 2020 he was named the FloGrappling Male Grappler of the Year based on his competition achievements. 

Cyborg has been accused of recently associating with disgraced black belt Marcel Goncalves, 34, who was arrested in March of 2018 and charged with felony sexual assault of a female martial arts student. Abreu is the godfather to Goncalves’ child. 

At the time of the alleged crime, Goncalves taught jiu-jitsu at a Fight Sports gym in Naples, FL. The police report notes that Goncalves “confessed to having sexual intercourse with [the alleged victim] and stated that he does not know what is wrong with him.” 

Goncalves was charged with a second degree felony—as per Florida law, “a person 24 years of age or older who engages in sexual activity with a person 16 or 17 years of age.” His case was processed in the 20th Judicial Circuit in Collier County, Florida. The arraignment took place on Sept. 4, 2018 and Goncalves’ next court date is scheduled for Aug. 19, 2021.

Photos that circulated online appear to show Goncalves at a Fight Sports team party outside the Miami gym in June of 2019. 

Rocha, 39, owns the Vagner Rocha Martial Arts gym in Hollywood, FL. It was alleged that Goncalves had been present at the gym for closed-door training sessions some time in 2020. Goncalves was also claimed to have helped set up cameras for Rocha to teach Zoom classes during the COVID-19 lockdown. Photos posted on social media appear to show Goncalves at Rocha’s martial arts gym standing behind the front desk and sitting on the mat alongside children. 

Further accusations of sexual assault and abuse within the Fight Sports network prompted Roberto Cyborg to release the following statement: 

“Any worthwhile conversation starts with listening… amidst attacks to my personal character for a crime I did not commit, I have tried to listen to the criticism of myself and my organization for the poor handling of these situations.

To the victims and their families, I am sorry for my poor handling, ill preparedness [sic] and lack of proper leadership to address the horrible experience they had to go through.

I have reached out privately and directly to each victim, to apologize in depth for my short-comings and to establish a line of communication with them, to inform them of the actions I am taking personally and to learn from this and do better.

To all my students, affiliates, coaches and fans worldwide. Honest, caring, good people, who see in Fight Sports a family they can trust; All teams have bad apples. It is sometimes hard to get rid of those bad apples, but I acknowledge we have to do better in doing so.

As a leader I have been expected and asked to answer for actions I did not commit.

And since you have asked me to do better, I am trying to do so by enacting the following policies effective immediately:

We as men have a responsibility to NOT be involved in these sort of situations. The discipline we exhibit on the mats should also be present when it comes to protecting and respecting our female teammates and our kids.

As a leader I have been expected and asked to answer for actions I did not commit.

While no one can answer for someone else’s actions, I unequivocally acknowledge that I was ill prepared to handle this situation and my response was confusing and not drastic enough at best. In trying to protect my godson I drastically failed to address the victim adequately, publicly and swiftly. For this, I am sorry.

I failed to lead and enact harsher policy that can prevent this from happening. These short-comings in my handling of these sort of situations ends today.

That is why, having listened and learned from this, I have decided to implement, effective immediately a ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY for all sexual abuse or sexual misconduct related incidents within our gyms.

What does this mean?

If you are presented with an accusation of having committed any sexual misconduct in the gym, outside the gym, to another student or to anyone else, you will be temporarily suspended while an internal investigation is conducted by our newly appointed “sexual misconduct review board” and by authorities to determine the facts.

Anyone accused will be temporarily removed until an investigation determines the facts and if found guilty by our investigation or by authorities, this person shall lose their affiliation to our team immediately and their belts and ranks will be automatically taken away.

We have listened and we have learned.

To make sure that victims of these situations in our gyms are heard and are able to come forward, we have created the “Fight Sports Sexual Misconduct Hotline” – which includes a website and phone number to direct all claims of sexual misconduct within our affiliate teams.

We don’t want to hide behind this crisis but rather become more transparent and more accountable because of it.

Our “sexual misconduct review board” is comprised of attorneys, psychologists and law enforcement, who will be in charge of overseeing and diligently processing any and all claims of sexual misconduct within our organization while extending support and paying close attention to the victims and their families.

This initiative will allow us to properly manage and responsibly address any situation of this nature in the future, creating a safe and legitimate process for alleged victims to come forward and for the perpetrators to be dealt with.

My students need to know this is the last time I will be involved in a situation like this because of their actions. I was ill prepared to handle the situation, but I have learned and I am correcting it by enacting these guidelines to protect all the good people within our team that view Fight Sports as a family and a safe place for them to practice the sport we love.

As for Marcel Goncalves, I am stripping him of his black belt and have severed all ties between him and our organization.

Furthermore, I have investigated and become aware of all other reported or alleged incidents of this nature that have occurred in the 19-year history of our team and am stripping two more individuals of the belts I once gave them and banning them for life from all Fight Sports academies worldwide.

Moving forward, this will be our policy without exception.

As for Mo Jassim, ADCC Head Organizer, who is one of the people who has used his platform to shed light on this issue, I would like to say the following:

I do not have anything against you and amidst your criticism I have listened to your narrative and taken note of what I could do better.

If you have any issues with me, I would like to propose we debate it in person and on air in a public platform for everyone to view.

Therefore, I am extending to you an open invitation to sit face to face, and address all your criticism in person, in the hopes of providing our community with a profound conversation on a topic that is not exclusive to one gym, but rather a cultural issue that needs to be dealt with and learned from.

I am a human being in constant growth, with his heart in the right place, who mistakes like any human, but who is constantly striving to be better and do better on and off the mats.

“When a leader mistakes, he acknowledges.”

“When a leader wants to grow, he listens.”

I am looking forward to a journey of listening, learning and enacting change that can help us deal with and eradicate sexual misconduct within the entire sport of jiu-jitsu.

Today we start with our own home and we look forward to working with other teams, organizations and individuals in the necessary pursuit of growth.

Sincerely,

ROBERTO CYBORG ABREU”

The two black belts other than Goncalves referenced in the statement were named by Abreu as Rodrigo Oliveira and Tony Harris, a coach at Invicta Martial Arts of O’Fallon, IL. Harris was convicted of felony sexual assault against a 15-year-old victim, according to a report from Fox 2 Now. 

Vagner Rocha has followed with a statement of his own in which he says he regrets any involvement with Goncalves. 

“In consideration of the additional recent allegations I wanted to address and speak candidly and publicly regarding the recent revelations of sexual abuse in the jiu-jitsu community, the accusations against Fight Sports, the association of Vagner Rocha Martial Arts, and my association to Marcel Goncalves. 

Please allow me to begin by expressing my deepest and sincerest condolences for the victims and their families. As a family man, namely a father to a daughter who has grown up in the jiu-jitsu community, it is every parent's worst nightmare to see their child endure what has happened to the victims coming forward with these awful experiences. 

Parents bring their children to martial arts academy for the purpose of equipping themselves with safeguards to protect themselves, which is why it is especially disheartening when abuse happens in these settings. I was unaware and am in shock at the newly surfaced stories that have come to light in the last few days. I am genuinely sorry for what has happened to these victims and I cannot imagine the pain they must be experiencing. 

I do however commend the bravery of these victims in coming forward and sharing their stories. Victims should be able to come forward and openly tell their stories of being judged or scrutinized for sharing what has happened to them. 

In regards to Marcel Goncalves, I admit that I should have managed the matter better. And in retrospect I should have severed ties and had no further association with him. Concerning the rumors and speculation, I would like to set the record straight with his extremely limited involvement with VRMA, my school. 

Marcel was never allowed to be an instructor at my school. And nor did he have any involvement with children at our school. And at no point were any students in danger of him. 

My desire to help his wife and child by inviting them to train at my academy led to a poor decision of having him at the school when they were in training. He also did train privately behind closed doors with our adult members from time to time. That was a mistake and I take full responsibility and accountability for allowing him into my school. 

What I should have done was invite his wife and child to train but not allow him into VRMA in any capacity. I have completely severed ties with Marcel and he has not been to my academy in several months.

If Marcel's involvement with my school caused any additional pain to the victim or her family, or offended any of my members or made them feel unsafe I offer them my sincerest apologies. I'm sorry."