Mica Galvao Promoted to Black Belt at 17 Years of Age

It’s highly unusual for a grappler to be promoted to black belt while age 17, but Micael Galvao is not your ordinary grappler. Consider his results this year, which included beating the highly-rated Tainan Dalpra of AOJ in a match of the year candidate and winning the Third Coast Grappling 8-man Grand Prix beating three black belts by submission (John Combs, Pedro Rocha and Pedro Marinho). We always knew he had the potential to be truly special– 2021 was the year he showed the world just how good he is.

Even though Mica Galvao doesn’t turn 18 until October 8, his coach (and father) Melqui Galvao decided to award him the coveted faixa preta. There’s no question he deserves it, but people are interested to know how long it will be before he can compete.