BJJ Champion Named in Sexual Assault Lawsuit

Mark Jacobs 2023.06.25 2 min read

A lawsuit filed in Texas against Brazilian jiu-jitsu coach Rodrigo da Costa Oliveira, as well as his instructor, multi-time world champion Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, claims Oliveira raped an under age student while Abreu and others did little to correct the abuse.

The suit was brought by Mandy Schneider, who said she started training with Oliveira when she was 13 and joined a Rockstar Martial Arts franchise in Frisco, Texas. Oliveira was a black belt student of Abreu’s and affiliated with his Fight Sports Jiu-Jitsu organization. Schneider alleged that when she was 16 she traveled to a competition with Oliveira where they stayed overnight in a hotel. In a 2021 interview with Jiu Jitsu Times, Schneider detailed how Oliveira lured her to his hotel room, pressured her to drink alcohol, then showed her some grappling moves which lead to his sexually assaulting her.

Also named in the suit were Nicole Bilski and Cody Hudson, who managed the gym at the time and, according to Schneider, pressured her to not tell anyone what happened. Abreu is accused of failing to ensure the safety of underage students within his organization. It is not the first time the BJJ star has come under fire for such allegations.

When another of his black belts, Marcel Goncalves, was arrested for sexually assaulting an underage student in 2018, Abreu was accused of minimizing the incident. There have also been unverified claims a blue belt with Fight Sports attempted to rape a woman at a jiu-jitsu camp in Brazil in 2016 and Abreu pressured her to withdraw her complaint.

Abreu is slated to next compete June 29 at the UFC Fight Pass Invitational 4 grappling event against Nick Meregali.

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