Last month, Erberth Santos – IBJJF World Champion and three-time Brazilian champion – was arrested in São Paulo.
He, along with fellow BJJ black belt, André Pessoa, are facing charges due to several rapes and thefts accusations.
The Jiu-Jitsu community was struck with the news, including another world champion – Isaque Bahiense.
In the recent “BJJ Cria” podcast episode, Bahiense discussed how Santos could have been an inspiration for the newcomers in the sport:
I wanted to leave a message for the new generation.
Erberth (Santos) is a guy who could be there today, positively influencing a giant generation, he could be rich with Jiu-Jitsu, making a lot of money.
But, he had choices that ended up taking him off the path.I saw an interview with him saying that he used drugs and freaked out.
I have always stayed away from this drug aspect, because it has already harmed my family a lot.
Bahiense continued:
He is a guy who has a difficult life story, who preferred to make the wrong choices.
For a long time, he thought he owned the world, because he was the great champion.
You being a great champion doesn’t make you better than anyone else.
We wrote extensively about the Erberth Santos case in an earlier article.
Sloth Jiu-Jitsu: you can be slow and unathletic and still kick butt in Jiu-Jitsu.