Having conquered nearly every major title in the sport; being a World and Pan American champion (Gi and No-Gi), European Open and Asian IBJJF champion as well as a two-time ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship medalist, Barbosa is regarded as one of the most accomplished jiu-jitsu athletes of his generation.
[1] At 15 Barbosa began Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) under various coaches from Diego Lopes to Cristiano Carioca and André Galvão.
[1][4] In 2014, he was involved with "THE TEAM" in 2014, a web series developed by Copa Podio, a sports league that showed BJJ competitions on television.
[1][4][6] Shortly afterwards, Barbosa moved to San Diego, California, to join Atos Jiu-Jitsu under André Galvão.
[21] Barbosa then competed in a no gi grand prix at BJJ Bet 2 on 1 August 2021, and defeated all three of his opponents to win the tournament.
[23] Barbosa competed in the inaugural Raw Grappling Championship event on 12 November 2021, in a superfight against Gerard Labinski, submitting him with an armbar.
[24] Barbosa competed in a middleweight grand prix at BJJ Stars 8 on 15 February 2022, and defeated his first two opponents before losing to Micael Galvão in the final.
[26] He defeated Santeri Lilius, Josh Hinger, and Vagner Rocha before losing to Giancarlo Bodoni in the final and earning a silver medal.
[27] Barbosa competed in the IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Con International on 1 September 2023 and won gold medals in both the heavyweight and absolute gi divisions.
[6] In 2020, Barbosa stated in an interview that he planned to return to MMA due to financial incentives as well as seeking more challenges.
[45][46] List of achievements at black belt level:[1] List of achievements in lower belts divisions:[1] Mitsuyo "Count Koma" Maeda → Carlos Gracie → Reyson Gracie → Osvaldo Alves → Pascoal Duarte → Diego Lopes → André Fabiano → Lucas Barbosa