Days ago, multiple-time World and Pans champion Paulo Miyao announced his departure from Unity Jiu-Jitsu to the shock of fans around the world. His message was succinct, saying in Portuguese, “Hey guys! Coming here to say that I am no longer part of Unity Jiu Jitsu. I thank everyone for these years together. All the luck in the world for you!”
Paulo’s brother João soon followed suit with an even briefer message, saying “Until the end, since day 1.”
The seemingly sudden news left the brothers’ followers with lots of questions, and now, both Paulo and João have released longer statements on social media that seem to imply that their departure from the prestigious academy was not necessarily amicable.
Yesterday, João shared a series of photos from his time at Unity along with an emotional message to his now-former teammates.
“I ask that the morning of June 23 be erased from my memory and stay only incredible moments like these lived with extraordinary people | thank you Unity family for all these years, forever grateful | ‘horrible things happen is normal, what is not normal is to find it normal'”
Earlier today, Paulo followed up his brother’s post with a lengthy statement of his own that implied that things had gone sour between him and Unity.
“Leaving a place as a traitor and selfish is not easy, especially in an environment that you have lived in for years. However, I remember an argument used for me when I changed teams and came to the USA a few years ago: ‘You already did your part, you can rest easy.’ Today I wonder if I did my part. I wonder how I could try to destroy something that, even if some don’t recognize it, I helped to build. I wonder how many people came to see that magical place because of me. Despite everything, I believe that there is something bigger, that there is a great opportunity in all of this. And yes, I also believe that I did my part. I have a clear conscience about this.”
The Jiu-Jitsu Times has reached out to Paulo and João Miyao and Unity Jiu-Jitsu for comment and will provide updates and further information as they become available.
