If you’re looking to learn more about BestWay BJJ or the BestWay Jiu-Jitsu Association, you’re in the right place.
BestWay BJJ was founded by André “Dedeco” Almeida, a 6th-degree black belt who has links even to the famous MMA team, American Top Team.
This article will describe more about BestWay BJJ, its founder, and how it eventually became Dedeco BJJ.
Note: If you’ve landed here looking for BestWay BJJ, you should know that we (HeavyMMA) now owns these sites. What is HeavyMMA? We’re a martial artists blog that loves to share tips and stories about the MMA world and help you become a better fighter.
Where Dedeco Began With BestWay BJJ Association
BestWay Jiu-Jitsu was founded in 1996 by André “Dedeco” Almeida and quickly became a force in the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu world, both in Brazil and in the US.
After an incredibly successful career as a Jiu-Jitsu practitioner, Andre dedicated himself to ensuring that his expertise in Jiu-Jitsu could be passed on to the newer generation of fighters.
So he formed his own school and named it BestWay Jiu-Jitsu. He graduated 26 Black Belts after rigorous training and testing protocols.
The BestWay family had represented Champion winners at all major tournaments. Then, in 2003, BestWay BJJ arrived in the USA and built 10 large, well-respected schools in the Northeast.
The association of BestWay grew to include gyms across Arizona, California, Connecticut, two gyms in Massachussets, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and Texas.
BestWay made its presence known in all East Coast tournaments with a string of victories.
Almeida’s primary understudy, Luigi Mondelli, continued Dedeco’s tradition of hard work, excellent instruction, and competitive training.
The BestWay family always worked hard and played hard.
About André “Dedeco” Almeida
André Almeida is a 6th Degree Black Belt under Ricardo Liborio (Co-founder of American Top Team). He began training in BJJ in 1986.
In Andre’s competitive career, he amassed many championships, including:
- 2000 Panamerican Champion
- 1996 Brazilian Champion
- 1996 Brazilian Champion
- 5 X Brazilian State Champion 1990 to 1995
- 2004 NAGA Champion
- 2004 ABKF Champion
- 2002 2º place Campeonato Brasileiro por Equipes
- 1999 3º place Pan American
Andre Almeida was the founder and head instructor of the BestWay Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Team.
His story is consecrated with victories, including all the success of his students and black belts. More known as the champion maker, Dedeco has the precise knowledge of leading a team of competitors with the will to win.
André Almeida was also the instructor of American Top Team Boston.
Dedeco BJJ Lineage
André “Dedeco” Almeida’s BJJ lineage was of the Carlson Gracie line (son of BJJ founder Carlos Gracie). Andre learned from Ricardo De La Riva and Ricardo Liborio, who studied directly under Carlson Gracie.
Dedeco’s Full BJJ Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Ricardo De La Riva & Ricardo Libório > André Almeida
Carlson Gracie founded his own school and went on to teach some of the greatest martial artist fighters of all time, including Ricardo De La Riva and Ricardo Liborio.
De La Riva is one of the most inventive guard fighters to compete in BJJ. He even has a guard named after him, the “De La Riva Guard.”
Liborio had a legendary competitive career, being the first-ever World Jiu-Jitsu Champion in the super heavyweight division in 1996.
About Luigi Mondelli
Luigi was the understudy of Andre, a 3rd Degree Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Black Belt and MMA Team Manager.
Luigi also had an outstanding career in BJJ competition:
- 2010 Las Vegas International Open Champion
- 2010 Houston International Open Champion
- 2010 2nd Place Panamerican
- 2009 2nd place US Nationals
- 2009 Panamerican Champion
- 2008 World No-Gi Champion
- 2008 Panamerican Champion
- 2007 Panamerican Champion
- 2006 Panamerican Champion
- 2004 Panamerican Champion
- 2002 World Champion
- 2004 North American Champion
- 2003 North American Champion
- 2001 2nd National / Brazil
- 1999 Rio de Janeiro State Champion
Luigi Mondelli was the head instructor of BestWay Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and American Top Team Connecticut.
With over 19 years of practice, Luigi is a certified black belt with many titles and many experiences training amateur and professional fighters.
Luigi went on to form his own school of BJJ, named Kore Martial Arts, and led the MMA and BJJ fighting teams for American Top Team Danbury.
Mondelli BJJ Lineage
Luigi Mondelli is the understudy of André “Dedeco” Almeida and has been alongside him for many years.
Mondelli’s Full BJJ Lineage: Mitsuyo Maeda > Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Crézio de Souza > André Almeida > Luigi Mondelli
When BestWay BJJ Became Dedeco BJJ
While BestWay BJJ and the BestWay Association originally began in 1996, André Almeida changed his school’s brand to Dedeco BJJ later on.
The previous schools that were a part of BestWay Association moved on to define themselves in their own right, some as continued BJJ schools and others in MMA, like The Pit and Kaju Kenbo Arizona.
In Weymouth, Massachusetts, his primary school still exists but rebranded as Dedeco BJJ, where André is the head instructor.
There’s also a second school in Marshfield, Massachusetts, where the instructors are André Almeida and Andrew Cabrera Jr.
Dedeco BJJ has a regular schedule of BJJ classes almost every day of the week. Their classes are separated to be suitable for people at different levels, ages, and gender. There are classes for kids, teens, women, fundamentals for beginners, and even advanced for blue-belts and above.
Dedeco BJJ is also a part of the New England United Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu organization which was founded by André Almeida, Alexey Pickerell (another student of De La Riva), and Peter Roberts (a student under André).
You can find Dedeco BJJ on Facebook and Instagram.
Now you know the history of BestWay BJJ (AKA BestWay Jiu-Jitsu) and how it eventually became Dedeco BJJ under the leadership of André Almeida.
