Founder · Renzo Gracie Mexico

Mario Delgado

Mexico's first Gracie black belt

Mario Delgado Dávila is the founder of MD Self Defense Academy and the first Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt under the Gracie family in all of Mexico, awarded directly by Renzo Gracie. His lineage stands behind every coach and every class at MD Condesa.

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Portrait of Mario Delgado, founder of MD Condesa

1st Gracie black belt in Mexico

2nd In the world as a black belt

Champion U.S. and European national titles

4× Coach on The Ultimate Fighter (UFC)

President National Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation

Monthly Teaches at MD Condesa

An art that came straight from the source

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu isn't just another style — it's a lineage. It began when Mitsuyo Maeda carried Japanese Jiu-Jitsu to Brazil and taught it to Carlos Gracie Sr., who together with his brother Helio Gracie shaped it into the art we know today: a system where technique, leverage and strategy let a smaller person control a larger one.

From that root came Carlos Gracie Jr. and, after him, Renzo Gracie, one of the family's most recognized representatives in the world. When we say "direct lineage," we mean a chain of teachers you can trace, name by name, from Japan to a mat in Condesa. Mario Delgado is the link who brought that chain to Mexico.

New York: the years with Renzo

Mario was forged where the art is trained at the highest level: Renzo Gracie's academy in New York. For years he trained there under Renzo's direct guidance while competing against the best, absorbing not only the technique but the culture and the standards of one of the most important houses in world Jiu-Jitsu.

Those competitive years built a record that backs up what he teaches. As a black belt he was a U.S. and European national champion, and a world and Pan-American medalist. This isn't an instructor who learned the art secondhand — he earned it competing, and he brings that same standard to every class.

The return: bringing the lineage to Mexico

When Mario came back to Mexico, he brought something the country didn't have: a black belt awarded directly by the Gracie family. He is the first Gracie black belt in Mexico, and that fact reshaped the map of the country's Jiu-Jitsu.

Since then he has built Renzo Gracie Mexico, which he directs. Under his leadership the team won the national team championship five consecutive times, and he now serves as president of the National Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. When you train here, you train inside that structure — not a distant franchise, but the source of the lineage in the country.

In the UFC corner

Mario's reputation crossed beyond the sport. He has been a guest Jiu-Jitsu coach on four seasons of "The Ultimate Fighter", the UFC reality show that develops future fighters for the world's biggest promotion, and he works as a UFC analyst.

That role says a lot about his level: when professional fighters need to sharpen their grappling on camera, Mario is one of the people the organization turns to. That same knowledge — the kind used to prepare elite athletes — is what flows down into the classes at MD Condesa.

Mario today: MD Condesa

MD Self Defense Academy carries his initials: Mario Delgado. He founded it in January 2022 with a clear idea: to create a place where anyone — from a complete beginner to a competitor — could train Jiu-Jitsu from the Gracie family's direct lineage, with the technique and standards of a real academy.

Every coach at MD Condesa was developed directly by him, and Mario teaches at the academy at least once a month, keeping the direct connection to Renzo and the Gracie family alive. That's why we can say it plainly: the Jiu-Jitsu we teach comes straight from the source. See the Jiu-Jitsu program →

Renzo Gracie Mexico

The lineage, link by link

From Mitsuyo Maeda's Japan to a mat in Condesa — a direct chain of teachers that now reaches you.

Mitsuyo Maeda Conde Koma · Japan

Carlos Gracie Sr. Founded Gracie Jiu-Jitsu

Helio Gracie Pioneer of the art

Carlos Gracie Jr. Master of the family

Renzo Gracie Gracie family · New York

Mario Delgado Mexico's 1st Gracie black belt

You The next link

The Jiu-Jitsu we teach comes straight from the source.

Learn Jiu-Jitsu from the direct lineage

Every coach at MD Condesa was developed by Mario Delgado. Book your free trial day and train inside the Renzo Gracie lineage, right next to Parque México.

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