"My sport is violent, but it only makes sense because it is also passionate. Without that passion, I would never have been what I am today."
From Rio
to the World Stage
Marcus "Conan" Silveira grew up in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, training under the legendary Master Carlson Gracie from a young age. He became one of Carlson's most trusted students, earning his black belt under the master and then going on to win the Brazilian National BJJ title.
He arrived in the United States without speaking English and with little money in his pocket. His first job was washing dishes at a hotel, sometimes working 17 hours a day. He didn't come with a plan. He came with something harder to stop: an obsession with mastery.
In 1992, he opened his own academy in Miami Beach — the first school in America opened by one of Master Carlson Gracie's own students. When MMA was still called "No Holds Barred," Conan competed and became the Extreme Fighting Heavyweight Champion. He fought in the UFC's first tournament in Japan in 1997, and faced Kazushi Sakuraba twice.
In 2001, alongside entrepreneur Dan Lambert, he co-founded American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Florida. Over the next two decades, ATT grew into the most successful MMA academy on the planet, producing over 40 world champions across UFC, Bellator, ONE FC, and PFL. In 2019, they won World MMA Awards Gym of the Year.
Today, Conan holds a coral belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu under Master Carlson Gracie, oversees daily training for champions across every major promotion, and delivers his championship philosophy through keynote speaking and his book, Master of You.
