Luiz Carlos Dórea
Luiz Carlos Dórea Barreto (born March 7, 1965) is a Brazilian boxing and mixed martial arts trainer and a former professional boxer. He was born in Salvador, Bahia. In boxing, he fought in welterweight and light welterweight, finishing with a pro record of 9 fights: 6 wins (3 by knockout), 2 losses (2 by knockout), and 1 draw.
Dórea started coaching in 1988 after the death of his boxing trainer. He began in a small garage gym and, in 1990, founded Academia Champion (Champion Team), which grew into a hub for Brazilian boxing talent. He trained many notable boxers, including Acelino Freitas (Popó), Éverton Lopes, and Adriana Araújo.
In mixed martial arts, Dórea has trained top fighters such as Anderson Silva (since 2003) and Junior dos Santos. He was the first coach of Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira (Minotauro), though Dórea left for the United States in 1994 to teach Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, reconnecting with Nogueira after 2002. He also coached Antônio Rogério Nogueira. Junior dos Santos trained with him for all his UFC bouts, including the Heavyweight title win over Cain Velasquez.
Dórea served as a boxing coach for several The Ultimate Fighter editions, including Team dos Santos (Team Lesnar vs. Team dos Santos), Team Vitor (The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil), and Team Nogueira (The Ultimate Fighter: Brazil 2). He was a Brazilian boxing coach at the Olympic Games in Athens 2004, Beijing 2008, and London 2012; Adriana Araújo won a bronze medal in London 2012.
Beyond boxing and MMA, Dórea works as a civil police investigator and ran as a city councillor candidate in Salvador in 2012.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 09:23 (CET).