Joshua Silveira and the Carlson Gracie Dynasty

On Friday, Joshua Silveira will debut in his fourth season as part of Professional Fighters League against Mike Shipman. For the eldest son of American Top Team head coach Marcus “Conan” Silveira, this will be a fourth try at PFL gold since signing with the promotion as a former two-division champion in Legacy Fighting Alliance. In his first year, “Coninha” won his first two bouts before losing in the playoffs to training partner Omari Akhmedov; in 2023, Joshua won the first three fights but lost the final—and the $1 million prize—to Impa Kasanganay. Last year 2024, he beat Sadibou Sy but closed out his season with decision losses to former champ Rob Wilkinson and again to Kasanganay.

In 2025, Silveira has elected to change things up by dropping from 205 to 185 pounds. “I’m looking at this move down to middleweight as a new career. I’ve never felt so good. In fact, fighting at 205 pounds, besides facing much bigger guys, I didn’t even need to have a strict diet. Going down a division is forcing me to be more disciplined in everything and that’s been really good for me,” the 32-year-old revealed to Sherdog.

According to his father “Conan,” there are many other reasons for his optimism besides the scale. “It’s not that he hadn’t prepared in the previous years; technically he already was, but now I feel like he has the maturity he lacked. In 2025, you’ll see a new Joshua,” proudly guarantees the father and mentor, a disciple of the legendary master Carlson Gracie.

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In fact, contrary to what many people think, Vitor Belfort was not the first Carlson Gracie student to win a tournament in the USA. In November of 1995, 15 months before Belfort won UFC 12, “Conan” won two fights to win the belt in the first edition of Extreme Fighting. “In 1995, Americans only knew one side of the family, after my victory and Belfort’s they began to understand that there was another lineage, Carlson Gracie, which I represented with great honor and today Joshua continues to represent.”

The Carlson Gracie Dynasty

Conan’s pride in his own accomplishments and those of his son is rooted in one of jiu-jitsu and NHB’s oldest and deepest legacies. The eldest son of Carlos Gracie—older brother of Helio and first Gracie to learn JJ from Count Koma—Carlson was the Gracie who defended the family name for almost two decades in the ring, after Helio retired. Between 1953 and 1970, Carlson fought the biggest names of his generation and retired after 19 vale tudo fights with just one defeat, which came in a controversial decision. Some of those fights took place on cement courts, others in rings and others on soccer fields. But it was after his retirement, when he left uncle Helio’s academy to set up his own in 1970, that Carlson discovered his greatest talent: creating champions.

Fron there, Carlson launched a true revolution in jiu-jitsu, promoting competitions between his students and Helio’s. That rivalry drove the technical evolution of Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and Carlson’s academy distinguished itself by democratizing BJJ, making it accessible to more people, and through Carlson’s ability to evaluate talent. “While the main focus at the Gracie Academy was to teach politicians and upper-class people in Rio de Janeiro, who could afford to take classes at the renowned academy led by Helio Gracie, Carlson began to prioritize the most talented and eager students. And it was thanks to this instinct for discovering talent that Carlson opened jiu-jitsu to the less privileged classes. “He preferred the talented, tough-minded student who couldn’t afford to pay over the good-paying one,” says “Conan.”

Another revolution started by Carlson was the institution of group classes. While at the original Gracie Academy, students only had private classes, Carlson was the first to start offering group classes, which not only made things more efficient, but changed the culture. “Thanks to that, Carlson’s academy had a unique atmosphere; those who weren’t tough-minded naturally went to other academies to train. There were dozens of tough guys training together. All under the guidance of Carlson, who instilled a unique mentality in his athletes. He used to say that we were the missiles and the opponents were the targets,” recalls “Conan.”

The results of this revolution soon began to be reflected in competitions. Between 1980 and 1996, the Carlson Gracie team came to dominate the podiums of jiu-jitsu championships in Brazil. After the success of the UFC and the consequent expansion of vale tudo, Carlson's disciples naturally migrated to the rings and cages of main events around the world. Soon after “Conan,” it was Allan Goes' turn to win the 3rd edition of Extreme, Mario Sperry to win the Australian Caged Combat, Murilo Bustamante to fight in the MARS tournament, Vitor Belfort to win UFC 12, Carlos Barreto to win the UVF crown and Andre Pederneiras to fight in Vale Tudo Japan. Later, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Ricardo Arona would fight in Rings and Pride and Paulo Filho to win the WEC belt. “Carlson has actually produced several generations of champions since the 70s, 80s and 90s. Since he passed away in 2006, most of the students he trained have already retired, but the Carlson Gracie flame remains lit. Wherever you look in Brazil, in the US, there is a disciple of his passing on Carlson’s legacy. And it is this legacy that Joshua represents today,” explains Conan.

”Grandpa” Carlson

When he was still very young, Joshua met Carlson. “He loved my father and treated me like his grandson. I was very young and grew up watching many warriors from his army. It is an honor for me to be able to say today that I am part of this dynasty. If I were here, I would be very happy to see ‘the German’ (as he called me for being blond) continuing the story,” Joshua said.

In 2023, Joshua had the chance to come to Rio de Janeiro with his father, during the promotion of the PFL finals. “I always heard my father telling the stories of the warriors and the great training sessions that took place in that small gym in Copacabana. It was a unique experience to be able to train with my father in that dojo where so many warriors and champions emerged, in addition to being moved by seeing Carlson's statue up close. A more than deserved tribute for the importance he had in spreading jiu-jitsu and vale tudo around the world.”

Son of Brazilian Parents

“Conan” Silveira met Grace Alcantara, Joshua's mother, in New York in 1991. From this encounter, Joshua was born in December 1992. “My mother already had my older sister, Jessica. My mother didn't party; she worked and took care of my sister. No one thought anyone could date her, but my father found a way and that's how life began,” said Joshua, who grew up speaking English as his first language, but also communicating in Portuguese with his parents. “My mother is more Brazilian than my father, because my father traveled to many places because of his fighting skills, and my mother arrived in Miami and only worked, she didn't even take English classes. When she talks, you can even hear her accent. Both of them, my mother and my father, are two workers! They lived here for a long time, they're almost American now, but they're from Brazil. And my whole family is from Brazil.”

It was only natural that Conan's oldest son would grow up surrounded by jiu-jitsu. “I remember Carlson, that kimono smell. Brazilians are all strong, tough, angry guys, but they have so much love. It was a really cool thing! And now everyone knows about this kind of life, everyone does jiu-jitsu, but back then it was different,” Joshua recalled, making it clear that his father never forced him to follow his path. “My father has always been a natural influence in my life. Because I saw him fighting, I grew up wanting to compete. When I turned 16, I was wrestling and that’s when I really decided: I’m going to be a wrestling champion and then I’m going to move on to MMA. My father didn’t force anyone; I was the only one that wanted to do,” Joshua assures, revealing that as soon as he decided to be a fighter, his father stepped in and planned his steps in detail. “My father and I talked about it at that time and made a plan. Nowadays, we look back at everything we did and can only smile, because it’s a plan that started in 2008. My father is a serious guy, a bit of a head coach, but I know that deep down in his heart this is a dream. It was a dream of ours, but I know that, for him, as a father, it is very special,” he said. Joshua wrestled in school before transitioning to amateur MMA in 2016, winning four straight before turning pro. That is when he started to train with top teammates at American Top Team and was nicknamed “Coninha” (litle Conan in Portuguese). “When you have training partners from all over the world, good in all areas, you naturally evolve everywhere.” The fact is that in only two years fighting professionally Joshua was already a two-division champion in LFA, ready to move on to the PFL million-dollar tournament.

A Kasanganay Trilogy?

After participating in three editions of the PFL tournament in the points-based era, Joshua liked the changes implemented by the organization starting this year. “I thought the change to elimination fights was positive, the only negative point is that the prize money is half, but I really liked the fact that the tournament ends in August,” he said. “It’s no longer eight months of training. I love fighting but I also like to live my life, after all, I’m also Brazilian and Brazilians love to live their lives.”

Regarding his upcoming opponent, the 17-4 Shipman, a former Bellator MMA fighter who will make his PFL debut on April 18, “Coninha” believes he will have no major problems. “Shipman is a very experienced fighter. He has faced some very good guys in Bellator, but I feel that I have many more weapons to beat him. I feel that my wrestling and my jiu-jitsu are much better than his, and I also want to show in this fight my evolution in stand-up fighting, which I have been training a lot. Another difference between us is the team. I have many more quality partners in my day-to-day, and that makes a difference.”

Despite avoiding thinking about the next stages of the tournament, there is no way not to consider a third fight with Impa Kasanganay. “I believe that my ATT partner Dalton Rosta will beat Sadibou Sy. If Impa makes it through, I hope to be able to fight him again. I think I have evolved a lot and in this new division I know I can give a different fight. He has won two, now it is my turn to beat him. But let’s take it one step at a time, my focus now is 100% on Shipman,” he said, dreaming of finally closing the cycle that he began to trace step by step with his father in 2008, 17 years ago, stamping his name in the gallery of double champions of the Carlson Gracie dynasty.