Prodigy Love: How Two Grapplers Found One Another During the Pandemic

Micael Galvao and Amit Elor met backstage at a jiu-jitsu championship event in San Francisco in 2017, unaware of the future in store for the two of them.

Recently turning 21 years of age, Galvao has established himself as a major player in the jiu-jitsu scene. After conquering the so-called “Super Grand Slam”—victories in the Brazilian, Pan American, European and World Championships events—the youngster has ambitions that rival his ample skills. Galvao, also an ADCC champion, revealed to Combate’s Mundo da Luta podcast last Monday that he is considering representing his home country in the Olympics. Galvao’s girlfriend, Elor, won the Olympic gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 2024 games at 68 kg (150 pounds), and he would like to match her accomplishment in 2028.

“I have this desire to compete in the Olympic games, and I believe that wrestling would be the easiest path,” Galvao claimed. “I tried to see if it would be possible to compete in judo, but the Federation is a little restricted in terms of permission to compete. I’m a brown belt and if I chose judo, I would have to enter the process for a black belt. I would need time and patience, things I don’t have now. In wrestling, it would be easier, the rules are a little more flexible, and I'm more familiar with this modality and can combine it with jiu-jitsu. If I reach the level that allows me to compete in the Olympics, it would be a dream!”

Seven years ago, Galvao and Elor encountered another for the first time, but it was a brief meeting that did not go far.

“We were both 13 years old and competed in the adult division and we both won our weight category and absolute,” the 21-year-old explained. “We took a picture together and exchanged phone numbers and started to keep in contact, but never met again, until the [COVID-19] pandemic started.”

When the pandemic hit in 2020, Elor reached out to her fellow grappler, telling him that she couldn’t train because all academies were closed in the U.S., “Mica” informed her that his father was owned an academy in Manaus, Brazil, which ran daily closed-door training sessions. Galvao invited the American wrestler down to train, and she graciously took him up on his offer.

“She spent one month with me in Manaus, returned to the U.S. and a few weeks later stayed three more months with me. Later, it was my time to spend a month with her doing a wrestling camp in Colorado,” “Mica” recalled.

The relationship grew from there. Since he was competing at ADCC in 2024, Galvao was unable to see his partner conquer the gold medal in Paris. After they both triumphed, the pair of prodigies reconnected in the U.S. for a month to celebrate their gold medals.

Before planning to get married, the grapplers are focused on picking up medals and setting records. While “Mica” has his sights set on wrestling, he is not singularly focused on that. Galvao is already planning a move to MMA sometime down the line.

“The possibility is very great, I like to challenge myself,” Galvao explained. “I’m training muay thai and I’m really enjoying it. I did some calculations and saw that if I maintain my training pace, I will have around 200 muay thai classes in the next three or four years, so I will have a fortified base. But I want to combine everything with jiu-jitsu. I want to enjoy my art as much as possible before making any kind of change. And to migrate, I would talk a lot with my father and my team to draw up a plan that is achievable, healthy and sustainable.”

If the plan to switch gears to MMA comes to fruition, the jiu-jitsu star knows he will need to do some adjusting. Competing at 77kg, or 170 pounds, Galvao knows that he would be undersized at that weight class.

“I compete in jiu-jitsu at 77kg,” the Brazilian said. “In MMA, guys at 77kg weigh 90kg [198 pounds], so I would fight at lightweight.”

With a massive following on social media approaching a million on Instagram alone, Galvao believes there is money still to be made in his favorite sport of jiu-jitsu. While many grapplers transition to MMA in order to claim larger paychecks, “Mica” is of the mind that unlike the prior jiu-jitsu generations, there is no need to move to MMA to get paid properly.

“Today, those who stand out in jiu-jitsu and grappling are guaranteed excellent remuneration whether from sponsors, event awards or seminars. You only go to MMA if you want to test yourself. And this is my case, I love challenges,” the youngster concluded.