Rosângela Conceição also known as Zanza is a former

freestyle wrestling Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling ...

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...

grappling Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling i ...

and

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

(BJJ) competitor from Brazil. She was the first Brazilian woman to compete in Olympic wrestling at the

2008 Olympic Games The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

and the first woman to win a BJJ world title.

Biography

Rosângela da Silva Conceição was born on 7 August 1973 in the town of São Leopoldo, Brazil. She started training judo at a young age following in the footsteps of her older brother, looking to improve her

ne-waza Grappling, in hand-to-hand combat, describes sports that consist of gripping or seizing the opponent. Grappling is used at close range to gain a physical advantage over an opponent, either by imposing a position or causing injury. Grappling is ...

she started training

Brazilian jiu-jitsu Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ; pt, jiu-jitsu brasileiro ) is a self-defence martial art and combat sport based on grappling, ground fighting (ne-waza) and submission holds. BJJ focuses on the skill of taking an opponent to the ground, control ...

(BJJ) with Ricardo Murgel. In 1996 she was selected to act as reserve for

Edinanci Silva Edinanci Fernandes da Silva (born 23 August 1976) is a judoka from Brazil, who won the gold medal in the half heavyweight division (– 78 kg) at the Pan American Games. A resident of São Paulo born in Sousa, Paraíba, Sousa, Paraíba, ...

at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In 1998, while a purple belt, she competed in the very first women division of the CBJJ World Jiu Jitsu Championship. She became alongside Thaís Ramos, the first women BJJ world champion. In 1999 she won the

Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship The Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship (commonly known as the Brazilian Nationals) is a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament that is held in Barueri, Brazil. They are hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. ...

in both her division (heavy) and in open class. Competing in freestyle wrestling she won bronze medal at the 2007 Pan American Games, securing a spot later at the 2008 Olympics. She retired in 2013, moved to

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, teaching jiu-jitsu as part of the grappling program in the UAE funded by

Mohamed bin Zayed Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ( ar, مُحَمّد بِن زَايد آل نَهيَان, Moḥamed bin Zāyed Āl Nahyān; born 11 March 1961), colloquially known by his initials as MBZ, is the third president of the United Arab Emirates ...

Championships and achievements

Brazilian jiu-jitsu

Main Achievements (BJJ): * World Champion (1998, 2003, 2005) * Brazilian National Champion (1999 purple: absolute) * ADCC South American Trials Champion (2009) * Pan American Champion (1999 WO?)

Judo

Main Achievements (Judo): * Reserve Olympian at Atlanta Games (1996)

Wrestling

Main Achievements (Wrestling): * Pan American Bronze Medallist (2007) * Olympian at Beijing Games (2008) * Edmonton Open 3rd Place (2008)

References

Living people Brazilian female sport wrestlers Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Female Brazilian jiu-jitsu practitioners Brazilian submission wrestlers Olympic wrestlers for Brazil Wrestlers at the 2007 Pan American Games Wrestlers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in wrestling South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in judo 1973 births People from São Leopoldo Competitors at the 2002 South American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Rio Grande do Sul Brazilian jiu-jitsu world champions (women) 20th-century Brazilian women 21st-century Brazilian women {{Brazil-bjj-bio-stub