Rafaela Guedes (born May 23, 1992) is a Brazilian

submission grappler Submission wrestling, also known as Submission grappling, Submission fighting a form of competition and a general term for martial arts and combat sports that focus on clinch and ground fighting with the aim of obtaining a submission through the ...

, 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) black belt athlete. An IBJJF World champion at brown belt, Guedes is a two-time World No-Gi,

Pan American Pan-American, Pan American, Panamerican, Pan-America, Pan America or Panamerica may refer to: * Collectively, the Americas: North America, Central America, South America and the Caribbean * Something of, from, or related to the Americas * Pan-Amer ...

(Gi and No-GI) black belt champion. Originally from

Manaus, Brazil Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the st ...

now fighting out of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, Guedes is also the WNO women's heavyweight champion, a 2021 World jiu-jitsu double medallist and the 2022 ADCC Submission Fighting silver medallist.

Biography

Rafaela Ribeiro Guedes was born on 23 May 1992, in Manaus, Brazil. She played handball from the age of 10 until she was forced to stop following an injury at the age of sixteen. After watching her cousin compete, she started Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) near her grandmother's house at a neighbourhood's social project before joining ''Academia Dailson Pinheiro de Jiu-Jitsu'' in Manaus where she earned her blue belt. At 22 she moved to São Paulo joining

Leandro Lo Leandro Pereira do Nascimento Lo (11 May 1989 – 7 August 2022), better known as Leandro Lo, was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. A record holder with eight IBJJF world championship titles in five different weight classes, as well ...

’s ''New School Brotherhood academy''. After moving to

to join Atos Academy under

André Galvão André Luiz Leite Galvão (; born September 29, 1982) is a Brazilian grappler and professional mixed martial artist. A 4th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Fernando "Tererê" Augusto as well as a Judo black belt, Galvão is one of t ...

, Guedes earned her black belt in September 2020.

Grappling career

Guedes attempted to defend her heavyweight title against Nathiely De Jesus at WNO 20: Night of Champions on October 1, 2023. She lost the match by unanimous decision. Guedes then competed at the

IBJJF No-Gi World Championship The World No-Gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a no- gi Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ) tournament hosted annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation held at California State University in Long Beach, California. The 2022 edition ...

2023, where she won a silver medal in the heavyweight division.

Competitive summary

Main achievements: * IBJJF World No-Gi Champion (2021) * IBJJF Pan Champion (2020) * IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi Champion (2020) * WNO heavyweight champion (2021) * 2022 ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship + 60 kg silver medallist * 2nd place IBJJF World Championship (2022) * 3rd place IBJJF World Championship (2022) In coloured belts: * IBJJF World Champion (2019 brown) * UAFJJF Grand Slam, Miami (2020 brown & black) * UAFJJF Grand Slam, L.A (2017 purple) * 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2019 brown) * 2nd Place UAFJJF Grand Slam, Rio (2017 purple) * 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2016 purple, 2019 brown) * 3rd place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2019 brown) * 3rd place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2016 / 2017 / 2018 purple) * 3rd place UAFJJF Grand Slam, L.A (2019 brown + black)

Awards

* Jitsmagazine BJJ Awards 'Female Breakout Grappler of the Year' (2020)https://jitsmagazine.com/the-jitsmagazine-2020-bjj-awards/

Notes

References

Living people Brazilian practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Sportspeople from Manaus Brazilian submission wrestlers 1992 births {{Brazil-bjj-bio-stub