Nickname
“Gabi”; also referred to in media as the “Queen of Mats”
Date of Birth
August 8, 2000
Birthplace
Cidade de Deus (City of God), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Team / Academy
InFight Jiu-Jitsu
Belt
Black Belt (awarded June 2019 by Marcio de Deus, at age 18)
Belt Progression
Won her first Brazilian title in 2013 as a juvenile orange belt. Achieved a purple-belt double grand slam in 2018 (gold in weight and absolute divisions at the IBJJF Europeans, Pans, Brazilian Nationals, and Worlds), followed by promotion to brown belt. Due to IBJJF age/time-in-grade rules, she competed extensively on the UAEJJF/AJP circuit as a brown belt before her June 2019 black belt promotion.
Weight Class
Super-heavyweight (competes up to and including the absolute/open-weight division)
Full Bio
Gabrieli Pessanha grew up in Cidade de Deus, one of Rio de Janeiro’s best-known neighborhoods, and began training Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under coach Marcio de Deus, who gave her her first gi. She won her first Brazilian national title in 2013 in the juvenile orange-belt division. A difficult loss at the 2016 IBJJF Pan American Championship became a turning point, prompting her to commit more fully to competing professionally.
By 2018, still a teenager, Pessanha completed a purple-belt double grand slam, winning gold in both her weight class and the absolute division at the IBJJF European, Pan American, Brazilian National, and World Championships in the same season. Promotion rules requiring minimum time at brown belt before IBJJF black-belt-level competition led her to focus on the UAEJJF/Abu Dhabi Grand Slam circuit during this period, where she won gold across multiple Grand Slam stops and the Abu Dhabi World Pro.
Marcio de Deus promoted Pessanha to black belt in June 2019, when she was 18 years old, making her one of the youngest black belts competing at the professional level. She built a dominant run through the early 2020s: an IBJJF Pan title in September 2021, followed by an undefeated 2022 season in which she won gold in both the super-heavyweight and absolute divisions at the IBJJF European, Pan American, Brazilian National, and World Championships — completing a second full double grand slam and finishing the year with more than 50 wins and zero losses. That performance earned her “Female Grappler of the Year (Gi)” at the JitsMagazine 2022 BJJ Awards, an honor she also won in 2023 and 2024.
Pessanha extended her dominance into 2023, winning a women’s heavyweight grand prix at BJJ Stars 11 by defeating three opponents in a single night, adding IBJJF gold at the Curitiba Spring Open, gold at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and a win at The Crown super-heavyweight event over Melissa Stricker and Tayane Porfírio. Across her black belt career to date, she has lost only twice — to Yara Soares and Tayane Porfírio — while building an unbeaten streak reported at over 130 consecutive matches at various points in her career.
In 2025, Pessanha continued her IBJJF gi dominance with European and Pan Championship titles, and defended her absolute title against Tayane Porfírio by submission at BJJ Stars 15. On November 3, 2025, she became the first competitor in history to win the IBJJF No-Gi Double Grand Slam. She made her professional no-gi debut at WNO (Who’s Number One) on December 5, 2025, facing Paige Ivette — a formal step into the broader professional no-gi circuit after establishing herself as the dominant force within IBJJF competition.
Achievements
- First-ever IBJJF No-Gi Double Grand Slam winner (2025)
- Multiple-time IBJJF Double Grand Slam winner in the gi (2022, and others)
- 12x IBJJF Black Belt World Champion (per athlete’s own listed record)
- 3x IBJJF Black Belt No-Gi World Champion
- BJJ Stars women’s heavyweight Grand Prix champion (2023)
- Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship gold medalist (2023)