Gabrieli Pessanha "Gabi"

Gabrieli Pessanha grew up in the City of God favela in Rio de Janeiro and came up through Márcio de Deus's academy, showing championship-level ability well before she reached the adult black belt ranks. As a purple belt in 2018 she swept gold at the IBJJF Mundials, European Open, Pan Championship, and Brazilian Nationals, a result that marked her as one of the sport's most promising young talents.

De Deus promoted Pessanha to black belt in June 2019, when she was only eighteen years old, and she quickly established herself as a fixture atop both the super-heavyweight and open-weight (absolute) brackets. Beginning in earnest in 2021, when she won IBJJF World and Pan Championship gold in the +79 kg division as well as the absolute, Pessanha embarked on one of the most dominant multi-year runs the women's division has seen.

From 2022 through 2024, Pessanha completed what has been called a "Double Grand Slam" three years running — winning gold in both her weight class and the absolute division at the European Open, Pan Championship, Brazilian Nationals, and World Championship in each of those seasons. In doing so she became just the second competitor in IBJJF history, after Rafael Lovato Jr., to win every major title the federation offers in both gi and no-gi competition. She was named Female Grappler of the Year in the gi ruleset in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Her dominance extended into no-gi competition as well. On November 3, 2025, Pessanha became the first athlete — male or female — to complete an IBJJF No-Gi Double Grand Slam, adding another historic first to a résumé already unmatched among her peers.

Physically imposing at 5'9" and roughly 90 kg, Pessanha's game is built around suffocating top pressure and a pace that few opponents in the open weight class can match. She remains one of the sport's most closely watched active competitors, with no signs of slowing her pursuit of additional major titles.

A dominant open-weight competitor, Pessanha pairs heavyweight pressure passing with a relentless pace, making her one of the most feared entrants in the women's