Gezary Matuda - American Top Team’s Submission Grappler

Gezary Matuda is a BJJ black belt under Ricardo Liborio. She spent her early BJJ life training under Carlos “Penao” Alexandre Conceicao. Her most famous win is against the 3rd-degree black belt, Michelle Nicolini. Matuda is a five-time Brazilian Jiu Jitsu World Champion.

Matuda was born in Curitiba, Parana, Brazil on July 12, 1983. Born with the Brazilian spirit, Matuda was fond of martial arts, though her martial arts journey did not start until she was a teenager.

Matuda was 15 when she started Capoeira. She was an active athlete with a great body that made it easier to transition to Muay Thai.

The main reason behind Matuda added Muay Thai to her training regime was because of her brother, who was a Muay Thai boxer. Matuda was aware of Muay Thai from a very young age, but she chose to start training when she turned 17.

Matuda trained in Muay Thai for a long time. It was her Muay Thai instructor that led her to jiu-jitsu. Already efficient in striking, Matuda started jiu-jitsu to improve her ground game.

Matuda started learning BJJ under Carlos “Penao” Alexandre Conceição, a black belt under Master Carlson Gracie Jr. Conceição introduced the world of jiu-jitsu to Matuda, helping her become a professional grappler, leaving Muay Thai in the process. Conceição also promoted Matuda to a purple belt.

Though Matuda loved Muay Thai, that love began to fade after she got into jiu-jitsu. She continued her Muay Thai training for some time, but left the competitive world. One of her Muay Thai instructors was Anderson the Spider Silva. By the time she left Muay Thai, Matuda was a blue belt.

After becoming a BJJ purple belt, Matuda moved to the United States. She approached Ricardo Liborio, a mixed martial arts instructor, and asked to train under him. Ricardo Liborio is an excellent mixed martial arts instructor.

In the U.S, Matuda joined the American Top Team Academy after asking Liborio to train her. Now, Matuda represents the American Top Team internationally. Since then, Matuda has become one of the top female fighters on American Top Team.

As a member of American Top Team, Matuda had the chance to grapple with more female practitioners whereas earlier, there were very few female grapplers. So she had to compete with men. She has become an icon among female BJJ practitioners as she supports and encourages women to join jiu-jitsu.

Matuda is married to American Top Team’s coach, Katel Kubis. Kubis has supported his wife in every aspect of life, especially when the couple moved to the United States. Kubis introduced Matuda to Liborio and told him about Matuda’s true potential in BJJ.

Matuda is sponsored by Shoyoroll, a clothing brand that manufactures Gi’s and other combat sports apparel. In an interview, Matuda said that it was her Shoyoroll sponsor, Bear Quitugua, that pushed her to go beyond her limits.

Matuda started competing in BJJ as soon as she started training. She hadn’t even trained for a full month before she entered the competitive world. Matuda’s striking game helped her develop a proficient grappling style.

Matuda debuted at the 2009 CBJJF South American Cup Championship, winnning first place as a blue belt.

Matuda became the IBJJF Jiu Jitsu World Champion twice, first in 2010 as a purple belt and second in 2012 as a brown belt.

Matuda was promoted to black belt by Liborio in July 2012 after she won the IBJJF Jiu Jitsu World Championship as a brown belt.

Matuda won first place at the 2017 IBJJF European Open Championship as a black belt and took home a gold medal.

Matuda became the IBJJF World Champion three times as a black belt in 2013, 2014 and 2016.

At the 2011 IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu Championship, Matuda competed against Angelica Vieira. Vieira tried to restrict Matuda’s quick movements by applying footlocks. However, Matuda quickly regained control and dominated Vieira. From the guard position, Matuda applied a tripod sweep and secured two points. Later on, Matuda, from the spider guard position, initiated an omoplata and transitioned into a triangle armbar. Matuda applied pressure on Vieira’s arm and submitted her via a triangle armbar within 6 minutes and 14 seconds.

At the 2014 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship, Matuda faced off against Bibiana Silva. Using her aggressive fighting style, Matuda grabbed Silva by her legs and took her to the ground. Early in the match, Matuda tried to submit Silva via a cross-collar choke, but failed due to her loose grip, Matuda didn’t succeed in her submission attempt. Matuda then caught Silva in a guillotine choke and rolled her two to three times on the mat. It was the climax of the fight which showed Silva used her strength to escape the choke. However, Matuda applied a knee on belly, a brutal technique that allowed her to submit Silva via a bow and arrow choke.

Matuda’s fight against Michelle Nicolini was her fastest submission win. Matuda submitted Nicolini within the first 15 seconds of the match. Nicolini, a 3rd-degree BJJ black belt under Robert Drysdale, started the match by getting on the ground to get a better grip on Matuda. Matuda quickly grabbed Nicolini’s hand and jumped over to the opposite side. Then, Matuda bent down and applied pressure onto Nicolini’s hand, submitting her via a flying armbar.

Kristina Barlaan is a BJJ black belt under Caio Terra. She has an impressive colored belt career since her time as a blue belt. At the start of the fight, Matuda applied a double guard. Matuda went for the sleeve and pinned Barlaan to the ground. From the knee on belly position, Matuda dominated Barlaan. From the full mount, Matuda transitioned into a bear trap while keeping a strong hold on Barlaan. Matuda went for the hail mary triangle but Barlaan overcame it by pulling her guard up. Matuda eventually took control of Barlaan’s back and submitted her via a cross collar choke within 6 minutes and 53 seconds.

At the 2016 World IBJJF Jiu Jitsu Championship, Matuda competed against Kristina Barlaan. At the start of the fight, it looked like one of Matuda’s eyes got poked. Fortunately, it wasn’t badly damaged so the fight resumed. Despite Barlaan being famous for her nearly impenetrable guard, Matuda succeeded in passing the guard and secured two points. Barlaan attempted a triangle choke but Matuda managed to defend herself. Later, Matuda submitted Barlaan via a choke and won the finals.

Polaris 9 was the tournament Matuda awaited with anticipation the most. She was scheduled to compete with Welsh black belt Ffion Davies. When the No-Gi bout started, Matuda pounded on Davies. Known for her armbar, Matuda went straight for the finish via an armbar, but Davies regained control and managed to escape the submission. Later, Davies submitted Matuda via a kata gatame and won the finals.

Matuda has been focusing only on Gi jiu-jitsu since she started practicing BJJ. She herself admitted that her only focus, at the moment, is jiu-jitsu.

Matuda has been working on her fitness since she started muay thai. Recently she has taken up yoga. She even made a YouTube video with BJJ black belt Sebastian Brosche teaching yoga for BJJ.

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Gezary Matuda VS Angelica Vieira / Pan Championship 2011

Polaris Pro 9: Ffion Davies vs Gezary Matuda | March 15, 2019

Gezary Matuda VS Kristina Barlaan / European Championship 2017

Gezary Matuda Kubis Bandeira vs Bibiana Dios Tan Pacini Silva

Photo Credit: @gezarymatuda