Mayssa Bastos - The Youngest BJJ Elite!

“I’ve never doubted myself. I know that it can be hard, but if I do the right work, the results will come.” 

 (Mayssa Bastos) 

Young BJJ prodigy, Mayssa Bastos has proved that success is always found on the other side of doubt. She is a sheer BJJ talent who had the guts to find her glory and go after it. With hard work and resolute faith, the sky is the limit for her jiu-jitsu career. Inspiration for the young and old, Bastos has redefined success and courage for the world to follow.

Brazil has outdone itself in producing a number of jiu-jitsu stars. Each BJJ star exudes its own shine and glory. On October 23, 1997, the already star-studded Brazil welcomed Mayssa Bastos. Bastos was born in Niteroi, a renowned city in Southeast Brazil that is connected to Rio de Janeiro via a bridge across Guanabara Bay. Her childhood was spent in Marica, another state of Rio de Janeiro.

Many jiu-jitsu fighters started their combat training with judo and Bastos was no different. In 2009, at the tender age of 12, she began to share her older brother’s passion for judo and started training. Her love for judo was short-lived as she developed an instant and long-lasting preference for grappling(jiu-jitsu). Under Coach Jair Court of the GFTeam School in Marica, Bastos began to spend most of her time on the mats. Obsessed with the art, she channeled all of her energies and resources into a successful jiu-jitsu career.

The secret to Bastos’s amazing success lies in her relentless training schedule. Wanting to perfect her skills and increase her BJJ exposure, she trained in various academies. Soon she became a regular student at the Meyer headquarters of the GF Team and began training under Master Julio Cesar Periera. To better prepare herself for the top-tier tournaments, she joined a gym named Unity JJ in New York City. Later, she added GF Orange County to her list of training associations.

Bastos’s dedication to perfecting her skills and fearlessness towards competitions made her the most difficult combatant to compete within the juvenile circuit.

With every passing year, Bastos’s belt levels continued to change, but she managed to retain the title of an unparalleled grappler.

Bastos achieved the heights of success at the amateur BJJ level. In 2014, she participated in the juvenile category of the IBJJF World Championship, IBJJF European Open Championship, and IBJJF Pan Championship. She secured the highest place at the podium in each tournament. With these achievements under her blue belt, she enjoyed much praise and attention from the mainstream sports media, commentators, experienced grapplers, and BJJ enthusiasts.

Aware of Bastos’s excellence, the Brazilian media began to call her the “Pequena Notavel.” The nickname translates to the  “Remarkable Little One.” Marcos Furtado, a photographer of Flash sport, coined this nickname for Bastos. He used to cover her endeavors and eventually assigned this name to her in one of his writings.

After winning the aforementioned championships, nothing could stop Bastos from attaining the purple belt level which she received in 2015. At this stage, she cemented her name for winning stunning victories on the prestigious international BJJ platforms.

In 2017, Bastos received the brown belt and she competed at this level for one and a half years. As a brown belt, Mayssa Bastos took the world by storm. She dominated every competition out there. A force to reckon with, none could stand against her for long. She competed to win and bring home medals. The world has seen her get overwhelmed by her success but she never wavered against an opponent. Bastos won medals in the IBJJF World, IBJJF European Open, and UAEJJF Grand Slam Championships.

Mayssa Bastos earned much success at the brown belt level. She won anything and everything she put her mind to. Her remarkable achievements at the IBJJF European Open, Pan American Championship, and UAEJJF Abu Dhabi Pro inspired confidence in Coach Julio Cesar, who promoted Bastos to black belt level sans delay.

On June 4, 2018, Bastos received the black belt while standing at the podium of the World Championship. For a 21-year-old, this moment was one she had worked up to for a long time.

In 2018, 16 strawweight women competed for the EBI-18 (no-gi) title held in Texas. Bastos was one of the strawweight competitors. She subdued four grapplers in action-packed duels to win the shiny EBI belt.

She outplayed Fabiana Jorge and submitted her with a rear-naked choke.

The win earned Bastos a place in the semifinals where she had to face the four-time IBJJF Rooster Weight World Champion - Rikako Yuasa. Yuasa was a favorite, but this didn’t intimidate Bastos at all. As expected, she raised many eyebrows with her stunning win against Yuasa via rear-naked choke.

In EBI-18, defeating the four-time IBJJF world champion was the main challenge for Bastos. The win in itself was a massive victory. Fueled by it, Bastos confronted Patricia Fontes in the final round and beat her with a flawless rear-naked choke. She received the belt and earned a reward of 10,000 dollars after the match.

Bastos and Gundrum faced each other in a highly-anticipated WNO final. This was a rematch for the duo. The previous year, Gundrum tasted defeat at the hands of Bastos and planned to return the favor.

In the beginning, Bastos pulled guard and then tried to pin Gundrum from the back. On the other hand, Gundrum attempted an escape and almost succeeded if it weren’t for Bastos’s quick reflexes. She attempted a hook which Gundrum successfully defended.

Gundrum’s defense strategy created a much-needed opportunity to escape. She attacked from the top and Bastos put her guard up and attempted a leg lock. Both athletes tried to trap each other in a leg lock but failed.

They were losing time quickly. At the 18 -minute mark, Bastos tried to get on top but was stopped by the referee. She then attempted a defense technique at the 11-minute mark. The referee warned her a second time for playing defense. Paying heed to the warning, she quickly but unsuccessfully attacked Gundrum’s leg who managed to escape. At the 10-second mark, it was announced that the judges favored Gundrum’s move.

Bastos then attempted a sweep and Gundrum pulled her back down with a single-leg technique. The match continued this way for some time and Bastos received the first penalty of the match for the lack of attacks.

She transitioned to a dynamic guard and tried to get on Gundrum’s back to no avail. In the last four minutes, Bastos tried for a leg lock and Gundrum used a quarter guard. With only two and a half minutes left, Basto slipped past to get a mount and looked for a head-arm choke.

Unfortunately, time ran out before she could complete the submission. However, the judges were impressed that she tried a submission technique and ruled in her favor. Consequently, Mayssa won the match via unanimous decision.

The second ADCC trial was held in Sao Paulo, 2022. A screening trial, this important tournament invited the top-tier grapplers to the ADCC World Championship.

Mayssa Bastos, a rooster weight at the time, decided to increase the challenge by fighting in the 60 kg division. In the first round, she quickly submitted Jaine Fraguso via triangle armbar. In the next round, she attacked Isabel Seki’s back continuously and secured an aggressive win with enough points (3-0).

In the semifinals of the ADCC trials, Bastos faced Jasmine Rocha, an elite fighter from Fight Sports. Bastos adopted the same offensive techniques she used in the previous match and attacked Rocha’s back repeatedly. Unlike Seki, Bastos’s last opponent, Rocha defended against her attacks well. Determined to win, Bastos attempted a reversal from the reverse de la riva (reverse guard) position. She then transitioned to the k-guard, attacked Rocha’s back, and concluded the fight with a powerful rear-naked choke.

In the final, Mayssa Bastos found herself against Julia Alves, a prominent brown belt from the GF Team. Unlike the previous matches, Bastos’s guard and back attacks didn’t come in handy. In response, she changed her fighting style and utilized a guard pass to her advantage. She recovered from a double-seated position and got into a deep knee cut. She defeated Alves with a violin armbar (a straight armlock variation) and claimed the final win.

After dominating the ADCC Trials, Bastos punched her ticket to the upcoming ADCC World Championship that is scheduled in September 2022 at Thomas and Mack in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. Mayssa Bastos is invited to fight her ADCC Debut in the 60 kg division. In the trials, she secured a massive victory by defeating three out of the four opponents and is now ready to display her exceptional grappling skills at the main event to win the only unclaimed title - the ADCC World Champion.

In 2021, Bastos put on a great show of her striking power at the Evolve Ur Game 1 (EUG) promotion against Jessa Khan. Though an aggressive grappler, Khan could not handle her razor-sharp skills and lost. In the beginning, the two grapplers fought each other with equal prowess. However, Bastos quickly dominated and led the fight with a (12-2) score.

Eventually, Bastos resisted Khan’s efforts to recover, gained the advantage, and won the super fight by (21-2) points.

In the final round of the 2021 World Championship, Mayssa Bastos competed for the title in the 49 kg bracket against Jessica Dantas. From the beginning, Bastos adopted an offensive strategy. After a series of unsuccessful double guard pulls, Bastos took advantage of her top position, inverted into a crab ride, and attacked her opponent's back.

She soon found the perfect angle to attempt a twister hook and secured back control. This move earned her much-needed points against Dantas. But the match didn’t end here. Bastos had to attack relentlessly and attempt a brutal choke from the back to secure the win.

In 2019, Mayssa Bastos was aiming to win her first IBJJF World Title as a black belt. She faced four-time world champion, Rikako Yuasa in the finals. With relentless training and calculated use of her sharp grappling skills, Bastos defeated Yuasa - an intimidating rival - by using her advantages.

• CBJJ Brazilian Nationals
• IBJJF American Nationals

• IBJJF World Championship
• IBJJF World No- Gi
• IBJJF Pans Championship
• IBJJF Pans No-Gi
• IBJJF European Open
• IBJJF Asian Open
• AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro
• AJP Grand Slam
• WNO Championship
• EBI 18

• WNO Championship
• IBJJF World
• IBJJF Pan Championship
• IBJJF European Open Championship
• IBJJF Asian Open Championship
• CBJJ Brazilian Nationals
• IBJJF American Nationals
• AJP Grand Slam
• EBI-18
• IBJJF World No-Gi
• IBJJF Pans No-Gi
• Abu Dhabi World Pro

Event	Year	Medal
WNO Championship	2021	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF World Championship	2021	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF World Championship	2019	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF World No-Gi	2021	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF World No-Gi	2018	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF Pans Championship	2021	1 Silver Medal
IBJJF Pans Championship	2019	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF Pans No-Gi	2021	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF Pans No-Gi	2018	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF European Open	2022	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF European Open	2020	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF European Open	2019	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF Asian Open	2018	1 Gold Medal
IBJJF American Nationals	2018	1 Gold Medal
CBJJ Brazilian Nationals	2018	1 Gold Medal
AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro	2019	1 Gold Medal
AJP Grand Slam, MIA	2021	1 Gold Medal
AJP Grand Slam, MIA	2020	1 Gold Medal
AJP Grand Slam, MSK	2019	1 Gold Medal
AJP Grand Slam, TYO	2018	1 Gold Medal
AJP Grand Slam, RJ	2018	1 Gold Medal
WNO Championship	2021	1 Gold Medal
EBI-18	2018	1 Gold Medal

Mayssa Bastos vs Serena Gabrielli

Anna Rodriguez vs Mayssa Bastos

Mayssa Bastos scores 21 points against Jessa Khan

Mayssa Bastos vs Sofia Amarante

Mayssa Bastos v Brenda Larissa

Photo Credit: @mayssabastos