Melissa Stricker Cueto - Aggressive Female BJJ Black Belt

Melissa Cueto is a leading Jiu-Jitsu black belt supervised by Leo Moretti. Cueto not only practiced BJJ with Leo but also trained and won many bouts. After basic training, Cueto joined Gracie Humaita for a few months and later joined Alliance Academy. Melissa is regarded as a top BJJ grappler by the Jiu-Jitsu community. Melissa was a born star, she earned two times as South American Champion at the Purple Belt level. Two times South Brasileiros Silver Medalist and two times South Brazilian Champion.

Melissa Cueto, a 32 years old Black Belt BJJ fighter was born in Pelotas in Rio Grande do Sul on 21 June 1990.

From the early years of her life, she actively participated in different sports. She liked to watch martial arts and the Olympic games and used to practice them with her friends in the town.

Melissa's parents were not fond of sports but they never stopped her from these healthy activities. When she was a teenager, she stepped into the striking combat sport known as Taekwondo.

In her early teens, Mel found some kids practicing martial arts on the mats. She had ample knowledge of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before but was not fully aware of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu techniques and philosophies. After watching the kids rolling and sparring, her interest in Jiu-Jitsu increased and it was a time when she decided to start brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

When Melissa's parents heard about her plan, they were shocked. In the 1990s BJJ was considered a violent sport. Most of the parents associated Jiu-Jitsu with the promotion of violent behavior.

That's the reason Cueto’s parents were averse to her decision and wanted to pursue her career in Taekwondo. They tried to stop their daughter from adopting a violent culture. For Melissa, it was a very tough time.

When Mel was 17 years old, she managed to convince her parents and assured them she would not be part of any violence at all. Then finally in her teens, her parents allowed Mel to learn Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Then, Cueto never looked back and dedicated her whole life to BJJ.

Melissa’s BJJ training was initiated under the supervision of Antonio Pedro Dias (Kapincho). Pedro trained Mel from her journey of White to Brown belt rank. Mel fought in several competitions and secured medals against the high-profile competitors of Jiu-Jitsu.

She was disturbed in those days when she found Leonardo Morosetti, a pro-BJJ fighter, and elite coach. She knew Leonardo when she was a Blue Belt. Mel thought to discuss her problem with him and it was a surprise for Cueto that Leonardo agreed to guide her in combat sports.

Leonardo Morosetti started coaching Mel and motivated her to prepare for the Black Belt competitions. In December 2018, coach Leonardo Morosetti awarded Mel with Black Belt.

In her early black belt time, Melissa began to surprise everyone. She secured potential victories against experienced opponents like Luanna Alzuguir and Maria Malyjasiak during the 2019 IBJJF Worlds.

Afterward, in 2019, Melissa became part of the Alliance Association and represented her team at the international level. It was when she joined the Alliance team that she started to tread on international wins. She won her first IBJJF World Championship as a Black Belt in a very tough competitive heavyweight category. She continued her winning streak in 2022 and won the Heavyweight division of IBJJF Pans.

Mal is famous for her aggressive & fighting style, offensive spider guards, and intensely technical sweeps with advanced submission executing style, a typical Alliance Fighter.

On her achievements, Melissa shared:

Melissa shared her future plans in an interview:

Melissa and Cristina faced each other at the final of the 2021 World Championship. An extraordinary lapel X-guard action was shown by Melissa in the second minute of the fight.

Then both fighters got involved in the bear trap action.

It was an elite show of advanced grappling techniques. Then they got tangled in a Dela Pela X of Dela Hiva Lapel guard. At 5:18 into the fight, Melissa passed the guard, Silva gave up her back and Melissa applied a back choke and became the Gold Medalist of the 2021 World Championship by submission.

The final of IBJJF American National, was held between Elisabeth Clay and Melissa Stricker.It was a historic one in the Medium Heavyweight class. Elisabeth's attempt for guard and ankle lock left Mel immovable in that position.

In the Pan Championship both athletes, Maria and Melissa, fought very aggressively. Maria was famous for her leg locks, devastating Knee bars and toe holds. Melissa is an all-rounder but her famous technique is a straight armbar.

Mel was leading on the scoreboard by 3 points. But she gave her back and tapped to the RNC of Maria.

Elisabeth Clay VS Melissa Cueto / Dallas Open 2021

Melissa Cueto v Margaret Grindatti / World Championship 2021

Emilly Alves v Melissa Cueto / Orlando Open 2021

Gabrieli Pessanha v Melissa Stricker / Pan Championship 2022

Melissa Stricker v Vanessa Arango / World Master 2021

Photo credit: @strickermel