Rafaela Guedes - WNO’S Women Heavyweight Champion

Rafaela Guedes is a BJJ Black Belt under Andre Galvao, who is a 4th-Degree BJJ Black Belt. Rafaela became famous when she was only a Brown Belt by earning important titles in the IBJJF and UAEJJF championships.

Rafaela Guedes was born on 23rd May 1992 in Manaus which is located on the banks of the Negro River in the northwestern side of Brazil and is also the capital of the state of Amazonas.

Rafaela was an athletic child from the very start. She was an active handball player during her school life. She joined the handball team when she was 10 years old. As she was born and raised in Manaus, she had the native Brazilian fighting spirit which appeared when she became a professional grappler.

When Rafaela was 16 years old, she suffered from a knee injury. Her mother, who was concerned about her health, did not allow her to continue handball.

Her mother’s decision impacted her health. It demotivated her physical and mental health. She suffered from depression and also gained a lot of weight as she disconnected from almost every physical activity. At the time, she got many invitations to train in BJJ but she refused all of them.

Her grandmother’s adoptive son used to train in BJJ, so from the very start Rafaela was aware of Jiu-Jitsu. She was part of the local BJJ community and was a keen spectator of BJJ fights. When she turned 17, she decided to try BJJ. She only wanted to train in BJJ to lose weight. But she was unaware of her successful future career in BJJ.

When Rafaela Guedes earned her Blue Belt at a local social project in Jiu-Jitsu, she joined coach Dailson Pinheiro’s gym in Manaus to train in BJJ. Her only motivation was to lose weight.

As long as Rafaela was in school, she did not take BJJ seriously. She was going out with her friends. But when she finished school, she became serious and fully committed to BJJ. She even adopted a healthy lifestyle.

When Rafaela lost in the matches in the US, she was very heartbroken. She came back to Brazil and left training for 6 months.

After a year of becoming a Purple Belt, she moved to Sao Paulo and was exposed to a much bigger BJJ circuit than she was in Manaus. She joined the New School Brotherhood Academy and became friends with a fellow training comrade, Luiza Monteiro.

Rafaela then moved to San Diego and joined Atos Academy. She trained under Andre Galvao who is the founder of Atos Academy and his wife Professor Angelica Galvao who is one of the top female grapplers of all time.

In 2018, Rafaela visited Atos Headquarters to meet Luiza Monteiro and also trained at Atos Headquarters. She went back to San Diego in 2019 and then joined Atos Academy permanently.

When she became serious about BJJ, she started competing. She was afraid of the absolute weight division which is an open-weight style BJJ tournament in which competitors compete regardless of weight class.

When Rafaela came to the United States, she realized that she had to train harder. Her previous BJJ knowledge and skill level were not enough to make further progress.

After returning to training after a 6 month gap, she again joined coach Dailson Pinheiro’s gym. She received her Purple Belt from Professor Pinheiro.

In September 2020, she was promoted to Black Belt by Andre Galvao. After that, she became internationally recognized as one of the top rising female grapplers.

She secured the 1st position at the UAEJJF Grand Slam, MIA in 2020 while being a Brown Belt.

In January 2021, she won the crown of Fight 2 Win 162 Champion in Miami, Florida. She defeated the World Champion Ana Vieira in the final.

In March 2021, Rafaela won the title of WNO Women Heavyweight Champion when she defeated Maggie Grindatti with an impressive Rear Naked Choke.

Tara White is a BJJ Black Belt under Carlson Gracie Jr. The way she fought Rafaela showed that she has developed a well-rounded BJJ game. At the start of the match, Tara pinned Rafaela to the ground and she had a strong hand lock around Rafaela’s leg.

While on the other hand, Rafaela had a stronghold of Tara’s legs. Rafaela applied the underhook to separate herself from Tara’s strong grip. And finally, she got out of Tara’s hold and used the underhook to run around to the back and grab Tara.

Rafaela Guedes scored 4 points from the Rear Mount and 2 advantage points. She again scored 2 points from the sweep from the guard. Rafaela then scored 4 more points and won the match.

Elisabeth Clay is a professional BJJ grappler and a BJJ Black Belt. Clay tried to apply the closed guard but Rafaela did not let her. Rafaela scored 3 points by passing the guard against Elisabeth Clay. She then transitioned to the top. Later Rafaela scored 4 more points by applying the mount. Rafaela had the double underhook around Clay. Rafaela tried to apply for the guard pass but could not retain it so she did not get any points. Rafaela won the match against Clay. She won the Gold Medal by winning the final.

Gabi McComb is a BJJ Black Belt under Leticia Ribeiro. Her grappling game is explosive. She did not let Rafaela score any points throughout the match. Rafeala tried to take Gabrielle down but Gabi rolled out of it. Rafaela scored 2 advantage points for the application of 2 consecutive takedown attempts. She did not let Gabi score points and Rafaela Guedes won the match.

• WNO Women Heavyweight Champion
• 2 Times IBJJF World Champion No-Gi
• IBJJF Pan Champion Gi & No-Gi

Rafaela Guedes VS Claire North / Pan Championship 2020

Rafaela Guedes v Margaret Grindatti / World NoGi 2021

Rafaela Guedes v Maria Malyjasiak / World NoGi 2021

Rafaela Guedes VS Tara White / Pan NoGi Championship 2020

Rafaela Guedes v Elisabeth Clay / World NoGi 2021

Photo credit: @rafaelaguedesjj