Thalyta Silva - BJJ Black Belt

Thalyta Silva was born in the small town of Forminga in the state of Minas Gerais in Brazil.

Silva was an athletic child who was fond of sports during her early childhood. She loved to participate in all the sports competitions held at her school. Silva took part in running, football, basketball, volleyball, long jumps, handball, and chess.

Being a sports lover, martial arts were introduced to Silva at an early age. She got into capoeira when she was 11 years old. At the age of 14, Silva started practicing taekwondo and kickboxing. Along with these martial arts, she was also exposed to jiu-jitsu.

Silva practiced various martial arts for a time. But after training for three to four months, she found herself in love with grappling. Silva quit all other martial arts and just started focusing on jiu-jitsu. Her first jiu-jitsu coach was Donizete, who remained her coach until she reached juvenile ranking.

Silva wanted to become a professional fighter and her dedication brought her to cage fighting. She debuted in MMA at the age of 16 when she was a yellow belt. Silva won various MMA fights during her teenage years. She also appeared in a Jungle Fight competition.

At the age of 18, Silva decided to only focus on jiu-jitsu. She wanted to train in a more competitive environment.

To improve her training routine, Silva joined Casa do Atleta, or “the Athlete House,” located in Poços de Caldas. Casa do Atleta was under the instruction of its senior coach, Paulo Rezende. This place trained various BJJ legends including Marcelo Gracia, Matheus Diniz, and Reinaldo Ribeiro.

Silva joined Rezende’s academy when she was a green belt. Later, she would receive all of the belt ranks above the green belt from Rezende. At the age of 21, Silva received her black belt from Rezende on April 27, 2021.

Thalyta is the top tenth Adult Grand Slam competitor with 369 points and the top 12th Adult Black Belt with 526.5 points according to IBJJF Record.

Silva won the European Open Championship in 2022 and 2023 in the black belt division. She was also runner-up in the European Open Championship during the same two years in the absolute weight category. Silva also won a bronze medal in the 2018 IBJJF European Open Championship as a blue belt.

Silva announced that she would be leaving Dream Arts Academy in February 2023 to join Fratres Jiu-Jitsu. Silva was one of the most talented fighters to take part in the Dream Arts Project. In an interview, she said,

Silva faced Amanda Hening in the Curitiba Summer Open 2023 finals. At the start of the match, Hening tried to apply a pulling guard but Silva prevented her from getting a grip around her groin and secured the top position. She tried to control Hening’s movements from on top. Unfortunately, Hening succeeded in applying a full guard.

Silva again escaped and tried to take Hening from her back, but failed. Luckily, Silva did not lose control and overcame Amanda. At the end of the match, Silva succeeded in taking Hening from behind and tried to apply a collar choke. While she did not succeed in winning the match via submission due to time running out. Silva won the match with two points.

Silva faced Mikaela Barros in the Curitiba Summer Open finals in the absolute weight category. Silva applied a pulling guard and wrapped his legs around Barros. Barros stood up to escape and succeeded. Now on top, Barros tried to grapple Silva, but Silva countered by pulling her opponent to the ground. Later, Silva applied a full guard, but Barros utilized her strong core to once again escape.

Silva again tried another unsuccessful pulling guard. She tried to take Barros to the mat, but Barros reversed and brought Silva down onto the floor and followed up with a takedown. But Silva immediately countered by trapping Barros in her full guard. By the end of the match, neither could submit the other. Silva barely won the match via the referee’s decision.

Silva faced Vannessa Griffin in the final of the 2023 IBJJF European Championship. Griffin started the match attempting a pulling guard. Despite being in the bottom position, Griffin was strong enough to control Silva’s movements. Griffin tried to grapple Silva’s head with one of her legs while grasping her sleeves. Silva struggled hard and succeeded in escaping from Griffin’s grip.

Near the end of the match, Silva was on top but her gi’s sleeves were in Griffin’s strong grip. Silva tried to free her sleeves, but Griffin refused to let her escape. Silva tried to retaliate and grapple Griffin despite her arms being trapped but failed. In the end, Silva defeated Griffin via the referee’s decision.

Thalyta Silva v Amanda Hening / Curitiba Summer Open 2023

Thalyta Silva v Vannessa Griffin / European Championship 2023

Thalyta Silva v Mikaela Barros / Curitiba Summer Open 2023

Thalyta Silva v Bridget Grace / Pan No-Gi 2022

Photo Credit: @thalytabjj