Rafaela Guedes

Main Achievements

Black Belt Accolades:

• 1st Place — ADCC World Championship (2024)
• 1st Place — IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2021* Double Gold Winner)
• 1st Place — IBJJF Pan American Championship (2020)
• 1st Place — IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship (2020* Absolute Champion)
• 1st Place — WNO Championship (2021)
• 2nd Place — ADCC World Championship (2022 Silver Medalist)

Colored Belt Accolades:

• 1st Place — IBJJF World Championship (2019 Brown Belt Champion)

*Denotes Open Class / Absolute division title.

Overview

Rafaela Ribeiro Guedes is a premier Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt representing the world-renowned Atos Jiu-Jitsu Academy in San Diego, California. Widely celebrated as one of the most fearsome heavyweight competitors and pound-for-pound powerhouses in modern submission grappling, Guedes has captured the sport’s most coveted apex titles, including an ADCC World Championship gold medal and an IBJJF No-Gi World Championship double-gold crown. Weaponizing a relentless physical pace combined with sophisticated guard and breaking systems, she stands as a vanguard figure on the dominant Atos female competitive roster.

Early Life & Handball Injury Crossroads

Rafaela Guedes was born on May 23, 1992, in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil—an expansive city located on the banks of the Negro River in northwestern Brazil. Displaying advanced athletic drive and structural endurance early on, she dedicated her youth to competitive team handball, playing the sport at a high level from the age of 10. However, her promising handball trajectory came to an abrupt, permanent halt at age 15 after she suffered a severe knee injury.

Following the forced conclusion of her handball days, Guedes struggled heavily with depression and weight gain. During her late teens, she became a regular face in the spectator stands at local combat events, showing up to support her cousins who practiced Jiu-Jitsu. Inspired by their intense focus and dedication, she made the tactical decision to step onto the mats herself at age 17 to proactively reclaim her physical and mental health.

The Path to São Paulo and the California Migration

Guedes took her first formal steps in the sport within a local social project in Manaus, where she earned her blue belt. Looking to test her expanding skills against a higher tier of competition, she transitioned to training under coach Daílson Pinheiro. Her love for competitive sports grew rapidly, prompting her to leave her hometown at age 22 to relocate to São Paulo—the absolute epicenter of Brazil’s high-stakes tournament circuit.

In São Paulo, Guedes embedded herself at the prestigious New School Brotherhood academy, a top-tier grappling hub of that era. There, she formed a close personal bond with elite black belt competitor Luiza Monteiro. When Monteiro moved to California in 2017 to join the Atos Academy headquarters, Guedes remained behind but soon hit an internal crossroads. By early 2018, unhappy with her sporting trajectory, she deeply contemplated retiring from Jiu-Jitsu entirely to pursue a conventional lifestyle.

While wrestling with this life-changing decision during a trip to an international Abu Dhabi tournament, Guedes confided in Monteiro. Immediately recognizing her friend’s untapped potential, Monteiro extended an invitation for Guedes to visit Southern California. Later that year, Guedes arrived at the Atos headquarters in San Diego, where team founders André Galvão and Angelica Galvão welcomed and supported her. Reigniting her competitive fire, she chose to stay permanently—a choice that paid immediate dividends when she captured the IBJJF brown belt world title in 2019. On September 2020, Master André Galvão formally awarded Guedes her black belt graduation.

Black Belt Supremacy & Tactical Specialty

Guedes’ transition into the adult black belt ranks was immediate and explosive. Known across the global circuit for her relentless physical pacing, punishing top pressure, and a masterful use of both the Lasso Guard and Closed Guard matrices, she established herself as an elite force across both Gi and No-Gi formats.

Operating primarily in the Pesado (Heavyweight) division at 79.3 kg (175.0 lbs), Guedes boasts an exceptionally high submission finish rate in her professional victories. Her breaking mechanics are uniquely versatile; her finishing arsenal is perfectly balanced between upper-body attacks, such as armbars and guillotines, and lower-body submissions, including the inside heel hook. By successfully overcoming acute physical injuries and personal doubt to conquer the highest pinnacles of professional grappling, she has cemented her legacy among the all-time greats of women’s jiu-jitsu.