Nathiely De Jesus - BJJ Black Belt World Champion

Nathiely de Jesus is an elite BJJ black belt grappler under Cicero Costha. During her colored belt rank, she has won 5X IBJJF World, 1X Abu Dhabi World Pro, 1X Pan American, and 3X Brazilian Nationals Championships and gained popularity. After being promoted to black belt in 2016, she won medals in IBJJF World Gi and Nogi, Pan American, UAEJJF Grand Slam, and American Nationals. Jesus has also competed in super fights on shows like Fight 2 Win, Third Coast Grappling, and Who’s Number 1. She is the wife of the world-class BJJ BJJ black belt competitor Manual Ribamar.

Nathiely de Jesus was born on February 10, 1996, in Itapira state of São Paulo, Brazil. From an early age, Jesus suffered from asthma and bronchitis, due to which she struggled with constant weight gain. She sought medical advice at 13 when her doctor recommended that she join Jiu-jitsu to improve the quality of her life. She followed her doctor’s advice and enrolled in Claudio Felix’s academy, which is affiliated with the famous Lotus Clube Academy in San Paulo. After her first Jiu-Jitsu training session, she said: “I did my first class and I fell in love.”  practicing martial arts had a significant impact on Jesus’s life. She received her white to purple belt in Felix Academy and participated in many international tournaments, winning titles.

Jesus started Jiu-jitsu because of her health condition. Still, her interest in this sport developed soon after, and she decided to pursue BJJ as a professional career. She received her white, blue, and purple belts at Felix Academy. In December 2013, Jesus joined her boyfriend Manuel Ribamar’s jiu-jitsu academy, Cicero Costha’s gym Projeto Social Lutando Pelo Bem (PSLPB). She participated in many national and international tournaments during her colored belt ranks, winning high-ranked titles such as IBJJF World, IBJJF Pan Championship, UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro, and the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals. Jesus learned excellent Jiu-Jitsu techniques under her coach. On June 03,  2016, she won double gold in the IBJJF World Championship Gi for the second time. On the podium, she was promoted to black belt by her coach, Cicero Costha promoted her to black belt, and it was the most prestigious event of her life.

Nathiely de Jesus became one of the best female grapplers in the world. In 2017, she moved to Texas, USA, where she became a part of a new academy, Soul Fighters, founded by Bruno Mendes. Soul Fighters is one of the best grappling teams in the world, and she trained with top BJJ grapplers. In August 2017, she married her boyfriend, Manuel Ribamar, a top-class BJJ black belt. The years 2018 and 2019 were Jesus’s years; she was awarded multiple titles and became famous because of her Lasso Guard technique. After the pandemic, Jesus gave birth to her daughter, but even that didn’t stop her from competing.

Jesus has presented her extraordinary jiu-jitsu techniques to win the world’s top-class tournaments. She has won numerous Championships, including IBJJF World Gi and Nogi Championships titles as a Black belt and as a Purple and Brown belt in weight and absolute divisions. In 2019, she won double Gold at the IBJJF European Open. Jesus also won other titles such as IBJJF Pan, Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, UAEJJF Grand Prix, Brazilian and American Nationals, WNO, Fight 2 Win, and Third Coast Grappling Competitions.

Till January 2024, Jesus has competed in 71 matches and won 55 fights, beating some prominent female grapplers, including Gabi Garcia, Rafaela Guedes, Bianca Basilio, Anna Carolina Vieira, Beatriz Mesquita, Kendall Reusing and Nikki Sullivan.

Currently, Nathiely de Jesus and her husband are working as trainers at the Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ Academy in Texas. When Jesus was asked about her future goals, she said:

In the 2023 IBJJF Flo Grappling Championship, a top-notch grappling fight was held between two top-class and multiple-time gold medalists, Nathiely de Jesus and Anna Carolina Vieira. Jesus performs her favorite position, the lasso guard, against her opponent, with Vieira grasping Jesus’s BJJ Gi and putting pressure on her. After they got on their feet, Anna used the closed guard technique, but Jesus kept pushing her opponent and won the final match by two advantages.

In the 2019 European Championship, an exciting fight occurred between two former training partners, Nathiely de Jesus, and Luiza Monteiro. Jesus began the fight with a spider guard holding her opponent with total energy. Monteiro throws a close guard with only five minutes remaining for the fight to end. Jesus goes for a wrist lock, getting an advantage. Jesus leg swept her opponent, got two points, and won the match.

In the 2023 WNO 20 Championship, two best female grapplers, Nathiely de Jesus, and Rafaela Guedes, come across each other in a grappling circuit. A fifteen-minute aggressive fight was held with both fighters hitting each other, and Guedes injured her nose, but she continued the fight. Jesus goes for the reverse armlock again, hitting her opponent in the eyes with her foot. Once again, the fight begins with Guedes on top, trying to choke her opponent, but Jesus takes over with an inverted lasso guard and wins the match unanimously.

In the 2019 IBJJF World Championship Finals, an electrifying match occurred between Nathiely de Jesus and Beatriz Mesquita. Straightaway, Jesus goes for the bottom guard pass. She calmly attacks her opponent without losing balance and scores two points. Jesus then stands up, holding Mesquita’s grip, but Mesquita goes for a spider guard and gets an advantage. Again, the fight begins with Jesus trying for a toe hold, but Mesquita gets three more advantages. With a few minutes left, Jesus hooked her opponent and won the IBJJF World title for the third time.

Nathiely De Jesus v Andressa Cintra / IBJJF FLOGRAPPLING GP 2023

Full Match: Gabi Garcia vs. Nathiely De Jesus | Who's Number One

Medium-Heavy 2017 World Championship Final / Nathiely de Jesus vs Andresa Correa

Nathiely De Jesus vs Maria Malyjasiak / World NoGi 2018

Tayane Porfirio vs Nathiely de Jesus / New York BJJ Pro

Photo credit: @jiujitsuabordo