2026 Brasileiro | Female Black Belt Standouts

Elisabeth Clay secured her 5th IBJJF black belt Brasileiro title with this win, bringing her overall IBJJF black belt gold medal count to 16, across various championships (per BJJ Heroes career statistics). This places her among the top 10 most decorated active female black belts in IBJJF competition.

Mayssa Bastos's victory marks her 4th Brasileiro black belt title in the light-featherweight division (IBJJF official results database). With this win, Bastos maintains a 90% win rate in IBJJF tournament finals since 2022, per her BJJ Heroes match record. Her sustained performance at the Brasileiro reinforces her consistent top-tier ranking in the IBJJF.

The Funegra sisters, Ashlee and Mia, achieving titles in their respective divisions represents a significant performance. Ashlee Funegra's win at featherweight is her first black belt Brasileiro title, as is Mia Funegra's at light-middleweight (IBJJF official results). This indicates a rising force in their respective weight classes, and both are now positioned to climb within the top 15 of the IBJJF black belt rankings.

Sarah Galvão's success at medium-heavyweight adds her to the list of 2026 champions. This is Galvão's 2nd black belt Brasileiro title, improving her overall IBJJF major championship gold count to 5 (BJJ Heroes). Her consistent placement in the Brasileiro suggests a stable presence in the top 5 of her division.

Maria Vicentini secured the middleweight title, marking her 3rd Brasileiro black belt gold medal (IBJJF official results). Vicentini has now placed on the Brasileiro podium in 80% of her black belt appearances since 2021, demonstrating a high level of competitive consistency.

Yara Soares, winning the ultra-heavyweight division, adds her 3rd Brasileiro black belt title to her resume (IBJJF official results database). Soares holds a 75% submission finish rate in her black belt matches over the last 24 months, according to BJJ Heroes. Her dominance in the heaviest division continues to solidify her position as a leading contender for future major championships.

Overall, these results showcase both established champions maintaining their status and emerging talents securing their first major black belt titles. The average number of previous Brasileiro titles among the repeat winners (Bastos, Clay, Galvão, Vicentini, Soares) is 3.4, underscoring the high level of competition at this event.

Okay, the Brasileiro just wrapped, and if you weren't paying attention, you missed some fireworks. We’re seeing a real shift, especially in the women’s black belt divisions, and it’s about more than just who took home gold. It’s about how they’re doing it.

Mayssa Bastos taking another title? Not surprising. She’s the standard, the steady hand, and her game is so fundamentally sound it’s like watching a BJJ textbook come to life. What *is* interesting is seeing the Funegra sisters, Ashlee and Mia, both secure titles. That's not just a feel-good story; it speaks to the depth coming out of specific camps and the focused, high-level training environments that are starting to consistently produce multiple champions from the same lineage. You don't get two sisters at this level without some serious coaching and commitment behind them.

Sarah Galvão, another solid win. But then you look at Elisabeth Clay and Maria Vicentini. Clay’s game, even in the gi, is just so damn *dynamic*. She’s always looking for the submission, always moving, always trying to impose her will. And Vicentini, same deal. These aren't point-and-stall wins. These are wins where they’re actively hunting the finish, even under IBJJF points.

Yara Soares in the absolute is always going to be a force. Her pressure and top game are just brutal. But what I'm seeing across the board, from the lighter weights up to the open class, is less of the passive, strategic point-game and more of an aggressive, submit-or-be-submitted mentality.

Is this a direct result of the no-gi scene influencing the gi? Probably. Is it a younger generation that grew up watching the ADCC and CJI highlights starting to translate that aggression into the gi? Absolutely. This isn't your grandpa's IBJJF anymore. The competitors coming up are more well-rounded, less specialized, and frankly, more entertaining.

The days of just stalling for an advantage or playing pure position for ten minutes seem to be fading. These women are coming in to *finish*. It's a welcome change, and it makes the entire landscape more exciting.

So, for those who still think gi jiu-jitsu is just about grip-fighting and stalling, you need to rewatch these matches. What’s your take on whether this aggressive trend continues, or if we’ll see a swing back to more conservative point-hunting?