Janaina Lebre
Janaina Lebre joined the first women's IBJJF Grand Prix as a late replacement and won it, then took all four IBJJF major titles in 2025.
Biography
Sources for this profile
IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2018 Pan Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of SAS Team in first place in the female adult purple belt middleweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / PURPLE / MIDDLE (152.60LB), place 1
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BJJ Heroes, "Janaina Lebre" (fighter profile), first published 3 November 2022.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes gives her full name as Janaina Maia de Menezes Lebre and says she competed earlier under the surname Maia and is now mostly referred to as Janaina Lebre.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph and 'Full Name' line — "Maia surname"
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She was born in 1995 in Eusébio, a small town in the northeastern Brazilian state of Ceará.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Biography, first paragraph — "small Brazilian town"
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As a teenager she played handball on the regional circuit before taking up combat sports.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Biography, second paragraph — "handball"
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At 17 she agreed to go along to a female friend's first jiu-jitsu class, because the local club was almost entirely male and the friend felt too shy to join them; knowing nothing about the sport, Lebre felt at home on the mats and joined the club herself.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Biography, third paragraph — "at home"
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Near the end of 2013, after about a month of training and with little knowledge of the rules, she entered a tournament and won gold, her first medal in the sport.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Biography, fourth paragraph — "end of 2013"
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Her first teacher was Hamilton Caminha of team HC in Eusébio, who promoted her to blue belt; she later moved to Fortaleza, the state capital, for a stronger training group under Sérgio Cardoso at SAS, where she received her purple belt.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Biography, fifth paragraph — "team HC"
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In 2018 she travelled to the United States to compete at the IBJJF World Championship and asked Régis Lebre, a competitor and coach from Ceará who had moved to the United States, for help with accommodation and training.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Biography, sixth paragraph — "accommodation"
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Under Régis Lebre she was promoted to brown belt and then to black belt, the black belt in August 2019.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Biography, last paragraph — "August 2019"
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BJJ Heroes traces her lineage as Carlos Gracie, Helio Gracie, Royler Gracie, Régis Lebre, Janaina Lebre.
Where in the source: Profile summary, "Lineage:" line
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BJJ Heroes lists her favourite position and technique as the lapel guard and the straight ankle lock.
Where in the source: Profile summary, "Favorite Position/Technique" line
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BJJ Heroes' fight history lists her loss to Brianna Ste-Marie in the 2024 final of The Crown as a scoreless match decided on advantages.
Where in the source: Janaina Lebre Fight History table, row for IBJJF Crown, stage F, year 2024
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BJJ Heroes says she won gold at the European, Brazilian National, Pan-American and World Championships in a single year, 2025.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph, sentence on the IBJJF Grand Slam
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IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018, results page.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2018 World Championship, IBJJF's results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of SAS Team third in the female adult purple belt middleweight division and second in the purple belt open class, behind Gabrieli Pessanha.
Where in the source: Sections FEMALE / ADULT / PURPLE / MIDDLE (152.60LB), place 3, and FEMALE / ADULT / PURPLE / OPEN CLASS, place 2
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IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2019, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2019 Pan Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of Gracie Humaitá in first place in the female adult brown belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BROWN / LIGHT (141.60LB), place 1
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IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2019, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2019 World Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of Gracie Humaitá in first place in the female adult brown belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BROWN / LIGHT (141.60LB), place 1
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IBJJF, American National IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2019, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2019 American National Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of Gracie Humaitá in first place in the female adult brown belt middleweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BROWN / MIDDLE (152.60LB), place 1
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IBJJF News, Danny O'Donnell, "Inaugural GP Champion Janaina Lebre Set To Take On 64 kg Division At The Crown", published 25 September 2023.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF wrote in 2023 that as a brown belt she won the World, Pan and American National titles and was promoted to black belt in 2019; that her first major accomplishment at black belt was reaching the 2022 World Championship lightweight final, which she lost narrowly to Ffion Davies; that she entered the inaugural Female Lightweight Grand Prix in autumn 2022 as a late replacement and underdog and won it, beating two multiple-time World Champions; and that in 2023 she took another Worlds silver and won an IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix superfight by submission.
Where in the source: Article body (single paragraph) — "promoted to black belt in 2019"; "late replacement"
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IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2022, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2022 World Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of Gracie Humaitá second in the female adult black belt lightweight division, behind Ffion Eira Davies.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), places 1 and 2
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IBJJF News, "Janaina Lebre Reflects On Becoming First Female GP Champion" (2022).(opens in a new tab)
In 2022, then a Gracie Humaitá black belt, she took silver at the European Championship, losing the final on points after nearly finishing an armbar, and at the World Championship, where she lost the final to Ffion Davies on points after nearly finishing a kneebar early in the match.
Where in the source: First paragraph — "nearly finishing an armbar"
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She was added to the first IBJJF FloGrappling Female Grand Prix about a month before the event, as a replacement after another competitor withdrew, and was the only entrant who had not won multiple World titles; she prepared for a month with technical and physical training.
Where in the source: First and second paragraphs — "announcement of her replacement"
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Her first Grand Prix match was against Luiza Monteiro, World Champion in 2015 and 2017, who had beaten her by referee decision at the 2021 Worlds; Lebre told IBJJF she went in wanting to be aggressive and had learned from her mistakes in earlier fights against Monteiro, and she won 8-6 on points.
Where in the source: Second paragraph, quoted remarks — "strong desire to win"
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Lebre told IBJJF she had used the lapel since blue belt and kept improving that game, calling it her main game, and that the knee cut is her favourite guard pass; in the Grand Prix final a knee cut pass against Anna Rodrigues led to a back take, and her lapel guard kept Rodrigues' passing attempts at bay.
Where in the source: Third and fourth paragraphs, quoted remarks — "since the blue belt"; "favorite guard pass"
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IBJJF described the Grand Prix title as the biggest accomplishment of her career up to then; she thanked IBJJF and FloGrappling for the invitation and said she was confirmed for the January 2023 European Championship in Paris.
Where in the source: Final paragraph — "biggest accomplishment"
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IBJJF News, "IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix Recap: Janaina and Isaque Crowned GP Champions In Austin" (2022).(opens in a new tab)
At the IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix in Austin, Texas, on 28 October 2022, she won the first female Grand Prix, beating Luiza Monteiro 8-6 in the semifinal and Anna Rodrigues 6-0 in the final; IBJJF noted that every other entrant had won the World title more than once and that she had not yet won a major black belt title.
Where in the source: Section on Lebre's win in the first female GP, and the 'Full results' list at the end
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Against Monteiro she pulled to closed guard and looked to bind her own leg with the lapel, a position IBJJF said she used throughout the night, and traded sweeps from 50/50 before escaping a kneebar attempt; in the final she took Rodrigues' back early and later used lapel control to stop the passing attempts.
Where in the source: Match descriptions — "wrap the lapel around her own leg"
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FloGrappling, Erica Zendell, "Janaina Defies Odds With Historic Win At First Female IBJJF FloGrappling GP", 1 November 2022.(opens in a new tab)
FloGrappling wrote that in 2022, before the Grand Prix, she had reached the podium at the European and World Championships and won both the American Nationals and Jiu-Jitsu Con, yet entered the Grand Prix as the heavy underdog and the only invitee without a black belt World title.
Where in the source: Second paragraph — "first-place victories"
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She had lost all three of her earlier matches with Luiza Monteiro; she told FloGrappling she had studied Monteiro's game and stuck to her game plan, and the 8-6 win was her first over Monteiro.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on the Monteiro match — "0-3 record"
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In the 6-0 final against Anna Rodrigues, a knee cut that turned into a scramble to her opponent's back in the first minute was, per FloGrappling, her proudest moment of the night; she stayed on the offensive for the full ten minutes and added a worm guard sweep late in the match.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on the Rodrigues match — "proudest moment"
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She told FloGrappling that the 2022 World Championship and the Grand Prix were the two events she was proudest of, and that they gave her the confidence to keep pursuing her goals.
Where in the source: Quoted remarks after the Rodrigues match — "the two events"
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After the Grand Prix she planned to return to training and to teaching her students, and to open 2023 at the European Championship in Paris hoping for a rematch with Ffion Davies; she said she had been slightly out of gas in the 2022 Worlds final against Davies.
Where in the source: Paragraphs on her next steps — "gassed"
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She credited the Grand Prix performance to staying present, keeping a positive mindset, controlling her thoughts and her faith, and FloGrappling quotes her: "Your mind is what makes you a champion."
Where in the source: Closing paragraphs, her final quoted remark
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IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2023 World Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of Gracie Humaitá second in the female adult black belt lightweight division, again behind Ffion Eira Davies.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), places 1 and 2
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IBJJF News, Danny O'Donnell, "Lightweight GP Champion Janaina Lebre Faces Emily Fernandez In Absolute GP Super Fight", published 31 July 2023.(opens in a new tab)
Previewing a 2023 superfight, IBJJF described her style as technical and aggressive and said she often uses the lapel guard from the bottom both to control and to submit opponents; IBJJF noted that while many athletes use the lapel guard, she uses it to set up attacks.
Where in the source: Third body paragraph, after the standfirst — "technical and aggressive style"
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IBJJF News, Danny O'Donnell, "IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix Recap: Nicholas Meregali Triumphs in the 2023 IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix", published 5 September 2023.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2023 IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix in Las Vegas she won a superfight against Emily Fernandez with an ezekiel choke from mount.
Where in the source: Super fights paragraph — "ezekiel choke from the mount"
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FloGrappling, Carlos Arthur Jr., "Janaina Lebre Joins AOJ & Starts 2024 Season Under The Mendes Brothers", 25 January 2024.(opens in a new tab)
In January 2024, ahead of the IBJJF season, she and Art of Jiu-Jitsu (AOJ) announced on Instagram that she was leaving Gracie Humaitá, where she had trained under Régis Lebre, to join the AOJ team of the Mendes brothers in Costa Mesa, California; FloGrappling noted she had been the previous year's Worlds runner-up and the first women's IBJJF GP champion.
Where in the source: Subheading and first two paragraphs — "Moving on from Gracie Humaitá"; "announced via Instagram"
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IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2024 Pan Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of AOJ in first place in the female adult black belt lightweight division, ahead of Sabrina Gondim.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), places 1 and 2
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IBJJF News, Danny O'Donnell, "The Crown, Presented by FloGrappling Preview: Champions, Challengers, and the Stories to Watch", published 17 November 2025.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's preview of The Crown 2025 said Brianna Ste-Marie had won the 2024 Crown with a victory over Lebre in the final, and described Lebre's game as aggressive guard work joined with pressure passing.
Where in the source: Women's lightweight section, first two paragraphs — "in the final"
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IBJJF, European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2025 European Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of AOJ in first place in the female adult black belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (64.00KG), place 1
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IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2025 Pan Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of AOJ first and Luiza Monteiro second in the female adult black belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), places 1 and 2
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IBJJF News, Danny O'Donnell, "Inside the 2025 Brasileiros: Results, Grand Slams, and Breakthrough Performances", published 6 May 2025.(opens in a new tab)
After gold at the 2025 European and Pan Championships, she won the 2025 Brasileiro lightweight title for AOJ with three victories, including the final against Brianna Ste-Marie, the reigning Crown champion.
Where in the source: Section 'AOJ Tops Adult Black Belt Medal Count In Brazil' — "three victories"
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IBJJF, Campeonato Brasileiro de Jiu-Jitsu 2025, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2025 Brasileiro results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of AOJ first and Brianna Ste-Marie second in the female adult black belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (64.00KG), places 1 and 2
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IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2025 World Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes of AOJ first and Luiza Monteiro second in the female adult black belt lightweight division.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), places 1 and 2
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IBJJF News, Danny O'Donnell, "2025 World Champion Janaina Lebre Completes The Crown Lightweight Bracket", published 28 October 2025.(opens in a new tab)
In 2025 she won all four IBJJF major titles: the European, Pan, Brasileiro and World Championships.
Where in the source: Article body — "all four IBJJF major titles"
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In October 2025 IBJJF announced her, as an AOJ representative, as the last athlete in the women's lightweight bracket of The Crown 2025.
Where in the source: Article body — "the AOJ representative"
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IBJJF News, Kaelan Crisosto, "2026 Pans Black Belt | Female Champions", published 2 April 2026.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2026 Pan Championship the top-ranked Lebre met Sarah Galvão in the lightweight final, a rematch of their Crown final; Galvão worked from top throughout but could not pass Lebre's guard, and won by unanimous referee decision.
Where in the source: Section 'Female Lightweight', second paragraph — "rematch of the Crown finals"; "unanimous referee decision"
Accessed:
IBJJF, Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2026, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2026 Pan Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes second in the female adult black belt lightweight division, behind Sarah Galvão, with her academy given as Lebre Jiu-Jitsu Academy.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), places 1 and 2
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IBJJF News, Kaelan Crisosto, "Black Belt Bracket Breakdowns | 2026 World Championships", published 30 May 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Before the 2026 World Championship, IBJJF's bracket preview listed her as the reigning lightweight World Champion and an Alliance representative, while Sarah Galvão had won the 2026 European, Pan and Brasileiro titles in the division.
Where in the source: Female divisions, section 'Lightweight' — "The Alliance representative"
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IBJJF News, Kaelan Crisosto, "2026 World Championship Black Belt Recap", published 4 June 2026.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2026 World Championship she entered the female black belt lightweight division as top seed and reigning champion and won it again, beating Sarah Galvão in the final for her second consecutive lightweight World title; Galvão had beaten her in two earlier finals.
Where in the source: Female Divisions > Lightweight — "second consecutive lightweight World Championship title"
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On the way to the 2026 final she submitted Mayara Melo with a straight ankle lock in under two minutes and Giovanna Parmisano with another straight ankle lock in the semifinal; IBJJF described her game as guard play combined with footlock attacks.
Where in the source: Female Divisions > Lightweight — "second straight ankle lock victory"
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IBJJF's 2026 Worlds recap identifies her as an Alliance athlete.
Where in the source: Female Divisions > Lightweight — "The Alliance representative"
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IBJJF, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2026, results page.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's 2026 World Championship results list Janaina Maia de Menezes in first place in the female adult black belt lightweight division, ahead of Sarah Galvão, with Giovanna Parmisano among the third places.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), places 1, 2 and 3
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At the 2026 World Championship she competed for Alliance, the team listed beside her name in IBJJF's results.
Where in the source: Section FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB), place 1, team column
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