Juliana Vieira Borges
A judoka turned jiu-jitsu black belt and wrestler, Juliana Borges won the over-60 kg and absolute titles at ADCC 2005, the first edition open to women.
Biography
Sources for this profile
BJJ Heroes, "Juliana Borges" (fighter biography).(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes places Juliana Vieira Borges’s birth in Goiânia, Goiás, Brazil, in 1977.
Where in the source: Juliana Borges Biography, opening sentence — “1977, in Goiânia”
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Swimming was her first sport: she started at six and trained and competed until she turned 22, winning titles that included three gold medals in the Brazilian National Swimming League.
Where in the source: Biography section, paragraph on her first sport (swimming)
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She took up gymnastics at ten and gave it up two years later for judo; her father and her uncle Sebastião Borges were lifelong judoka, and she was signed up for judo classes in 1990.
Where in the source: Biography section, paragraph on gymnastics and the family's judo background
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In judo she was coached by Sensei Júlio César of the SESI Campinas gym and later by her uncle Sebastião Borges; she won state titles in Goiás and Minas Gerais and the national title of the Liga Nacional de Judô, and received her judo black belt from her uncle in Goiânia in 1997.
Where in the source: Biography section, paragraph on her judo coaches and titles
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She studied dentistry (odontology) at the University of Uberaba; there, around 1998–1999, a judo training partner who was a jiu-jitsu blue belt, Ricardo Fontenelle, began separate groundwork sessions for the university judo group, which was her first contact with Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She was given a blue belt by the federation because of her level in judo.
Where in the source: Biography section, Uberaba paragraph — "Ricardo Fontenelle"
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After finishing her degree she returned to Goiânia and trained jiu-jitsu under Fernando Boi, who promoted her to purple, brown and black belt; the black-belt ceremony took place in 2004.
Where in the source: Biography section, paragraph on her return to Goiânia and Fernando Boi
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Through Fernando Boi, who also wrestled, she became interested in freestyle wrestling and in 2002 joined Alejo Morales's training group at UFG in Goiânia.
Where in the source: Biography section, wrestling paragraph — "Alejo Morales"
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BJJ Heroes lists her freestyle wrestling results as first place at the Pan American Championships in 2004 and 2005, second in 2006 and fourth in 2003, and Brazilian national titles in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Where in the source: Achievement list for freestyle wrestling (profile box)
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In 2005 she moved to the United States to pursue her goal of competing at the Olympic Games; there she worked with wrestling coach Jason Kelly from 2005 to 2009 and joined Ricardo Libório's American Top Team.
Where in the source: Biography section, paragraph on the 2005 move to the United States
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BJJ Heroes says she won first place in a mixed men's and women's division under Expert rules at a NAGA tournament in the United States in 2005.
Where in the source: Biography section, NAGA paragraph; also "Main Achievements" list
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BJJ Heroes lists her main black-belt results as first place at the CBJJO World Cup (2004), double gold at the ADCC World Championship (2005), first place in the NAGA Expert mixed division (2005) and third place at the IBJJF World Championship (2009).
Where in the source: Black-belt achievement list in the profile box
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As a coloured belt she won the IBJJF World Championship at blue belt in 2000 and at purple belt in 2001, the IBJJF Pan Championship at blue belt in 2000, and took third place at the 2004 IBJJF World Championship at brown belt.
Where in the source: Coloured-belt achievement list in the profile box
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BJJ Heroes lists her judo titles as the Goiás state championship (1996, 1997), the Minas Gerais state championship (1995, 1997) and the Liga Nacional de Judô (1997).
Where in the source: Judo achievement list in the profile box
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Her jiu-jitsu lineage runs Carlos Gracie, Carlson Gracie, André Pederneiras, Fernando Marques (Boi), Juliana Borges.
Where in the source: Profile box, lineage line
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BJJ Heroes gives her team affiliations as Nova União, Fernando Boi and American Top Team (ATT).
Where in the source: Profile box, team/association line
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BJJ Heroes gives her favourite technique as pressure passing and her weight division as middleweight (peso médio, 69 kg).
Where in the source: Profile box, favourite-technique and weight-division lines
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In a 2020 interview quoted by BJJ Heroes, Borges said that a difficult period in her private life while living in the United States set back her Olympic ambitions, and that Ricardo Libório, whom she described as being like a father to her, took her into his home and helped her.
Where in the source: Biography section, closing paragraphs quoting the June 2020 interview (Ricardo Libório; the Olympic setback)
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In the same interview she said she had a couple of months to prepare for the IBJJF World Championship and decided to compete, win or lose, to prove something to herself; after an open-weight match she competed in her weight class, lost to Kyra Gracie in the semi-final and took bronze. It was her last competition; she then returned home to Brazil to rebuild her life there.
Where in the source: Biography section, final paragraph on the Mundial
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BJJ Heroes, "Fernando 'Boi' Marques" (fighter biography).(opens in a new tab)
Fernando 'Boi' Marques, born in Goiânia in 1976, is a heavyweight black belt under André Pederneiras of Nova União and a 2001 world champion; he also won national titles in freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling and was part of the Brazilian national wrestling squad for the Pan American championships.
Where in the source: Opening summary and profile box ("Team/Association")
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ADCC News (adcombat.com), "ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship Statistics".(opens in a new tab)
ADCC's table of female champions lists Juliana Borges as the 2005 champion of the over-60 kg division and of the women's absolute division; Kyra Gracie is listed for the 2005 under-60 kg division. 2005 is the earliest year in the table.
Where in the source: Table "ADCC Female Champions", old divisions, row 2005 (columns +60kg and Absolute)
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ADCC News (adcombat.com), "ADCC Submission Fighting World Championship 2005" (official results).(opens in a new tab)
ADCC's official results for the 2005 Submission Fighting World Championship, held at California State University, Long Beach, list Juliana Borges first in the women's over-60 kg division, with Stacy Cartwright second.
Where in the source: Official results table, block "Women +60kg"
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The same official results list Juliana Borges first in the women's absolute division, with Tara LaRosa second, Amanda Buckner third and Stacy Cartwright fourth.
Where in the source: Official results table, block "Women Absolute"
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ADCC News (adcombat.com), "ADCC 2005 - A Look Back At The Women's Divisions!", 11 August 2005.(opens in a new tab)
ADCC News wrote that the 2005 championships, held on 28–29 May in Long Beach, California, were the first ADCC World Championships staged in the United States and included the first-ever women's divisions: under 60 kg and over 60 kg, plus an absolute on the second day, with $15,000 in prize money for the women.
Where in the source: Review dated 11 Aug 2005, introductory paragraphs
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In the opening round of the over-60 kg division she beat fellow Brazilian Hannette Staack (spelled 'Stack' in the report) on points; ADCC News described her approach as methodical, scoring points and staying safe, and wrote that she was rarely threatened and did not have a point scored against her in that division.
Where in the source: Over-60 kg section, opening-round match Borges v. Stack
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In the second round she beat Megumi Yabushita of Japan on points, and in the final she beat Stacy Cartwright of Australia: ADCC News wrote that Borges was too strong, that Cartwright lost points pulling guard and had to defend from closed and triangle guard against Borges's pressure for long spells.
Where in the source: Over-60 kg section, second round and final
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In the women's absolute she won her opening match 6–0 over the ten-minute regulation time, then beat Amanda Buckner 3–0 on a guard pass, and in a 20-minute final beat Tara LaRosa, who was trapped underneath early on; ADCC News wrote that she shut down her opponents' games and so won both her weight class and the absolute.
Where in the source: Absolute section, opening round, second round and final
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Tara LaRosa entered the women's absolute after the under-60 kg champion, Kyra Gracie, chose not to take part.
Where in the source: Absolute section, match Yabushita v. LaRosa
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Kid Peligro, "2005 ADCC Final day Gallery and comments", ADCC News (adcombat.com), 31 May 2005.(opens in a new tab)
Reporting on the final day, Kid Peligro singled out the women's competition and wrote that Juliana Borges "came out of nowhere" to win both the over-60 kg division and the absolute.
Where in the source: Report of 31 May 2005, first bullet on the women's performances — "came out of nowhere"
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Denis Martins, "Interview: ADCC 2005 Female Champion Juliana Borges", ADCC News (adcombat.com), 5 July 2005.(opens in a new tab)
In a July 2005 interview with ADCC News, Borges credited her two ADCC titles to several people: Fernando Boi, who gave her the black belt, and training partners including Roberto 'Gordo' Magalhães, Ricardo Libório, Renato Tavares, Flávio Cabral and Alejo Morales.
Where in the source: First answer (preparation for the tournament)
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She said that in 2005 her goal had been a good result at the Pan American wrestling championship in April, that this supported her game for ADCC, and that from early May she devoted all her time and energy to ADCC.
Where in the source: First answer, on her preparation (April wrestling goal)
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She described herself as a hyperactive child who did gymnastics, handball, basketball and swimming; her father was a judo black belt whom she watched compete, and at 12 she began judo with her uncle, also a black belt.
Where in the source: Answer on when she started martial arts
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She said she started jiu-jitsu at university to improve the groundwork of her judo, and took up wrestling after graduating.
Where in the source: Same answer, on university and wrestling
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She said her family, who practised martial arts themselves, backed her career because she had no sponsors, and that 2005 had been harder because she had not kept her job, but that she had no regrets about her decisions.
Where in the source: Answer to the question on family support
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She said her first ADCC 2005 opponent, Hannette, was a fighter she admired; they knew each other's game from Brazilian national competition, and her plan was to take Hannette down and work on the ground.
Where in the source: Answers on the first fight against Hanette
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She said she fought better in the absolute than in her weight class, which she was entering for the first time, because she imposed a tactic of blocking her opponents' best points rather than trying to put on a show.
Where in the source: Answer to the question on weight class versus absolute
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Asked about ADCC creating a women's competition, she said she was proud to show that women had earned their place in submission grappling and could put on a good show.
Where in the source: Answer to the question on the female league
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She said that two weeks after ADCC she competed at NAGA in the women's no-gi and gi divisions and in a men's no-gi division, the first time she had competed against men; she felt the difference in strength but credited training with men and the motivation from ATT.
Where in the source: Answers on the NAGA tournament after ADCC
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Asked about her next steps, she named the World University Wrestling Championships in August and the World Wrestling Championships in Hungary in September 2005, said she was unsure about the 2005 jiu-jitsu Mundial for lack of sponsors, and said she would begin the long road towards the 2008 Olympic Games.
Where in the source: Answer on her next career steps
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She listed her wrestling titles as two Pan American championships, three Brazilian championships, three Brazilian Olympic Circuit titles and the Desafio Internacional (Copa CBLA 2004).
Where in the source: Answer on her main titles, wrestling part
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Marcelo Dunlop and Rafael Werneck, "After UFC, Babalu gets the bronze medal at Wrestling Pan Ams", ADCC News (adcombat.com), 2 May 2005.(opens in a new tab)
ADCC News reported from the 2005 Pan American Wrestling Championship in Guatemala that Juliana Borges, the reigning Pan American champion, won her second consecutive gold medal by beating Jackie Fuentes of Venezuela in the final, as one of the Brazilian team's winners under head coach Roberto Leitão.
Where in the source: Report dated 2 May 2005, paragraph after the Babalu quote — "second consecutive gold medal"
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Japan Wrestling Federation, "World Championship Results - Women 63 kg" (Budapest, 29 September 2005), archived copy at the Internet Archive (capture of 5 December 2021).(opens in a new tab)
At the 2005 World Wrestling Championships in Budapest, Juliana Borges of Brazil lost her preliminary-round bout in the women's 63 kg class (24 entries) to Monika Michalik-Rogien of Poland, 2–1 on periods, on 29 September 2005.
Where in the source: Results list "Women 63 kg", section "Preliminaries" (Michalik-Rogien v. Borges)
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IBJJF, "World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2004" (results).(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's results for the 2004 World Championship list Juliana Vieira, team Fernando Boi, in third place in the adult purple/brown/black women's middleweight division.
Where in the source: Division "ADULT / PURPLE BROWN BLACK / FEMALE / MIDDLE", place 3
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IBJJF, "World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 2009" (results).(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF's results for the 2009 World Championship list Juliana Borges of American Top Team in third place in the adult brown/black women's lightweight division, behind Luanna Alzuguir (first) and Kyra Gracie (second).
Where in the source: Division "ADULT / BROWN BLACK / FEMALE / LIGHT", places 1–3
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Kathrine Burne, "Throwback: ADCC 2005 Introduces First Women's Divisions", Jitsmagazine, 10 October 2023.(opens in a new tab)
Jitsmagazine writes that ADCC 2005 was the first time the event opened to women, and that by winning the over-60 kg division and the absolute Juliana Borges became the first female double champion in ADCC history; it describes her over-60 kg final against Stacy Cartwright as won by the narrowest of margins.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph; over-60 kg and absolute sections
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Alex Lindsey, "Which ADCC Double Champion Had The Hardest Journey?", Jitsmagazine, 26 August 2020.(opens in a new tab)
Writing in August 2020, Jitsmagazine said the only women to win two titles at a single ADCC were Juliana Borges (2005) and Hannette Staack (2007), that there had been no women's brackets at ADCC before 2005, and that the women's divisions were limited to eight competitors against sixteen for the men.
Where in the source: Paragraph on the women double champions
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Lineage
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Open lineage