Luiza Monteiro
Brazilian black belt who won world titles with and without the gi, left her belt on the mat after a 2024 world title, and was competing again a year later.
Biography
Sources for this profile
IBJJF News, "2024 IBJJF Worlds Black Belt Results and Recap", by Danny O'Donnell, published 06/05/24.(opens in a new tab)
Monteiro won the adult female black belt lightweight division at the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, listed in the official results as Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa of Atos Jiu-Jitsu.
Where in the source: Results list under the heading ADULT FEMALE BLACK LIGHT, first place
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According to IBJJF, the 2024 Worlds gold was Monteiro's third world title, and she finished every opponent she faced at the event.
Where in the source: Paragraph on the Atos athletes — "third world titles"; "finish in all her matches"
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After winning the 2024 Worlds, Monteiro publicly retired from IBJJF Grand Slam tournaments.
Where in the source: Same paragraph — "public retirement from Grand Slam"
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IBJJF wrote that over her career Monteiro won every Grand Slam tournament more than once and reached twelve black belt Worlds finals.
Where in the source: Same paragraph — "twelve black belt Worlds finals"
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IBJJF News, "Luiza Monteiro Europeans Interview: 'My Goal Is To Win Every Major At Lightweight This Year'" (undated on page; previews the 2023 European Championship).(opens in a new tab)
At the 2019 European Championship Monteiro won the medium-heavy division, beating three-time world champion Claudia Doval in the final, and took silver in the absolute after a close final against Nathiely de Jesus.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph and the paragraph on the 2019 Europeans — "medium-heavy division"
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Monteiro said she was injured before the 2019 Europeans and planned to enter only her weight division, but signed up for the open class at the venue and reached its final.
Where in the source: Her answer on the open class — "in the open class"
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In 2022 her only competition was the inaugural IBJJF FloGrappling Female Grand Prix, where she placed third after close matches against Janaina Lebre and Mayssa Bastos.
Where in the source: Second paragraph — "Female Grand Prix"
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Her two most recent meetings with Nathalie Ribeiro before 2023 were both wins: a 5-4 decision in the 2020 Pans final and a 50/50 armbar in the 2021 Worlds semifinal; Monteiro said she admired Ribeiro's jiu-jitsu.
Where in the source: Paragraph on the lightweight division — "5-4 victory"; "50/50 armbar"
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Before the 2023 Europeans, her first since 2019 and this time at lightweight rather than medium-heavy, Monteiro, by then a two-time world champion, set the goal of winning the Europeans, Pans, Brazilian Nationals and Worlds at lightweight that year; IBJJF noted she had won gold at all four but never in one season.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph — "2X World Champion"; closing quote — "every major championship at lightweight"
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Jitsmagazine, "Luiza Monteiro Announces Retirement At IBJJF World Championship 2024", by Kathrine Burne, June 4, 2024.(opens in a new tab)
Monteiro won the 2024 Worlds lightweight final by submitting Brianna Ste-Marie with a toehold.
Where in the source: Third paragraph — "toehold to submit Brianna Ste-Marie"
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After the 2024 Worlds final she took off her black belt and left it on the mat, the traditional sign of a competitor's retirement, and then held up a Leandro Lo T-shirt in tribute to the late champion.
Where in the source: First and third paragraphs — "black belt on the mats"; "Leandro Lo t-shirt"
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Before 2024 she had won IBJJF World Championship gold in 2015 and 2017, and she won three IBJJF No-Gi World Championship titles over her career.
Where in the source: First and second paragraphs — "in 2015 and 2017"; "3 IBJJF No Gi World Championship"
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FloGrappling, "Gustavo Batista And Luiza Monteiro Join Atos", Jan 30, 2018.(opens in a new tab)
In January 2018 Monteiro and Gustavo Batista moved from Leandro Lo's NS Brotherhood team to André Galvão's Atos, based in San Diego.
Where in the source: Standfirst and first paragraph — "Leandro Lo’s NS Brotherhood team"
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When she joined Atos in 2018, FloGrappling listed her titles as two black belt world titles in the gi, three no-gi world titles, four Pan titles and five Brazilian titles, and noted that Atos then had only two other female black belts, Bianca Basílio and Heather Raftery.
Where in the source: Paragraph after Galvão’s quote — "only two female black belts"
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On leaving, Monteiro wrote on Instagram that a new stage was beginning and thanked NS Brotherhood for their time together and for everything she had learned.
Where in the source: Paragraph quoting her Instagram — "I'm very grateful to NS Brotherhood"
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FloGrappling, "The Lethal Leglocks of Luiza Monteiro: A Mini Study", by Hywel Teague, Feb 8, 2016.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2016 European Championship Monteiro used kneebars, toeholds and footlocks to submit three opponents on her way to middleweight gold, and also took bronze in the absolute.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph — "she tapped out three opponents"
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FloGrappling's breakdown showed her reaching the legs from different positions: a toehold turned into a kneebar, a blocked knee-slice pass (which it called her trademark) turned into a footlock, and a spider-guard overhead sweep turned into a kneebar.
Where in the source: Three sequence headings — "Toehold to Kneebar", "Pass to Footlock", "Spider Guard Entry to Kneebar"
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IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2010.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2010 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship she won the combined adult brown and black belt female medium-heavy division, registered as Luiza Monteiro da Costa of Check Mat BJJ, ahead of Penny Thomas.
Where in the source: Division heading ADULT / BROWN BLACK / FEMALE / MEDIUM HEAVY — place 1 "Luiza Monteiro da Costa", Check Mat Bjj
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IBJJF, official results, World Jiu-Jitsu No Gi Championship 2012.(opens in a new tab)
She won the adult female black belt middleweight division at the 2012 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship, representing PSLPB Cicero Costha, and took bronze in the open class.
Where in the source: FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MIDDLE (147.00LB) — place 1, PSLPB Cicero Costha; FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS — place 3
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IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship 2013.(opens in a new tab)
She won the adult female black belt medium-heavy division at the 2013 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship, representing PSLPB Cicero Costha, and took bronze in the open class.
Where in the source: FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MEDIUM HEAVY (158.00LB) — place 1, PSLPB Cicero Costha; OPEN CLASS — place 3
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IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship 2014.(opens in a new tab)
She won the adult female black belt middleweight division at the 2014 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship, representing PSLPB Cicero Costha, and took bronze in the open class.
Where in the source: FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MIDDLE (147.00LB) — place 1, PSLPB Cicero Costha; OPEN CLASS — place 3
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IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2015.(opens in a new tab)
Her first black belt world title in the gi came at the 2015 IBJJF World Championship, where she won the female middleweight division for PSLPB Cicero Costha, ahead of Luanna Alzuguir.
Where in the source: FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MIDDLE (147.00LB) — place 1, PSLPB Cicero Costha; place 2 Luanna Alzuguir
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IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2017.(opens in a new tab)
She won her second gi world title at the 2017 IBJJF World Championship in the female lightweight division, representing NS Brotherhood, ahead of Beatriz Mesquita.
Where in the source: FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB) — place 1, Ns Brotherhood; place 2 Beatriz de Oliveira Mesquita
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IBJJF, official results, European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023.(opens in a new tab)
At the 2023 European Championship she won the adult female black belt lightweight division for Atos Jiu-Jitsu, with Nathalie Ribeiro second, and took bronze in the open class.
Where in the source: FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (64.00KG) — place 1, Atos Jiu-Jitsu; FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS — place 3
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Jitsmagazine, "IBJJF Pan Championship 2023 Full Results And Review", March 27, 2023.(opens in a new tab)
She won the women's black belt lightweight division at the 2023 IBJJF Pan Championship, with Ffion Davies second.
Where in the source: Full results, Women's Divisions, Lightweight — "1 – Luiza Monteiro"
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Jitsmagazine, "IBJJF Brazilian National Championship 2023 Full Results And Review", May 8, 2023.(opens in a new tab)
She also won the women's black belt lightweight division at the 2023 IBJJF Brazilian National Championship.
Where in the source: Results, Women's Divisions, Lightweight — "1 – Luiza Monteiro"
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Jitsmagazine, "IBJJF: The Crown Full Results And Review", November 20, 2023.(opens in a new tab)
At the IBJJF event The Crown in November 2023 she won the women's lightweight bracket, beating Brianna Ste-Marie 6-2 on points and Nathalie Ribeiro 12-0 on points in the final.
Where in the source: Women's Lightweight Division — "Luiza Monteiro defeats Nathalie Ribeiro via Decision – Points (12-0)"
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FloGrappling, "Luiza Monteiro Headlines Lightweight Field At IBJJF Crown", by Joe Gilpin, Oct 7, 2024.(opens in a new tab)
FloGrappling wrote in October 2024 that her win at The Crown the year before had given new momentum to her pursuit of world gold.
Where in the source: Paragraph under her name — "helped reignite her campaign for World gold"
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FloGrappling, "Luiza Monteiro, 3-time IBJJF World Champion retires; Salutes Leandro Lo", by Kylie Rodriguez, Jun 2, 2024.(opens in a new tab)
She announced her retirement on June 2, 2024, at the IBJJF World Championship at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, aged 35, and saluted Leandro Lo by holding up a shirt bearing his face.
Where in the source: Opening paragraph — "announced at 35-years-old she was retiring"; later — "holding up a shirt with his face"
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Jitsmagazine, "IBJJF Pan Championship 2025 Full Results And Highlights", March 24, 2025.(opens in a new tab)
She competed again in 2025, taking silver in the women's black belt lightweight division at the IBJJF Pan Championship behind Janaina Lebre.
Where in the source: Full results, Women's Divisions, Lightweight — "2 – Luiza Monteiro"
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IBJJF, official results, World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025 (final result Jun/01/2025).(opens in a new tab)
At the 2025 IBJJF World Championship she reached the female black belt lightweight final again and took silver for Atos Jiu-Jitsu, behind Janaina Maia de Menezes of AOJ.
Where in the source: FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB) — place 2 "Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa", Atos Jiu-Jitsu
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IBJJF News, "Luiza Monteiro Looks to Conquer The Crown's 64 kg Division", by Danny O'Donnell, published 09/26/23.(opens in a new tab)
IBJJF called 2023 a career-defining year for her, with major titles at the Europeans, Pans and Brazilian Nationals; she lost only one major championship match that year, to Brianna Ste-Marie at the Worlds, about a month after beating Ste-Marie at the Brazilian Nationals.
Where in the source: Main paragraph — "career-defining year"; "only major championship loss"
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In September 2023 IBJJF wrote that no other active adult black belt had won more major championship golds than she had.
Where in the source: Main paragraph — "any other active adult black belt"
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IBJJF singled out her style: her ability to sweep and to transition from dynamic guard passing to back attacks.
Where in the source: Main paragraph — "dynamic passing to back attacks"
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IBJJF described The Crown, where she was entered in the first 64 kg women's division in November 2023, as its biggest professional event to date, with a large prize pool, and dated the start of her black belt career to late 2010.
Where in the source: Opening sentence — "biggest professional event"; later — "late 2010"
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BJJ Heroes, "Luiza Monteiro" fighter profile.(opens in a new tab)
BJJ Heroes gives her full name as Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa and says she was born in 1988 in Salvador, Bahia, and moved to Niterói in Rio de Janeiro state as a small child.
Where in the source: Biography, first paragraph — "historical city of Salvador"; profile card, Full Name
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According to BJJ Heroes, she first trained Muay Thai from about age 12, then tried jiu-jitsu at around 13 or 14 when a school friend invited her to her academy; she joined the Equipe Luiz Paulo team, where coach Junior Duarte gave her the blue belt.
Where in the source: Biography, second paragraph — "invited by a school friend"
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BJJ Heroes says she then trained under several coaches within the Brasa and CheckMat network: Fabrício 'Bicudo' Medeiros gave her the purple belt, Leo Vieira the brown belt, and Rodrigo Cavaca promoted her to black belt in December 2010, after brown belt medals at the Pans and Worlds in combined brown and black belt divisions.
Where in the source: Biography, third paragraph — "black belt in December 2010"
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BJJ Heroes says she joined the PSLPB team of Cícero Costha in 2011, a project she had become involved with on trips to São Paulo, and that her time at his academy coincided with a strong period in which she won numerous medals at major tournaments.
Where in the source: Biography, fourth paragraph — "joined PSLPB team"
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BJJ Heroes says that in late 2014 she was invited to join the coaching staff of Unity BJJ in New York City and stayed four months, then returned to São Paulo to prepare with Cícero Costha; the 2015 season brought back-to-back wins at the Brazilian Nationals and the World Championship.
Where in the source: Biography, fifth paragraph — "coaches roster"
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BJJ Heroes says she moved to San Diego in January 2018 to join the Atos headquarters academy led by André and Angélica Galvão, after a spell with New School Brotherhood; it lists her favourite position as the choke from the back.
Where in the source: Biography, last paragraph — "January 2018"; profile card, Favorite Position/Technique
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Graciemag, "Copa Pódio: Luiza Monteiro Talks Match with Mackenzie, Requests Female GP", Redação Graciemag, 11/01/2013.(opens in a new tab)
In January 2013, representing Cícero Costha's academy, she argued for a grand prix for women, saying there were many tough female athletes and that such events would show women's jiu-jitsu was worth watching.
Where in the source: Last answer — "it would be really interesting to put together a GP for girls"
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Graciemag, "Queen of Mats: Luiza Monteiro claims title undefeated in Rio", Redação Graciemag, 01/11/2019 (marked [Source: PR.]).(opens in a new tab)
On 1 November 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil's Luiza Monteiro became the first lightweight Abu Dhabi Queen of Mats, finishing three of her four opponents (Talita Alencar by triangle, Amal Amjahid by armbar, Bianca Basílio by a choke from the back) and beating Ana Rodrigues 4-0 on points in the final.
Where in the source: Intro — "the first ever lightweight Abu Dhabi Queen of Mats"; group, semifinal and final reports
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After the Queen of Mats win she said she had wanted to finish every opponent, called it an honour to face the new generation, and said she wanted to show that women's jiu-jitsu could match the men's for excitement.
Where in the source: Final report, her quote — "as exciting as men's"
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Graciemag, "Luiza Monteiro's surprise foot lock at the San Francisco Open", Redação Graciemag, 03/03/2018.(opens in a new tab)
Weeks after joining Atos, she won the middleweight division at the 2018 San Francisco Open with a sudden footlock on Sábatha Santos in the final.
Where in the source: Article text — "swiftly attack the foot of the free leg"
Accessed:
Wikipedia, "Luiza Monteiro", last edited 6 January 2026.(opens in a new tab)
Wikipedia gives her birthplace as Salvador, Bahia, Brazil, says the family relocated to Niterói during her infancy, and describes her as a Brazilian grappler.
Where in the source: Infobox, Born — "Salvador, Bahia, Brazil"; Biography section, first paragraph
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Graciemag, "Luiza Monteiro, another tough cookie in the mix", Redação Graciemag, 21/01/2011.(opens in a new tab)
In January 2011 Monteiro told Graciemag she had trained with Leo Vieira in São Paulo since 2009, had spent time in the United States with Lucas Leite, and had then accepted Rodrigo Cavaca's offer to train with him, living in Santos alongside athletes such as Michelle Nicolini.
Where in the source: First interview answer — "since 2009, training with Leo Vieira"
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Graciemag reported that she had taken the No-Gi world title at purple belt in 2009 and won it again in 2010 against a black belt opponent; she said she was still a brown belt at the time.
Where in the source: Intro — "as a purple belt in 2009"; answer on objectives — "still a brown belt"
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Starting her first black belt season, she said she slightly preferred no-gi competition and named the no-gi Brazilian Nationals and the No-Gi Worlds among her biggest goals, alongside the Pans, the Worlds and the ADCC trials.
Where in the source: Intro — "preference for No-Gi tournaments"; answer on objectives
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She credited training with Michelle Nicolini and corrections from Lucas Leite and Rodrigo Cavaca for her progress, saying she had gone from second- and third-place finishes to winning.
Where in the source: Answer on standing out at black belt — "second, third place"
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In 2011 she described women's jiu-jitsu as a growing, highly technical field whose earlier hardships had eased, though it still needed more attention and better prize money.
Where in the source: Final answer, on the female jiu-jitsu scene
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Lineage
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Open lineage