Maria Luiza Nunes Pinto, commonly known as Maria Luiza, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Caio Almeida and a member of the Almeida Jiu-Jitsu team who often represents the Atos Association in international events due to the affiliation between AJJ and Atos. Maria Luiza first made waves in the sport as a juvenile but it was as a brown belt that she truly broke through as one of the top competitors of her generation through her wins in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World & Brazilian National Championships. Maria Luiza was born on October 31st, 2002, in the city of Tiradentes, located inside Sao Paulo's state borders in Brazil. When she was 9, Maria moved to Rio de Janeiro, and it was there that the young Paulista joined her first jiu-jitsu class, influenced by her father-in-law, who was a brown belt at the time. This first contact took place at a social project in the Beira do Rio community with a coach named Kimo. Maria's time training jiu-jitsu at her neighborhood's social project ended abruptly when the workgroup shut down, but Luiza was already too much of a fan of the sport to quit. She would go on to join Nova União's team in the Recreio area with coaches Jobel Teixeira and Leandro Thule, who promoted the young athlete until her orange belt. As a 14-year-old, Luiza returned to Sao Paulo and joined Caio Almeida's team (Almeida Jiu-Jitsu) and it was there that her sporting mentality took a turn towards a full-time occupation. An ambition that was cemented during her first trip to the United States of America, at age 15, an experience that fueled her aspirations in the sport. Under the guidance of her mentor, Caio Almeida, Maria Luiza went through the belt ranks with great competitive success, a good form that led to her black belt promotion on June 3, 2023. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );