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Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro

“Tatá”

Source: bjjheroes.com

Brazilian black belt who took three years off, restarted at white belt, beat Ffion Davies for a Pan title and won the 2024 IBJJF Worlds at featherweight.

Biography

Nathalie Ribeiro, known as Tatá, is a Brazilian black belt who won the featherweight division at the 2024 IBJJF World Championship. Her route there ran from a childhood in a jiu-jitsu family in Rio de Janeiro, through a three-year break and a fresh start at white belt, to an athletic scholarship in the United States and a string of lightweight titles before she moved down a weight class. Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro comes from Recreio dos Bandeirantes in Rio de Janeiro, where she was born on November 6, 1992. Her nickname is a short form of Nathalie, according to BJJ Heroes. Both of her parents trained jiu-jitsu, her father as a black belt and her mother, at the time, as a blue belt. As a girl she competed in gymnastics, swimming and trampolining, and she took up jiu-jitsu at eight. Her first teacher was a coach named Valdemar, who ran a small class in her building complex in Jacarepaguá. From then on, where she trained depended on where her parents were based, and several coaches had a hand in her progress to blue belt, which she received in 2009. Jiujiteira Magazine has described her family as an important support throughout her career. Not long after reaching blue belt, Ribeiro stepped away from the mats for three years. When she came back, she chose to put on a white belt again and start over under Master Sylvio Behring, who later promoted her to blue and then to purple belt. IBJJF results from 2015 still list her with Equipe Behring. That year she went to the United States for the IBJJF Pan Championship and World Championship. At purple belt she took bronze at featherweight at the Pans, in a division Bianca Basilio won, and bronze at lightweight at the World No-Gi Championship. While she was in the US, João Silva and Aloísio Silva offered her an athletic scholarship, which she accepted, and João Silva later promoted her to brown belt. There she also got to know Lucas Leite of CheckMat La Habra, and the two became friends. He offered her work as an instructor at his academy, where she began training under him as well. As a brown belt competing for CheckMat, she took silver at lightweight at the 2017 World Championship, behind Catherine Fuhro Perret Mitria, and gold at featherweight at both the 2017 World No-Gi Championship and the 2018 Pan Championship. Leite promoted her to black belt in 2018. IBJJF's athlete page lists her academy as Lucas Leite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Her black belt record in this profile rests mainly on IBJJF's own result lists and news articles; the lists name the medalists in each division, not the matches behind them. At the 2018 World Championship she took bronze at featherweight, and according to IBJJF she beat Bianca Basilio, later the 2022 featherweight world champion, on the way to the podium. In May 2023 the federation wrote that she had fought at lightweight for the previous four years. Her golds in that division included the Pan Championship in 2021 and 2022, the Pan No-Gi in 2021, the European Championship and the Brazilian Nationals in 2022, and the World No-Gi Championship in 2019. At the 2022 Europeans she also took bronze in the open class, where weight divisions do not apply. Jiujiteira Magazine noted in 2022 that since her promotion she had been a regular at IBJJF events, no-gi tournaments and superfights such as Fight2Win. In March 2023 she lost a superfight at the IBJJF Grand Prix to Janaina Lebre, by decision, 3-2 on points. The 2022 Pan title came against Ffion Davies, who, according to Jiujiteira Magazine, had won every one of their earlier meetings and had beaten Ribeiro four times. This time, in the black belt lightweight final, Ribeiro won. The magazine's report credited a sweep with giving her the edge and described her as overwhelmed with emotion on the podium. At the 2022 World Championship, Davies won the lightweight division and Ribeiro took bronze, as she had in 2021. Later that year Ribeiro spoke out about how women were treated in competition. The IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix of October 28, 2022, had no superfights featuring women, and Jiujiteira Magazine reported that she was among the first athletes to raise concerns on social media about the limited opportunities given to women. In the post the magazine quoted, she said women had "no equality in Jiu-Jitsu sports" and criticized federations that paid women less than men or nothing at all, superfight cards with only one or two women's matches, a leading grappling tournament with only two women's divisions, and media coverage that favored men. In 2023 she returned to featherweight. She told IBJJF that Leite had always wanted her in that division because of her build, and that she weighed no more than 138 pounds in a gi. She had stayed at lightweight, she said, because she had not paid attention to her diet and did not know how to cut weight properly, which had affected her performance. At that year's European Championship, where she took silver at lightweight behind Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa, Leite and someone she called Rico persuaded her to cut to featherweight, at least for the World Championship. She said she now had a team helping her with her diet. At the Houston International Open that year she entered featherweight instead of her usual lightweight, won both of her matches and took gold, and IBJJF reported that she would also enter featherweight at the San Diego Open and at the World Championship. Before the 2023 World Championship she told IBJJF that she had never fought Ana "ARod" Rodrigues and wanted to test herself against her, citing Rodrigues's jiu-jitsu and her self-assured mindset, which Ribeiro said had inspired her own confidence. IBJJF's preview of the event called Ribeiro well-rounded and a master of the spider guard, an open guard built on sleeve grips with the feet pressed against the opponent's arms, and said she uses it to off-balance and submit opponents. At that World Championship she did not reach the featherweight podium; Bianca Basilio won the division and Rodrigues took silver. A year later, on June 2, 2024, Ribeiro and Rodrigues met in the black belt featherweight final of the World Championship. Ribeiro won the gold medal, and Rodrigues took silver.

Sources for this profile

  • BJJ Heroes, "Nathalie Ribeiro", fighter profile (undated).(opens in a new tab)

    • BJJ Heroes says Lucas Leite promoted her to black belt on 12 March 2018.

      Where in the source: Biography section, last paragraph — 'March 12, 2018'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes gives her full name as Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro and says her nickname, Tatá, is a shortened form of Nathalie.

      Where in the source: Fact list, nickname line — 'shortened version'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes says she was born on 6 November 1992 in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

      Where in the source: Biography section, first paragraph — 'Recreio dos Bandeirantes'

      Accessed:

    • According to BJJ Heroes, both her parents practised jiu-jitsu, her father as a black belt and her mother then a blue belt, and she competed in gymnastics, swimming and trampolining before adding jiu-jitsu at the age of eight.

      Where in the source: Biography section, second paragraph — 'age of 8'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes says her first instructor was a coach named Valdemar, who ran a small class in her building complex in Jacarepaguá; her training then depended on where her parents were based, and several coaches took her to blue belt in 2009.

      Where in the source: Biography section, third paragraph — 'Coach Valdemar'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes says that shortly after reaching blue belt she stepped away from the mats for three years.

      Where in the source: Biography section, fourth paragraph — 'for 3 years'

      Accessed:

    • When she returned, she chose to start again from white belt under Master Sylvio Behring, who later promoted her to blue and to purple belt.

      Where in the source: Biography section, fourth paragraph, return to training — 'start from scratch'

      Accessed:

    • BJJ Heroes says that in 2015 she travelled to the United States to compete at the IBJJF Pan and World Championships, that João Silva and Aloísio Silva offered her an athletic scholarship there, which she accepted, and that João later promoted her to brown belt.

      Where in the source: Biography section, fifth paragraph — 'athletic scholarship'

      Accessed:

    • In the United States she befriended Lucas Leite of Checkmat La Habra, who offered her a job as an instructor at his academy, where she also began training under him.

      Where in the source: Biography section, sixth paragraph, job offer at the La Habra academy — 'instructor'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "2024 IBJJF Worlds Black Belt Results and Recap", news article published 5 June 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro of CheckMat placed first in the adult female black belt featherweight division; Ana Cristina Araujo Rodrigues (DreamArt) placed second, and Margot Ciccarelli and Larissa Campos Carvalho shared third.

      Where in the source: Results list after the recap, under 'ADULT FEMALE BLACK FEATHER' — '1 NATHALIE WAN SOARES VERAS RIBEIRO, CheckMat'

      Accessed:

  • FloGrappling, Corey Stockton, "Everything You Need To Know Before The 2024 IBJJF Worlds Black Belt Finals", 2 June 2024.(opens in a new tab)

    • FloGrappling's guide to the final day of the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, Sunday 2 June 2024, listed the women's black belt featherweight final as Ana Rodrigues vs Nathalie Ribeiro.

      Where in the source: 'Women's finals' list, Featherweight entry — 'Ana Rodrigues vs Nathalie Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Danny O'Donnell, "Euro, Pan, & Brasileiro Lightweight Champion Nathalie Ribeiro Drops To Feather For Worlds", 19 May 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF wrote in May 2023 that Ribeiro had competed in the black belt lightweight division for the previous four years and had won gold in it at the Europeans (2022), the Pans (2021 and 2022), the Brazilian Nationals (2022), the Worlds No-Gi (2019) and the Pans No-Gi (2021).

      Where in the source: Opening paragraph, list of gold medals at lightweight — 'Brazilian Nationals (2022)'

      Accessed:

    • According to IBJJF, she took third place at the 2018 World Championship at featherweight and defeated Bianca Basilio, the 2022 featherweight world champion, on her way to that podium.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on featherweight suiting her body — 'took third at the 2018 Worlds'

      Accessed:

    • Ribeiro told IBJJF that her professor Lucas Leite had always wanted her to keep competing at featherweight because of her body shape, and that she weighs no more than 138 lb in a gi.

      Where in the source: First quote after the 2018 Worlds paragraph — 'because of my body shape'

      Accessed:

    • She told IBJJF she had stayed at lightweight because she had not focused on her diet and did not know how to make a proper weight cut, which affected her performance; at that year's Europeans, Leite and someone she named only as Rico persuaded her to cut to featherweight at least for the Worlds, and she said she now had a team helping with her diet.

      Where in the source: Same quote, second half — 'a proper weight cut'

      Accessed:

    • Before the 2023 Worlds, Ribeiro told IBJJF she had never fought Anna 'ARod' Rodrigues and wanted to test herself against her because of Rodrigues's jiu-jitsu and her confident mindset, which Ribeiro said had inspired her own confidence.

      Where in the source: Quote on the featherweight field — 'never fought ARod'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Danny O'Donnell, "Dream Matchups At The 2023 World Championships", 24 May 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's preview of the 2023 Worlds called Ribeiro well-rounded and a master of the spider guard, a position it said she uses to off-balance and submit her opponents.

      Where in the source: Section 'Nathalie Ribeiro x Anna Rodrigues' — 'master of the spider guard'

      Accessed:

    • IBJJF noted that for the 2023 Worlds she would drop to featherweight, a division she had not competed in since the 2019 Worlds.

      Where in the source: Same section as c08, opening sentences — 'hasn't competed in since the 2019 Worlds'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, Danny O'Donnell, "Houston International Open Results: World Champ Matheus Gabriel Returns; Nathalie Ribeiro Wins Gold At Featherweight", 15 May 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2023 Houston International Open, Ribeiro dropped from her usual lightweight division to featherweight, won both of her matches and took gold; IBJJF reported she would also compete at featherweight at the San Diego Open and the World Championships.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on Matheus Gabriel's CheckMat teammate — 'winning both to take gold'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's results for the 2023 World Championship list Bianca Barbosa Basilio first and Ana Cristina Araujo Rodrigues second in the adult female black belt featherweight division, with Gabriela Andrelevicius Pereira and Margot Ciccarelli third; Ribeiro is not among the medallists.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / FEATHER (129.00LB)' — '1 Bianca Barbosa Basilio'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2017", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2017 IBJJF World Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed second in the adult female brown belt lightweight division, behind Catherine Fuhro Perret Mitria.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BROWN / LIGHT (141.60LB)' — '2 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship 2017", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2017 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed first in the adult female brown belt featherweight division (125 lb).

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BROWN / FEATHER (125.00LB)' — '1 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2018 IBJJF Pan Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed first in the adult female brown belt featherweight division.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BROWN / FEATHER (129.00LB)' — '1 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2018 IBJJF World Championship, Ribeiro (listed under CheckMat International) placed third in the adult female black belt featherweight division.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / FEATHER (129.00LB)' — '3 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship 2019", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2019 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed first in the adult female black belt lightweight division (136 lb), ahead of Jena Rae Bishop.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (136.00LB)' — '1 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2021", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2021 IBJJF World Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed third in the adult female black belt lightweight division.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB)' — '3 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2022", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2022 IBJJF Pan Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed first in the adult female black belt lightweight division, with Ffion Eira Davies second.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB)' — '1 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2022", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2022 IBJJF European Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed first in the adult female black belt lightweight division (64 kg) and third in the adult female black belt open class.

      Where in the source: Divisions 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (64.00KG)' and '... / OPEN CLASS' — '1' and '3 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2022", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2022 IBJJF World Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed third in the adult female black belt lightweight division, which Ffion Eira Davies won.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (141.60LB)' — '3 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2023 IBJJF European Championship, Ribeiro (CheckMat) placed second in the adult female black belt lightweight division, behind Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT (64.00KG)' — '2 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2015", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2015 IBJJF Pan Championship, Ribeiro, registered with Equipe Behring, placed third in the adult female purple belt featherweight division, which Bianca Barbosa Basilio won.

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / PURPLE / FEATHER (125.00LB)' — '3 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro, Equipe Behring'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi IBJJF Championship 2015", official results page.(opens in a new tab)

    • At the 2015 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, Ribeiro, registered with Equipe Behring, placed third in the adult female purple belt lightweight division (136 lb).

      Where in the source: Division 'FEMALE / ADULT / PURPLE / LIGHT (136.00LB)' — '3 Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

  • IBJJF, "Athlete Results: Nathalie Ribeiro", athlete ranking page (undated), read 6 October 2026.(opens in a new tab)

    • IBJJF's athlete results page for Nathalie Ribeiro lists her as a black belt with the academy Lucas Leite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

      Where in the source: Header of 'ATHLETE RESULTS' — 'Lucas Leite Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu', 'Black'

      Accessed:

  • Jiujiteira Magazine, Evelyn Sutton, "Heart of Gold, Journey to Glory", 25 May 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • Jiujiteira Magazine's May 2022 cover story says she was born on 6 November 1992 in Rio de Janeiro and is commonly known as 'Tata' Ribeiro.

      Where in the source: Section on Nathalie Ribeiro, first paragraph — 'Born November 6, 1992'

      Accessed:

    • The same story says she received her black belt in 2018 and has since competed regularly at IBJJF events, no-gi tournaments and superfights such as Fight2Win.

      Where in the source: Section on Nathalie Ribeiro, second paragraph — 'received her black belt in 2018'

      Accessed:

    • Jiujiteira Magazine says that when she beat Ffion Davies for the 2022 Pan title, she had previously lost to Davies in four matches.

      Where in the source: Section on Nathalie Ribeiro, second paragraph, Pan 2022 — 'previously lost to in four matches'

      Accessed:

    • The story says both her parents train jiu-jitsu and that family has always been an important support in her career.

      Where in the source: Section on Nathalie Ribeiro, third paragraph — 'important support system'

      Accessed:

  • Jiujiteira Magazine, Evelyn Sutton, "Nathalie Ribeiro wins battle against nemesis Ffion Davies", 11 April 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • Jiujiteira Magazine reported that Ffion Davies had won every one of their earlier meetings before the 2022 Pan Championship black belt final, which Ribeiro won with a sweep that gave her the edge; it described her as overwhelmed with emotion on the podium.

      Where in the source: Match report, closing paragraph — 'a sweep that gave her the edge'

      Accessed:

    • The report calls her the Brazilian athlete, affectionately known as Tata Ribeiro and originally from Rio de Janeiro, and says the 2022 title was her second Pan gold at black belt after she won both the gi and no-gi Pans in 2021.

      Where in the source: Paragraph beginning 'Affectionately known as' — 'the Brazilian athlete'

      Accessed:

  • Jiujiteira Magazine, Evelyn Sutton, "Women Demand Equality in Jiu-Jitsu", 14 November 2022.(opens in a new tab)

    • Jiujiteira Magazine reported that after the IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix of 28 October 2022, whose card had no superfights with women, Ribeiro was one of the first athletes to voice concerns on social media about the limited opportunities given to women.

      Where in the source: Paragraph on the Oct. 28th Grand Prix — 'one of the first athletes to voice her concerns'

      Accessed:

    • In the post the magazine quoted, she criticised federations that paid women less than men or nothing, superfight cards with only one or two women's matches, a leading grappling tournament with only two women's divisions, and media coverage that favoured men.

      Where in the source: Quoted post attributed to Ribeiro — 'women have no equality in Jiu-Jitsu sports'

      Accessed:

  • Jitsmagazine, "IBJJF Grand Prix 2023: Men's Lightweight And Women's Heavyweight Full Results And Review", 4 March 2023.(opens in a new tab)

    • Jitsmagazine's results for the IBJJF Grand Prix in March 2023 list a superfight in which Janaina Lebre defeated Nathalie Ribeiro by decision, 3-2 on points.

      Where in the source: 'Superfights' list — 'Janaina Lebre defeats Nathalie Ribeiro'

      Accessed:

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