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Serena Gabrielli

Italian black belt under Andrea Verdemare, of Flow in Rome. IBJJF World Master champion at Master 2 rooster in 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Last updated: 20 September 2026

Biography

Serena Gabrielli is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt from Rome who competes for the Flow academy and was promoted to black belt by Andrea Verdemare. The IBJJF's own results database records her as World Master champion in the Master 2 rooster division in 2024, 2025 and 2026, and in 2025 she also took the European, the Pan and the Brasileiro at Master 2 light feather. She did not begin in jiu-jitsu. BJJ Heroes puts her birth on 16 March 1987 in Rome and says she came to martial arts at 18, at a traditional Japanese ju-jutsu class close to where she lived, and held a black belt in that system by the age of 22. On the day of that promotion she met Verdemare, who taught Brazilian jiu-jitsu; within a month she had put the ju-jutsu rank away and enrolled again as a beginner, this time in BJJ, at white belt. She told Jiu Jitsu Legacy in November 2021 that she had been training jiu-jitsu for twelve years, which places the switch around 2009. Her first official coach was Federico Tisi, whom BJJ Heroes identifies as the first Italian to hold a BJJ black belt, but Verdemare had followed her from the start and awarded each of her belts, the blue one jointly with Tisi. The lineage recorded for her runs from Carlos Gracie through Helio Gracie, Carlos Gracie Junior, Carlos Lemos, Tisi and Verdemare. As a brown belt in 2015 she won both the IBJJF World Championship and the European Open, and her own black belt followed on 12 July that year, shortly after the world title. Her earlier coloured-belt results include the Rome International Open in 2015 and 2014, the London Winter International Open in 2015 and the London International Open in 2013, with second place at the 2012 European Open and third at the 2014 European Open and at the London International Open in 2014 and 2012. In the adult divisions BJJ Heroes credits her with European Open titles in 2017 and 2018, second place there in 2019 and third in 2016; third at the World Championship in 2016 and 2021; and third at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Her own summary does not line up with that list. Introducing herself in November 2021 she counted four European titles, one world title, silver at both the Worlds and the Pans, and bronze at the Worlds under the IBJJF and the AJP, where the BJJ Heroes list holds three European golds, the first of them from her brown-belt year. The two counts are left as they stand; neither is corrected against the other here. That interview is also the fullest record of how she worked. She trained three times a day from Monday to Friday, one conditioning session and two jiu-jitsu classes, and kept the same schedule right through the competition season instead of building a special routine for each event. Verdemare was the biggest influence on her game, she said, because he is a rooster weight himself, adapts to whoever is in front of him and finds a way out of bad positions; she added that she liked the Mendes brothers' style as well. The 2021 Abu Dhabi World Pro was her third, and the first had stayed with her because that edition fell on the sheikh's anniversary and the whole event was staged in his memory. She described herself then as a second-degree black belt; no source read for this profile gives a degree at any later date. BJJ Heroes lists her at rooster weight, 48.50 kg, with the open guard as her favourite position. The part of the record that has grown since is in the masters divisions, and it is recent. Alongside the World Master titles of 2024, 2025 and 2026, the IBJJF database shows a 2026 season spread across three weight classes: first at the European and the Pan at Master 2 rooster, first at the Asian and at the Master International Europe at light feather, first at the Master International South America at rooster, and first at the Madrid International Open at feather. She enters the open class as well, where there is no weight limit and opponents can be much heavier than she is: the database has her second at the 2025 World Master and third at the 2025 Asian, then first at the 2026 Asian, the 2026 Master International South America, the 2026 Madrid International Open and the 2025 Rome Fall International Open, with third at the 2026 Master International Europe. Neither of those lists is complete. The database holds further entries in the same seasons that are not set out here, and it is a points-scoring ranking view rather than a career record, so an event absent from it is no evidence that she did not compete. The 2025 season was the fullest of the ones it covers, with the European, the Pan and the Brasileiro at light feather and the World Master at rooster, all four of the federation's major championships inside one calendar year; previewing the 2026 European Championship, the IBJJF's news desk described her as arriving on the back of that sweep. Read on 20 September 2026, the federation's ranking page placed her first in Master 2 on 1,227 points, first in the Master 2 rooster division, and first in the Master 2 Grand Slam standings. Those rankings are live and will move. One loose end sits beside that record. FloGrappling's year-by-year list of past World Master champions also has her as the female black belt rooster champion at the 2023 edition, but files that entry under Master 1 rather than Master 2. Two things pull against it. The same IBJJF news desk called her 2025 World Master title her second in a row, which a 2023 title would not fit; and the March 1987 birth date BJJ Heroes gives her sits awkwardly in a Master 1 bracket for that year. At least one of three things is therefore wrong: the birth date, the age-bracket rule, which nobody working on this profile has checked against the IBJJF's own regulations, or the 2023 listing itself. The listing is the likeliest of the three, but that is an inference and not a measurement, so the entry is recorded here as the list has it, in Master 1, and kept apart from the Master 2 titles of 2024, 2025 and 2026 rather than added to them. The academy she competes for was founded in Rome in 2015, the same year as her promotion, and describes itself as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling school running classes every day, split by level, for adults and children. Its front page names Verdemare and Gabrielli as the two who lead it, and BJJ Heroes also lists her as an instructor there. No source read for this profile says she founded it or was there at the start; what the sources do show is a student of the head coach who is now named alongside him at the top of the same school. Asked in 2021 what the sport had done for her, she said it had given her a great deal of self-confidence and had taught her that "there is always something good even during bad times". She came back to the same thought as her closing advice, and gave it as her reason for recommending jiu-jitsu to young people: that it can build a strong will.

Sources for this profile

BJJ Heroes, "Serena Gabrielli", biography section.(opens in a new tab)
- BJJ Heroes gives her date and place of birth as 16 March 1987 in Rome, Italy, and says she grew up in the Primavalle district of the city.
  Where in the source: Serena Gabrielli was born on March 16, 1987 in Rome – Italy, growing up in the suburb of Primavalle
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Serena Gabrielli is Italian and holds a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt awarded under Andrea Verdemare.
  Where in the source: Serena Gabrielli is an Italian grappler and a black belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu under Andrea Verdemare
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- She came to martial arts at 18 through a traditional Japanese ju-jutsu class near her home, and held a ju-jutsu black belt by the age of 22.
  Where in the source: Her interest for martial arts started at the age of 18, when Serena joined a ju-jutsu class (often referred to as traditional or Japanese ju-jutsu) near her home. Her dedication in this combat system led Serena to earn her black belt by the time she reached 22.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- She met Andrea Verdemare, a Brazilian jiu-jitsu instructor, on the same day she was promoted to ju-jutsu black belt, and within a month she set the ju-jutsu rank aside and restarted as a white belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
  Where in the source: On the same day of her ju-jutsu promotion, she met and befriended a Brazilian jiu jitsu instructor by the name of Andrea Verdemare
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Federico Tisi, whom the source identifies as Italy's first Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt, was her first official coach, while Verdemare followed her career from the start and awarded every one of her belts, the blue belt jointly with Tisi.
  Where in the source: Although Federico Tisi (Italy's first black belt) was Serena's first official coach, her grappling career was closely followed by coach Verdemare from the very beginning, and it was he who promoted Gabrielli in all belts (blue graduation a collaborated effort with Tisi).
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- She received her black belt on 12 July 2015, shortly after winning the IBJJF World Championship at brown belt.
  Where in the source: This included Serena's black belt promotion on July 12, 2015 – just after she won the IBJJF World Championship.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- The source states that she is not Italy's first female black belt.
  Where in the source: Although Serena is not Italy's first female black belt
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- The page records her lineage as Carlos Gracie, Helio Gracie, Carlos Gracie Junior, Carlos Lemos, Federico Tisi, Andrea Verdemare, Serena Gabrielli.
  Where in the source: Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Junior > Carlos Lemos > Federico Tisi > Andrea Verdemare > Serena Gabrielli
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- At coloured belt the page credits her with the IBJJF World Championship and the European Open in 2015 as a brown belt, the Rome International Open in 2015 (brown) and 2014 (purple), the London Winter International Open in 2015 (brown), the London International Open in 2013 (purple), second place at the European Open in 2012 (purple), third at the European Open in 2014 (purple), and third at the London International Open in 2014 (brown) and 2012 (purple).
  Where in the source: IBJJF World Champion (2015 brown) IBJJF European Open Champion (2015 brown) IBJJF London International Open Champion (2013 purple)
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- At black belt the page lists her as IBJJF European Open champion in 2017 and 2018, runner-up there in 2019 and third in 2016; third at the IBJJF World Championship in 2016 and 2021; and third at the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
  Where in the source: 1st Place IBJJF European Open (2018 / 2017) 2nd Place IBJJF European Open (2019) 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2016) 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2016 / 2021) 3rd Place UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro (2018 / 2019 / 2021)
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- The page lists her weight division as rooster weight (peso galo) at 48.50 kg, her favourite position as the open guard and her team as Flow JJ, and describes her as an instructor at the Flow jiu-jitsu academy.
  Where in the source: Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard Weight Division: Peso Galo (48,50 kg / 127.0 lbs) Team/Association: Flow JJ
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
Jiu Jitsu Legacy, "Interview with Serena Gabrielli before ADWPJJC13", published 8 November 2021.(opens in a new tab)
- She said in November 2021 that she had started jiu-jitsu twelve years earlier.
  Where in the source: I started Jiu Jitsu 12 years ago
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Interviewed ahead of the 2021 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, she introduced herself as born in Rome, Italy, and as a second-degree black belt under professor Andrea Verdemare.
  Where in the source: Hello everybody I'm Serena Gabrielli – I was born in Rome, Italy and am 34 years old. I started Jiu Jitsu 12 years ago and I'm a second degree black belt under professor Andrea Verdemare.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- In the same November 2021 interview she gave her age as 34.
  Where in the source: I was born in Rome, Italy and am 34 years old
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Asked to introduce herself in November 2021, she summed up her record as four European Championship titles, one World Championship title, a silver medal at both the Worlds and the Pans, and bronze medals at the Worlds under both IBJJF and AJP.
  Where in the source: I am a 4 times European Championship, one time World Championship, one time silver medalist at Worlds and Pans and I've taken bronze medals at Worlds (IBJJF and AJP).
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- She said the 2021 edition was her third appearance at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and that the first remained the most striking because the whole event was staged in memory of the sheikh on the anniversary of his death.
  Where in the source: This is my third time competing in Abu Dhabi and the first time was the one that impressed me the most because it was the anniversary of the sheik so everything was in memory of him and it was gorgeous.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- She described her training week in 2021 as three sessions a day from Monday to Friday, one conditioning and two jiu-jitsu classes, kept the same right through the competition season rather than varied for individual events.
  Where in the source: I usually train 3 times per day, one conditioning and two Jiu Jitsu classes Monday to Friday. I train this way during all throughout competition season to always be prepared.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Asked what the sport had done for her, she said jiu-jitsu gave her a great deal of self-confidence and taught her that there is always something good to be found even in bad times, which is why she recommends it to young people as a way of building a strong will.
  Where in the source: Jiu Jitsu gave me a lot of self confidence and it let me understand that there is always something good even during bad times.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- She named Verdemare as the biggest influence on her own game, explaining that as a rooster weight himself he adapts to any opponent and always finds a way out of bad positions, and she added that she is also drawn to the Mendes brothers' style.
  Where in the source: The person who influenced me the most is my professor Andrea Verdemare because he's a rooster weight, he can adapt his game to everyone, and he always finds a solution for each situation, especially bad positions. I also love a lot Mendes Bros style.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation), athlete results page for Serena Gabrielli.(opens in a new tab)
- The IBJJF's own athlete results database lists her at black belt for the team Flow.
  Where in the source: Athlete Results Serena Gabrielli Flow
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- The IBJJF results database records her as champion of the World Master championship in the Master 2 rooster division three years running, in 2024, 2025 and 2026.
  Where in the source: Masters Master2 Rooster #1 1st World Master IBJJF 2026 9 pts
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- In 2025 the same database records her winning the European, the Pan and the Brasileiro in the Master 2 light-feather division and the World Master in the Master 2 rooster division, that is all four of the IBJJF's major championships in one calendar year.
  Where in the source: Light Feather #2 1st Asian IBJJF 2026 ... 1st Brasileiro 2025 9 pts X 4 X 1 36.0 1st Pan IBJJF 2025 9 pts X 4 X 1 36.0 1st European IBJJF 2025
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- Her 2026 entries in the database include first place at the European and the Pan in the Master 2 rooster division, at the Asian and the Master International Europe in light feather, at the Master International South America in rooster, and at the Madrid International Open in the feather division.
  Where in the source: 1st Pan IBJJF 2026 9 pts X 4 X 2 72.0 1st European IBJJF 2026
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- She also competes in the open class, where the database records second place at the 2025 World Master, third at the 2025 Asian, first at the 2026 Asian, first at the 2026 Master International South America, third at the 2026 Master International Europe, first at the 2026 Madrid International Open, first at the 2025 Rome Fall International Open and second at the 2024 Rome International Open.
  Where in the source: Open Class #3 1st Master International - South America 2026 13.5 pts ... 2nd World Master IBJJF 2025 4.5 pts ... 2nd Rome International Open IBJJF 2024
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- At the time the page was read it ranked her first in the IBJJF Masters standings for Master 2 with 1227.0 points, first in the Master 2 rooster division, first in the Master Grand Slam standings for Master 2 with 927.0 points, and second in Master 2 light feather.
  Where in the source: black 1227.0 pts #1 Masters Master2 Masters Master2 Rooster #1
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
FloGrappling, "2025 IBJJF World Masters Championship Results: Here's Who Won In Vegas", by Andy Schamma, 30 August 2025.(opens in a new tab)
- FloGrappling's report on the 2025 IBJJF World Master Championship lists her as winner of the female black belt Master 2 rooster division, competing for Flow.
  Where in the source: Rooster: Serena Gabrielli (Flow)
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
FloGrappling, athlete page for Serena Gabrielli.(opens in a new tab)
- FloGrappling's athlete page shows a record of 21 wins, 18 losses and no draws across the matches held in its own database.
  Where in the source: Serena Gabrielli 21-18-0 (W-L-D)
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- The event list on the same page shows her competing at the IBJJF Worlds in 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022, the IBJJF Europeans in 2017, 2019 and 2020, the IBJJF Pans in 2019, the Abu Dhabi World Pro in 2018, 2019 and 2021, and the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London in 2018 and 2019.
  Where in the source: Jun 2 - 5, 2022 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship ... Nov 14 - 19, 2021 Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Champs ... Jan 17 - 22, 2017 IBJJF 2017 Europeans
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
IBJJF, "Black Belt Masters Division Preview | 2026 European Championships", by Kaelan Crisosto, published 16 January 2026 12:03 UTC.(opens in a new tab)
- Previewing the 2026 European Championship, the IBJJF's news desk wrote that she entered the event after a 2025 season in which she took all four major titles, including a second consecutive World Championship title, and listed her under Master 2.
  Where in the source: Master 2 Serena Gabrielli ... Serena Gabrielli enters the event following an incredible 2025 campaign that saw her capture all four major titles. The Flow standout secured her second consecutive World Championship title to cap off her phenomenal season
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
Flow BJJ & Grappling Roma, "Flow" about page, flowjiujitsu.it, undated (Italian).(opens in a new tab)
- Flow describes itself as a Brazilian jiu-jitsu and grappling academy founded in Rome in 2015.
  Where in the source: FLOW è un accademia di brazilian jiu jitsu e grappling nata a Roma nel 2015.
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
Flow BJJ & Grappling Roma, front page, flowjiujitsu.it, undated (Italian).(opens in a new tab)
- The academy's front page states that Flow is led by Andrea Verdemare and Serena Gabrielli, and that classes run every day, divided by level, for adults and children.
  Where in the source: Flow è un accademia di arti marziali specializzata nel JIU JITSU BRASILIANO e nel GRAPPLING guidata da Andrea Verdemare e Serena Gabrielli
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
FloGrappling, "World Master IBJJF Past Champions & Names To Know", dated 21 August 2026 on the page.(opens in a new tab)
- FloGrappling's year-by-year list of World Master champions names her as the female black belt rooster champion in 2024 and again in 2025, both times in the Master 2 age division.
  Where in the source: Master 2/Female Black Belt Champions Rooster: Serena Gabrielli
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- The same list names her as the female black belt rooster champion at the 2023 World Master, in the Master 1 age division.
  Where in the source: Master 1/Female Black Belt Champions Rooster: Serena Gabrielli
  Accessed: 2026-09-20
- The article's champion list runs year by year from 2012 to 2025 and stops there, with no 2026 block.
  Where in the source: 2025 Master 1/Male Black Belt Champions
  Accessed: 2026-09-20

Lineage

No teaching connections are shown on this page.

Open lineage