Maria Ruffatto

Maria Ruffatto is a jiu-jitsu athlete who holds the rank of black belt under Gustavo Bessa and Ighor Horta. Ruffato first made waves on the global grappling scene as a colored belt when she won important titles in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), she would later cement her status as one of the top athletes in the sport, breaking through in the professional circuit, by conquering the South American (Brazil) ADCC Trials in 2024.

Maria Ruffatto Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Maria Vitória Gonçalves Ruffatto

Nickname: N/A

Lineage 1: Carlos Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Sergio Souza > Ricardo Marques > Ighor Horta > Maria Ruffatto

Lineage 2: Carlos Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Sergio Souza > Ricardo Marques > Diego Gamonal > Gustavo Bessa > Maria Ruffatto

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place ADCC South American Trials 1 (2024)
• 1st Place ADCC South American Trials 2 (2024)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2023)
• 1st Place IBJJF American Nationals NOGI (2023)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2023*)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2019 purple, 2021 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2021 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2019* purple, 2021* brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2022 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2019** purple, 2021*/2022 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2021** brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2022 brown)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard

Weight Division: Peso Pesado (over 79,30 kg / 175.0 lbs)

Team/Association: BTT

Maria Ruffatto Biography

Maria Ruffatto was born on May 2000, in Juíz de Fora, one of the main cities of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.

Ruffatto started jiu-jitsu in her early teens but severed ties with the place where she began her career in this sport with some contention and switched to the Gamonal Fighters gym in 2016, an affiliate of Brazilian Top Team (BTT) led by Diego Gamonal, one of the city’s most accomplished grapplers.

It was at Gamonal Fighters that Maria initiated her competitive career led by the beginner coaches “Guto” Netto and Wagner Augusto “Wagao”. She received her blue belt from these two instructors and later worked with other coaches at this same gym such as Linus Pauling (who promoted Maria to purple belt alongside Wagner Augusto).

In 2017 her instructor Guto Netto moved to the United States, leaving an open invitation for Ruffatto to come and visit. The first step towards that trip occurred when one of her instructors, Mr. Gustavo Caetano, offered her, her passport as a birthday present. To achieve her visa and afford the trip, however, Maria had to run many odd jobs, from serving at bars and restaurants to doing raffles, selling candy outdoors, and even some security guard work. All this while maintaining her academic studies, training, and competing.

Maria gathered enough resources for her trip to the United States in 2019 and met her instructor, Guto in Charlotte, North Carolina, She took the opportunity to participate in the top North American no-gi events during her stay, taking gold at the IBJJF World No-Gi & Pan American No-Gi Championships.

Before she returned to Brazil, Maria visited Oregon, taking time to train at the BTT gym in Happy Valley with Gustavo Bessa. While there, Mr. Bessa offered to help Ruffatto apply for an athlete’s visa to live in the USA, to which she agreed. She returned to Brazil hoping to return to North America shortly with her new visa credentials but COVID-19 hit the world during her stay and she was forced to remain in her home country.

Near the end of 2020, Maria Fuffatto moved to the USA, settling in Happy Valley, Oregon, along with Ighor Horta.

Shortly after her return to North America, at the start of 2021, Gustavo Bessa and Ighor Horta promoted Ruffatto to her brown belt level. Maria proceeded to become one of the strongest colored belt athletes on the IBJJF circuit, earning medals in the major events of the federation in the gi and no-gi rulesets, leading to her black belt promotion in December 2022.