Sofia Amarante is an American grappler and a representative of the Fight Sports Academy, being also the first female jiu-jitsu black belt promoted by the illustrious Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu. Amarante became widely recognized as one of the top light-featherweight (118.0 lbs) athletes of her generation after celebrating important victories in some of our sport’s most prestigious tournaments, events such as the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World No-Gi Championships, the Pan American No-Gi Championships, Pan American Championships (gi) and Masters World Championship.
Sofia Amarante Jiu-Jitsu
Full Name: Sofia Rosa Amarante
Nickname: N/A
Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Carlson Gracie > Francisco Toco > Roberto Abreu > Sofia Amarante
Main Achievements:
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2012)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2012 / 2019 / 2021)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2012)
- 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2013)
- 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2021)
- 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2012 / 2016)
- 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2016 / 2017 / 2018)
- 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2017 / 2018)
- 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2018)
- 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2017)
Main Achievements (Masters):
- 1st Place IBJJF Masters World Championship (2016 / 2018 / 2019)
- 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2019)
- 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2019*)
- 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2020)
Main Achievements (Colored Belts):
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2009 purple)
- 1st Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2009 brown + black)
- 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NoGi (2010 brown + black)
- 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2010 brown + black)
- 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship NoGi (2010 brown + black)
* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute
Favorite Position/Technique: X-Guard
Weight Division: Pluma (53,50 kg / 118.0 lbs)
Team/Association: Fight Sports
Sofia Amarante Biography
Sofia Amarante was born on November 7, 1980, in Houston, Texas, USA, growing up in the state of Florida.
Introduced to sports from a young age, Amarante played and competed regularly as a child in swimming and tennis, keeping a high level of activity through her adulthood.
Martial arts were introduced to Sofia by her husband, Felipe, who was already a BJJ practitioner at the time. Amarante was 23YO, having just accepted a job as a Deputy Sheriff at Broward prison. This newly chosen profession pressed her to learn a form of self-defense, which came in the form of jiu-jitsu.
Sofia’s first coach was none other than Armando Conde, one of the very first European grapplers to earn the rank of black belt in BJJ and a very well respected instructor. Conde was a great influence in Sofia’s early development as a jiu-jitsu player and it was he who awarded Amarante with her blue belt.
When Conde moved back to his birthplace of Portugal, Sofia and her husband started spending more time training with Josh Manso (black belt under Jorge Popovich), Saul Alencar (student of André Gigueto) and Daniel Valverde. While mixing their training schedule, the Amarante’s also opened their own jiu-jitsu academy.
Although happy with the level of training, the Amarante’s longed for a deeper connection with a team, a place they could call home. It was around that time that Sofia met Roberto Abreu and was drawn to “Cyborg’s” positive energy and leadership skills. These attributes led the Amarantes to join Abreu’s famous team, Fight Sports.
Training with Fight Sports Amarante became one of the top light-featherweight athletes in the world, her status, however, did not come easy. At her highest point as a competitor, Sofia held a full-time job as a Deputy, a 1-hour drive from Fight Sports where she trained religiously every night, adding to this a young child to care for.
Despite all the barriers that were placed on Sofia’s way she was able to pile on important titles with the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) as a purple and brown belt – even when competing against black belts. Her accomplishments led to her promotion on December 2010, a ceremony led by Roberto Cyborg. During this process, Sofia also became Abreu’s first female black belt.
Sofia Amarante VS Maria Fuschetto
