The BJJ media loves mentioning Gordon Ryan as the Jiu-Jitsu GOAT and discussing his unbeaten streak. However, Gabi Pessanha has dominated the sport and hasn’t been beaten in over four years.
Pessanha is currently on an incredible 130+ unbeaten streak, amassing 8 IBJJF World Championships. An incredible run, which puts Gabi in a class of greatness.
Let’s discuss Gabi Pessanha’s incredible talent and whether she’s earned her place as one of the BJJ GOATS.
Gabi Pessanha’s Entry Into Jiu-Jitsu
Gabrieli Pessanha grew up in the rough Rio de Janeiro favela called Cidade de Deus(City of God). She was an active kid who played various sports and participated in social projects.
Pessanha was introduced to Jiu-Jitsu through a social project run by black belt Marcio de Deus. At first, Gabi wasn’t crazy about BJJ and waited off the mat while her friends trained.
After being encouraged by Marcio to try a class, Gabi finally accepted, and to her surprise, she picked it up quickly. Gabrieli’s family had little money to afford a gi, but Professor Marcio gave her a used gi.
She became passionate about training and started winning local tournaments and building her skills. During her late teens, Pessanha won multiple Brazilian national titles and was able to train internationally.
The Cidade de Deus native took a hard loss at the 2016 Pan American Championship but bounced back even better. At brown belt, she won her first IBJJF Grand Slam in 2018 by winning every major IBJJF event.
This huge win led Marcio de Deus to promote Gabi Pessanha to black belt in 2019. The BJJ world didn’t know it, but Pessanha would slowly take over the sport.
Pessanha Evolves Into An Elite BJJ Athlete
Due to COVID-19 canceling the 2020 IBJJF Championship, Gabi Pessanha had to wait until 2021 to make a name for herself. The 2021 IBJJF Championship was her coming-out party, as it was her first dominant win.
Pessanha’s most dominant performance came in the semifinals against female Jiu-Jitsu GOAT Gabi Garcia. The young black belt shocked the world by completely shutting down the multi-time world champion.
Gabi had the moment of the event by submitting Garcia and moving on to the finals to face Yara Soares. She beat Soares 2-0 to take her first world title at black belt, but she wasn’t done there.
Pessanha went on to dominate the absolute division and win double world championship gold. Since then, Gabi Pessanha has not been defeated since 2021.
Gabi’s Unbeaten Streak
Since her first double gold performance at black belt, Pessanha has only gotten better. So far, Gabi has won double gold at three straight world championships and multiple other major championships.
As of now, Gabi has won over 130 matches without suffering a single defeat. This is more than double Gordon Ryan’s impressive undefeated streak in no-gi matches.
Most recently, Gabi added to her unbeaten streak by dominating at the 2024 BJJ Pro in Sao Paulo. She won all four of her matches and took the grand prize money.
Is Gabi Pessanha the Greatest Female BJJ Athlete?
Gabi Pessanha is making a name for herself in the greatest female BJJ athlete discussion. At just 24, she has won an astounding eight world titles in four years with four double gold performances.
Only Marcus Buchecha is ahead of her with six double-gold world championship performances. When Pessanha calls it a career, she may be the greatest BJJ athlete of all time.
What’s Next For Gabi?
Gabrieli has reigned as the queen of the gi since 2021. The only aspect of Jiu-Jitsu she has yet to conquer is no-gi competition.
Her coach, Marcio de Deus, has told the media that Gabi will be making her No-Gi debut in the near future. Once she wins a No-Gi world title and an ADCC title, she could just be the greatest grappler ever
Bobby is martial artist for almost 20 years with a BJJ black belt under Professor Sergio Miranda. He is also a karate black and former combat sports athlete, who loves all things grappling.