Emily Fernandez Ferreira

Emily Fernandez was born on February 7, 2002, and raised in Midland, Texas, where her competitive drive took root at an early age. Following a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sports became a cornerstone of her upbringing — providing the structure and focus that channeled her energy productively. As a child and into junior high school, she explored a wide range of athletic activities, yet none held her attention long enough to become a lasting pursuit.

Her first exposure to martial arts came through judo, which she practiced briefly before her gym closed down. That short-lived encounter with grappling, however, planted an important seed. In October 2013, at the age of 11, Fernandez stepped onto the mats as a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu student — a moment that would prove to be the turning point her athletic life had been building toward.

From her earliest days on the mat, Emily Fernandez trained under Bruno Bastos, a widely respected instructor based in the Texas region. The athlete-coach relationship proved exceptionally productive — Fernandez completed her entire belt progression, from white to black belt, under Bastos's guidance, representing the Bruno Bastos Association and Team LEAD (Live Everyday to Achieve your Dreams) throughout her development.

Fernandez rose quickly through the junior and juvenile competitive scenes, establishing herself as one of the most promising young grapplers of her generation. Her ascent was driven by standout performances at the sport's most prestigious tournaments, reflecting both natural aptitude and the disciplined competitive framework instilled by her coach.

The culmination of her colored belt journey came in June 2022, when she competed at the IBJJF World Championships as a brown belt and earned a silver medal. That performance — battling her way to the final of the world's most competitive tournament — served as the direct catalyst for her black belt promotion, which Bastos awarded her in a ceremony following the event.

Emily Fernandez announced herself as a generational talent during her juvenile division years, building a record of achievement that drew widespread recognition across the international BJJ circuit. In 2018 and 2019, she captured IBJJF World Championship gold in both the gi and no-gi juvenile divisions — demonstrating elite-level consistency across both formats at an age when many athletes are still finding their footing.

Her 2019 season was particularly decorated. She added the IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi juvenile title to her growing list of accolades while also reaching the gi Pan Championship final. A third-place finish at the 2018 IBJJF World Championship, followed by gold later that same year, illustrated not only her ability to win but her remarkable consistency against top competition. The body of work Fernandez assembled in the juvenile divisions firmly established her as one of the leading young grapplers of her generation — a reputation she carried into the adult ranks.

The move into adult competition presented steeper challenges, yet Fernandez met them with the same steadiness she had shown as a juvenile. At purple belt in 2021, she claimed gold at the IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi, affirming that her juvenile success was no anomaly. That same year, she returned to the podium at the IBJJF American Nationals No-Gi with a third-place finish, continuing to build meaningful results in the adult colored belt landscape.

Fernandez carried that momentum into her brown belt campaign in 2022, which proved to be the most significant stretch of her pre-black belt career. She placed third at the IBJJF Pan Championship in the gi before competing at the AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro, where she finished as runner-up — a result that underscored her ability to perform across different competitive platforms at the highest level.

The defining moment of her brown belt year came at the 2022 IBJJF World Championship, where Fernandez fought her way through the bracket to reach the final, earning a silver medal that demonstrated the full measure of her development as an adult competitor. That performance gave Bruno Bastos the confirmation he needed — her black belt promotion followed shortly after the event, bringing to a close one of the most decorated colored belt careers produced by her generation.