Kauã Barbosa

Kauã Gabriel Barbosa was born in January 2004 in Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas — a city far removed from the traditional BJJ powerhouses of Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo, yet one that produced a competitor of genuine national caliber. What sets his origin story apart is its deeply familial dimension: his mother, Natalia Oliveira de Araujo, held a purple belt during his formative years and has since earned her black belt, serving as an instructor throughout much of that period. In the Barbosa household, grappling was not merely a sport — it was a shared language.

Kauã began practicing the Gentle Art at age four under Omar Salum, working his way through every rank in the kids' belt system at Omar Salum's academy in Manaus. That early immersion — guided by a dedicated coach and reinforced at home by a mother who was both practitioner and instructor — built a technical and cultural foundation that would define his entire competitive trajectory. His Manaus roots stand as a testament to a broader truth: elite-level talent in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is not confined to the country's southern metropolitan centers.

The next decisive chapter in Kauã's development began in mid-2019, when — as a green belt — he started working with Melqui Galvão, who trains athletes under the banner of Escola Melqui Galvão. Galvão would become his primary coach and, ultimately, the instructor who awarded him his black belt.

Cross-Training as a Competitive Edge

A defining feature of Kauã's training environment under Galvão has been the deliberate exposure to grappling disciplines beyond BJJ. He trained Luta Livre Esportiva — a form of Brazilian catch wrestling — under Anderson Alves, and Judo under Dejanir Nunes, competing in regional tournaments in both disciplines across the Manaus area. The results validated the approach: he captured gold at the FEJAMA Amazonas Judo State Championship in 2020 and won the FILLS/FASUB Luta Livre Nationals in 2022. Far from peripheral pursuits, these disciplines directly shaped the well-rounded, submission-oriented grappling game that would make him a standout in no-gi competition at the national level.

Competing primarily on the Brazilian circuit — largely within the North and Northeast regions — Kauã Gabriel built a reputation as a technically mature competitor from the blue belt stage onward. His blue belt performances earned him a purple belt promotion in June 2021, followed by a brown belt in May 2022, a pace of advancement that reflected both competitive results and the confidence of his coaching staff.

Breakout Performances and Black Belt Promotion

It was during his purple belt period that his profile in the no-gi scene began to expand meaningfully, a tendency that intensified as a brown belt. That trajectory culminated in a landmark performance at the 2023 CBJJ Brazilian National No-Gi Championship, where he claimed double gold — a result that served as the direct catalyst for his black belt promotion. He reinforced that standing by capturing gold at the CBJJE Mundial Championship No-Gi as a brown belt in 2023, confirming that his no-gi game had already surpassed what his belt rank might have suggested.

On September 26, 2023, Melqui Galvão awarded Kauã Gabriel his black belt — a formal recognition of the technical and competitive maturity his performances had long been signaling.

Kauã Gabriel's first major test as a black belt on the international submission grappling stage came through the ADCC Brazil Trials, where he entered the 66kg division. At ADCC Brazil Trials 1, he advanced deep into the bracket before falling in the semifinals — a bracket in which Kennedy Maciel ultimately prevailed. Reaching the final four of one of the most competitive submission grappling trials fields in the world, as a newly promoted black belt from Manaus, announced his arrival at the elite level in unmistakable terms.

Winning the Ticket to ADCC 2024

He returned for ADCC Brazil Trials 2, held in São Paulo, with a singular objective: earn qualification for ADCC 2024. This time, Kauã went the full distance and delivered. He defeated Fabricio Andrey in the 66kg final — a decisive win in the championship match of one of the most demanding qualification processes in submission grappling, not a narrow escape or a technicality.

For an athlete born and raised in Manaus, winning a national trials against Brazil's top no-gi talent to qualify for the ADCC World Championship represents a landmark achievement. It validates not only his black belt credentials, but the entire developmental philosophy — multidisciplinary training, no-gi emphasis, and competitive resilience — that Melqui Galvão and his team built around him from the very beginning.