Kauane da Silva

Kauane Ramos da Silva was born on February 25, 2000, in Curitiba, the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná — a city with deep jiu-jitsu roots and a tradition of producing elite competitors. Before finding the sport that would define her athletic career, she trained in rhythmic gymnastics and volleyball. It was her father who ultimately directed her toward the mats. A regular at a local gym, he brought Kauane along often enough that she decided to try it herself — and the first session was all it took. She fell in love with jiu-jitsu immediately and never looked back.

Curitiba proved to be an ideal environment for a young athlete with championship ambitions. The city's BJJ scene was anchored by well-established programs, most notably the Checkmat "Equipe 1" squad led by Letícia Lalli and Sebastián Lalli, which provided a strong foundation for developing elite-level competitors.

Kauane's formal jiu-jitsu education began under coach César Bonassolli, who ran a Checkmat affiliate academy in Curitiba. Bonassolli's gym served as a feeder to the main Checkmat Curitiba squad — the "Equipe 1" program overseen by Letícia Lalli and Sebastián Lalli. Her competitive drive quickly outgrew the affiliate setting, and she transitioned into the main squad, training directly under the Lalli family and beginning to accumulate experience on the national and international stage.

Da Silva progressed through every belt rank from white to brown under the Checkmat Curitiba banner. Her colored belt career produced standout results at the highest levels of IBJJF competition, including back-to-back gold medals at the Brazilian Nationals in 2018 and 2019 at blue belt — early signals of the championship-caliber competitor she was becoming. The coaching infrastructure and competitive culture built by the Lalli family played a central role in shaping her technical foundation and championship mentality throughout this period.

A pivotal encounter in 2022 set Kauane da Silva's career on a new trajectory. At the ADCC Trials held in her hometown of Curitiba, she crossed paths with Roberto Abreu — widely known as "Cyborg" — and his Fight Sports team. The connection was immediate, and a genuine friendship formed on the spot. Months later, she traveled to Miami, Florida, to prepare her IBJJF World Championship camp alongside the Fight Sports squad. The experience deepened her bond with the team, and what began as a short-term camp evolved into a permanent relocation to the United States and a full commitment to Fight Sports Miami.

Competing in the Super Pesado (super heavyweight) division, above 79.30 kg / 175.0 lbs, da Silva established herself as one of the most dangerous competitors on the IBJJF circuit under her new team's colors. After approximately one year with Fight Sports, the culmination of her journey arrived on June 3, 2023. Standing atop the podium at the IBJJF World Championship, Kauane da Silva was promoted to black belt by both Roberto Abreu and João Costa — a ceremony as fitting in its setting as it was in its symbolism.

The 2022–2023 IBJJF season established Kauane da Silva as one of the most formidable brown belt competitors of her generation, with standout results across both gi and no-gi formats. In 2022, she captured gold at the Pan No-Gi Championship, followed by a silver medal at the 2022 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship and a bronze at the 2022 IBJJF World Championship in gi — a well-rounded performance that demonstrated her ability to compete at the sport's highest level across multiple formats.

The 2023 season brought even sharper results. At the 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, da Silva reached the semifinals of the open class division before falling to Giovanna Jara, earning a bronze medal that reflected both the quality of her performance and the difficulty of the competition she was navigating.

Double Gold at the 2023 IBJJF World Championship

Da Silva reserved her finest performance for the most consequential stage. At the 2023 IBJJF World Championship, she delivered a historic double gold — winning both the super heavyweight division and the absolute — in the defining moment of her brown belt career. The magnitude of that achievement made the podium ceremony that followed entirely appropriate: it was there that Roberto Abreu and João Costa tied the black belt around her waist on June 3, 2023, marking a seamless and emphatic transition into the sport's elite tier.