Mariana Rolszt

Mariana Rolszt was born on January 23, 1998, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — a city with jiu-jitsu woven into its cultural fabric. Despite growing up in that environment, she did not gravitate toward sports early in life. Brief experiences with judo and capoeira came and went without leaving a lasting impression, offering little indication of the competitive career that lay ahead.

The turning point arrived through her parents, both active gi practitioners who trained regularly. Watching them on the mats sparked Mariana's curiosity, and at age 12 she stepped onto the mat for her first BJJ class. The connection was immediate — unlike her earlier encounters with other martial arts, jiu-jitsu resonated with her from the very first session. She committed fully, and her early development was shaped by Gustavo Bretas, Alexandre Guaraná, and Eduardo Portella, coaches who built the technical foundation that would carry her through every level of competition.

As Rolszt's technical game matured, so did her competitive ambitions. Recognizing the need for an environment capable of supporting an international trajectory, she made her first significant move to team Caverna — a step up in competitive infrastructure that provided sharper training and higher-level preparation.

Her pursuit of elite competition ultimately led her to Gracie Humaitá, where she came under the guidance of Letícia Ribeiro. Arriving as a brown belt, Rolszt wasted no time establishing herself among the team's top performers. A gold medal at the IBJJF South American Championship in 2020 served as the defining statement of her brown belt campaign, confirming she was ready for the sport's highest level. On January 11, 2021, Letícia Ribeiro awarded Mariana Rolszt her black belt — a milestone her results had long been signaling.

Juvenile Standout

Rolszt's competitive quality was evident well before she reached the black belt ranks. At the juvenile level, she captured gold at the IBJJF South American Championship in 2014 and followed it with a CBJJ Brazilian Nationals title the same year. In 2015, she stepped onto the sport's biggest stage and delivered, winning the 2015 IBJJF World Championship as a juvenile — an unmistakable signal of elite potential.

Purple and Brown Belt Development

Her transition through the colored belt divisions maintained that upward trajectory. At purple belt, Rolszt reached the podium at the IBJJF World Championship in both 2017, earning silver, and 2018, where she claimed bronze. She also posted back-to-back second-place finishes at the IBJJF South American Championship in 2016 and 2017, reinforcing her consistency across both regional and global circuits.

The brown belt phase represented a further leap in maturity and output. Her gold medal at the IBJJF South American Championship in 2020 served as the fitting capstone to her pre-black belt journey — a clear marker of the steady, measurable growth she had demonstrated across every belt level.

Establishing Herself at the Elite Level

Rolszt competes in the Peso Galo division — 48.5 kg / 107.0 lbs — one of the most fiercely contested weight categories in women's Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Her black belt debut year validated every expectation. In 2021, she won the IBJJF Brazilian Nationals, confirming her ability to perform under the highest level of gi competition pressure. That same year, she added the AJP South American Continental Pro title to her résumé, demonstrating effectiveness across both the IBJJF and AJP professional formats.

Sustained Consistency

Rolszt carried that form into 2022, returning to the IBJJF Brazilian Nationals final and earning silver — a result that underscored her durability among the division's top black belts. The arc of her career, from juvenile world champion through colored belt podiums to black belt gold, reflects the kind of disciplined, long-term development that defines elite BJJ athletes who commit to a single weight class from the very start of their journey.