Nathalie Ribeiro

Nathalie Ribeiro was born on November 6, 1992, in Recreio dos Bandeirantes, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, into a household where sport was a way of life. Both of her parents were active athletes and jiu-jitsu practitioners, embedding physical discipline and competitive spirit into her upbringing from the earliest age. That environment gave Nathalie a meaningful head start — one that would prove foundational to her development as a world-class competitor.

Before committing fully to jiu-jitsu, Nathalie built her athleticism across multiple disciplines. Gymnastics, swimming, and trampolining sharpened her coordination, body awareness, and physical conditioning throughout childhood — attributes that would translate directly to technical precision on the mat. At age 8, she began practicing Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under her first instructor, Coach Valdemar, adding the sport to an already well-rounded athletic foundation. The combination of her family's jiu-jitsu background and her diverse sporting experience produced a grounded, technically capable grappler with instincts honed well beyond her years.

Nathalie Ribeiro's path to the black belt was defined not by a straight line of progression, but by a series of life events that tested her resolve and ultimately shaped her identity as a competitor. She received her blue belt in 2009 under Coach Valdemar, marking the formal start of her competitive journey. Motherhood then prompted a step back from the sport — a significant personal sacrifice that reflects the distinct challenges female athletes face when balancing family and competitive ambition.

Rebuilding from the Ground Up

Rather than returning to where she had left off, Nathalie chose to restart from scratch. She placed herself under the guidance of Sylvio Behring, a respected figure in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, who promoted her through both blue and purple belt. The decision to rebuild her foundation from the beginning spoke volumes about her seriousness of purpose and commitment to excellence.

In 2015, seeking greater competitive opportunities, Nathalie relocated to the United States after accepting an athletic scholarship extended by coaches João Silva and Aloísio Silva. Training under João Silva, she continued her rapid development and earned her brown belt promotion. Her performances at that level were unmistakable — in 2017, she captured gold at both the IBJJF World Championship and the IBJJF World Championship No-Gi at brown belt, then added the IBJJF Pan Championship title at the same rank in 2018. She was already operating at the highest echelon of the sport before the black belt arrived.

The Black Belt Promotion

It was during this period that Nathalie formed a professional relationship with Lucas Leite, a prominent Checkmat black belt based in La Habra, California. Leite offered her a position as a full-time instructor and, on March 12, 2018, promoted her to the rank of black belt — the culmination of a journey marked by perseverance, reinvention, and elite competitive performance.

Nathalie Ribeiro wasted no time establishing herself among the elite in the black belt division. In the months immediately following her promotion in March 2018, she collected gold at the AJP Grand Slam in Los Angeles, the IBJJF Las Vegas Open, the IBJJF San Diego Open, and the IBJJF Dallas Spring Open — a rapid-fire statement to the international community that her brown belt dominance was no anomaly.

Building a Championship Record

Her trajectory through the years that followed confirmed her as one of the most consistent performers in the Peso Pena division (58.50 kg / 129.0 lbs). In 2020, she claimed the IBJJF World Championship No-Gi title, underscoring her versatility across both gi and no-gi formats. The following year, 2021, she added the IBJJF Pan Championship and the IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi to her record, alongside a third-place finish at the IBJJF World Championship.

She backed up that Pan gold in 2022 with a second consecutive IBJJF Pan Championship title, the IBJJF European Open, and the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals — one of her most productive years on the international circuit. Representing Brazil throughout her black belt career, Nathalie reached the pinnacle of gi competition in 2024, capturing the IBJJF World Championship title and completing a collection of accolades that spans multiple continents and competition formats. Her career arc — from returning mother who restarted at white belt, to world champion — stands as one of the most remarkable stories in contemporary competitive jiu-jitsu.

Nathalie Ribeiro's association with Checkmat has been central to the most successful chapter of her competitive and professional life. After relocating to the United States and connecting with Lucas Leite at the La Habra, California affiliate, she found both a competitive home and a professional environment that aligned with her ambitions as an athlete and instructor.

Leite's decision to offer Nathalie an instructor role alongside her black belt promotion reflected the mutual respect built through their professional relationship. Competing at the highest levels of international jiu-jitsu while simultaneously coaching allowed her to integrate both dimensions of her career within the Checkmat structure. The team's competitive culture and access to high-level training partners supported her continued growth through her most decorated years on the circuit.

Nathalie's journey through multiple coaching relationships — beginning with Coach Valdemar in Brazil, continuing under Sylvio Behring upon her return to the sport, developing further with João Silva in the United States, and ultimately finding her long-term home with Lucas Leite at Checkmat — reflects the collaborative nature of elite jiu-jitsu development. Each relationship contributed a distinct phase of her technical and competitive evolution, culminating in a world championship-level career built on a foundation of resilience and adaptability.