Rawanna da Silva

Rawanna Raysa da Silva was born on April 25, 1995, in Parana, Brazil, and relocated to the United States at the age of five, settling in Massachusetts where she spent her formative years. Growing up, da Silva sampled a range of recreational sports through school programs — volleyball, basketball, and long-distance running among them — but none ignited a lasting competitive drive. When she left high school, she set those pursuits aside without hesitation.

It was not until shortly after her 20th birthday that da Silva discovered the sport that would come to define her athletic identity. Several coworkers trained in jiu-jitsu, and their enthusiasm prompted her to give it a try. Her first experience on the mats took place at Paradigm Academy, under the direction of Joey Sylvester. The late start — relative to many competitors who begin training as children — would make da Silva's subsequent rise through the sport all the more remarkable.

Building a Foundation at Blue Belt

As a blue belt training under Nelson Junior at Icon BJJ in Massachusetts, da Silva developed a genuine appetite for competition. Early results on the IBJJF circuit gave her a glimpse of what focused effort could produce, and watching more seasoned competitors earn a livelihood from jiu-jitsu served as a powerful motivator — pushing her to treat the sport as a serious pursuit rather than a recreational outlet.

A Calculated Move at Purple Belt

The decision that most clearly reflected her growing ambition came at purple belt, when da Silva left Massachusetts and relocated to Houston, Texas, to join the gym of Pablo Silva. The move represented a deliberate step up in both training environment and competitive expectations. In Houston, da Silva trained with a close eye on Dream Art, a São Paulo-based organization whose structured, high-performance approach to the sport she greatly admired.

Joining Dream Art and Earning the Black Belt

The turning point came when Dream Art expanded its reach by opening an affiliate hub in Texas. Da Silva, by then a brown belt, seized the opportunity and requested to join the team — a request the head coaches accepted. Under the Dream Art banner, she continued her development and earned her black belt promotion in November 2023 from Vinicius Souza, completing a journey that had begun on a whim less than a decade earlier.

Blue Belt Breakthrough

Da Silva built a credible competitive record across the blue and purple belt divisions, competing in the Peso Galo division (48.5 kg / 107.0 lbs) throughout her IBJJF career. Her first major title came at blue belt, capturing gold at the IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship in 2018 — an early signal of her potential on the national circuit.

Purple Belt Consistency and Growth

At purple belt, da Silva continued to perform with distinction at the Pan level. She earned a third-place finish at the 2020 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship before returning to claim gold at the 2021 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, demonstrating notable improvement and resilience across consecutive editions of the event. She also captured the IBJJF New York BJJ Pro title in 2019, adding further depth to her regional and national resume.

Taken together, da Silva's record at the sub-black-belt levels tells the story of an athlete who maximized her development at every stage — someone who entered the sport late but closed the gap through deliberate competition and a willingness to uproot herself in pursuit of a higher standard of training.