Rerisson Gabriel

Rerisson Gabriel was born in August 2002 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and raised in the PPG community — a tightly knit urban area formed by the three favelas of Pavão, Pavãozinho, and Cantagalo. The PPG carries a storied legacy in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, having produced a remarkable number of high-level competitors who left their mark on the sport internationally. Champions such as Fernando Terere, Jansen Gomes, Alan Finfou, and Dudu Granzotto all emerged from this community, and BJJ became deeply woven into the fabric of daily life there.

It was this culture of grappling that first drew Rerisson's older brother, Cleison Santos, to the mats. Watching his brother train sparked Rerisson's own interest in the sport, and by around the age of seven, he had begun his Jiu-Jitsu journey. The PPG's tradition of producing champions provided both inspiration and a fiercely competitive environment that proved formative in shaping Rerisson's development as an athlete.

For much of his early career, Rerisson Gabriel trained at the local Cantagalo Project, a community initiative that has long served as a gateway to Jiu-Jitsu for young people from the PPG favelas. Under the guidance of coaches Douglas Rufino — known as Trator — and Sandrinho Vieira, Rerisson steadily refined his technical game and competitive instincts. By the age of 17, he had committed to BJJ as a profession, channeling his efforts fully into competing at the highest levels of the sport.

A pivotal shift in Rerisson's trajectory came when his close friend and longtime teammate Felipe Santos joined the Alliance professional squad in Rio de Janeiro, a workgroup led by coach Rodrigo Travecks Thiago. Thriving in his new setting, Felipe later encouraged both Rerisson — then competing at brown belt — and his brother Cleison, already a black belt, to make the same move. The brothers transitioned a few months after Felipe, marking a significant new chapter in Rerisson's competitive career.

On June 7, 2024, Rerisson Gabriel received his black belt in a ceremony that carried deep personal meaning. The belt was awarded by his brother Cleison Santos alongside team leader Rodrigo Travecks Thiago — a moment that honored not only Rerisson's technical achievement, but the shared journey the two brothers had undertaken from the streets of the PPG to the upper echelons of competitive Jiu-Jitsu.

Blue and Purple Belt Dominance

Rerisson Gabriel's ascent through the colored belt divisions was defined by consistent, high-level results across the most prestigious IBJJF and CBJJ competitions in the sport. His first notable title came at blue belt, when he claimed gold at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2021, announcing himself as a serious Peso Pluma prospect.

The purple belt years proved to be a particularly dominant stretch. In 2022, Rerisson captured the IBJJF World Championship title, establishing himself among the best in his weight class at the global level. He added further podium finishes throughout that campaign — a runner-up result at the IBJJF European Championship and a third-place finish at the IBJJF Pan Championship — demonstrating his consistency across multiple major events. The following year, at the 2023 IBJJF European Championship, he claimed gold once more, capping a purple belt career that placed him among the most decorated competitors of his generation at that level.

Brown Belt Excellence and the Road to Black

Transitioning to brown belt, Rerisson maintained his elite standard without missing a beat. He earned back-to-back gold medals at the IBJJF European Championship — adding the 2024 edition to his 2023 title — and pushed to a runner-up finish at the IBJJF World Championship in 2024, a result that underscored his readiness to compete against the sport's best.

The move to black belt under Alliance brought immediate results. In 2025, competing for the first time as a black belt on the sport's biggest stage, Rerisson Gabriel claimed gold at the 2025 IBJJF Pan Championship in the Peso Pluma division (64 kg / 141.5 lbs). The victory confirmed his place among the elite of his weight class and made clear that his decorated run through the colored belts was not a ceiling, but the foundation of a career built to compete at the highest level.