Tamiris Silva

Tamiris Fernanda da Silva was born on July 19, 1996, in Mogi das Cruzes, São Paulo, Brazil, into a life shaped by athletic pursuit from an early age. Her martial arts journey began at 12, when she took up judo before branching into karate and kickboxing — a diverse foundation that cultivated body awareness and competitive instinct. By her late teens, she had shifted her focus to weightlifting at a local gym, a setting that would ultimately redirect her athletic trajectory.

At 18, Tamiris crossed paths with Saulo Barbosa, who had opened a jiu-jitsu class at the same facility. Her initial reaction was indifference — grappling held little appeal for her at the time. But Barbosa's consistent, engaging coaching presence gradually eroded that resistance, and she eventually agreed to try a class. The decision proved decisive. Despite having never competed in any of the martial arts she had previously trained, Tamiris stepped onto the BJJ mats and immediately demonstrated a natural aptitude for the sport.

At the time, she was enrolled in nursing college — a path she would soon find herself weighing against the demands of a serious grappling career. From her very first competitive appearances, it was clear that jiu-jitsu had claimed her full attention.

Tamiris Silva's talent announced itself quickly on the competitive circuit. Her early results prompted her to reduce part-time work and balance nursing studies with a more structured approach to training — a trade-off that paid off decisively at the national level. She captured three consecutive CBJJ Brazilian National Championships as a blue belt, establishing herself as one of the most dangerous young competitors in her weight category.

That sustained excellence attracted the attention of Dream Art, one of Brazil's premier professional jiu-jitsu organizations. In 2019, as Tamiris was closing out her blue belt career, Dream Art extended invitations to both her and her teammate Larissa Martins to join the squad. The move granted her access to elite training partners and world-class coaching infrastructure. She trained extensively at Dream Art's headquarters under Isaque Bahiense and Gabriel Figueiró, while Saulo Barbosa remained her primary coach throughout. She represented Dream Art from purple belt through to black belt.

Purple and Brown Belt Milestones

The purple belt years produced further international results, including a third-place finish at the 2020 IBJJF European Championship. Tamiris then hit her competitive stride at brown belt. In 2022, she delivered the most complete season of her pre-black belt career: gold at the IBJJF Pan Championship followed by victory at the 2022 IBJJF World Championship in her division. That brown belt World title was the crowning achievement of her colored belt trajectory — and a clear signal that she was ready to compete at the sport's highest tier.

Following her 2022 World Championship victory, Tamiris continued competing at the brown belt level throughout the 2023 season, reaching the podium at both the IBJJF Pan Championship and the IBJJF World Championship with third-place finishes at each. Those results were not a step back — they were further evidence of an athlete performing with consistency across multiple seasons at the sport's elite level.

In June 2024, Saulo Barbosa formally promoted Tamiris to black belt, a milestone that reflected years of sustained international excellence and her comprehensive development as both a competitor and a martial artist. The timing matters: she contested the entire 2023 season as a brown belt, meaning those podium results belong to her colored belt record. The promotion arrived as she prepared to enter jiu-jitsu's most demanding competitive landscape for the first time.

A note on weight division context: sources vary slightly on whether her 2024 World Championship gold came in the medium-heavyweight or heavyweight category. Her competitive record places her in the Pesado division at 79 kg / 175 lbs, and that classification frames her black belt career to date.

The 2024 season marked Tamiris Silva's debut on the IBJJF world stage as a black belt — and she met the moment emphatically. At the 2024 IBJJF World Championship, she claimed gold in her division, completing a trajectory that very few competitors achieve: a World Championship as a brown belt followed by a World Championship in the first black belt season.

A Season of Consistent Podium Performances

The 2024 season extended well beyond that single result. Earlier in the year, Tamiris earned a third-place finish at the 2024 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship, adding to a growing record of podium appearances across major IBJJF events. She also reached the podium at the 2024 CBJJ Brazilian Nationals with a third-place finish, and she competed at the 2024 ADCC Brazilian Trials — placing third and signaling growing ambitions in the no-gi format and on the submission wrestling circuit.

Taken together, the 2024 season established Tamiris Silva as one of the premier black belts in her weight category on the international circuit. For an athlete who came to jiu-jitsu with reluctance at 18 and built her career methodically through the ranks under Saulo Barbosa and the Dream Art organization, the black belt World Championship gold represented both a personal milestone and the fulfillment of everything her colored belt record had promised.