Vitória de Assis

Vitória Damiana Silva de Assis was born on September 20, 2002, on Paquetá Island — a small, largely car-free island situated just off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Raised in that active, close-knit environment, she developed an early passion for sport, competing in football (soccer) and swimming before discovering the discipline that would come to define her athletic identity. At age 11, she stepped onto the jiu-jitsu mats for the first time under the guidance of coach Gildo Jorge, beginning a rapid and decorated journey through the sport.

Her competitive instincts surfaced almost immediately. Just three months after starting training, Vitória entered her first tournament — an unusually short runway that spoke to both her eagerness and her natural aptitude for grappling. That early experience set the tone for a career built around consistent tournament participation and a relentless drive to test herself against the best.

Vitória's formative years on the mats were shaped by two key mentors. Gildo Jorge guided her through the early belt ranks, and after receiving her yellow belt, she transitioned to training under Bruno Formiga, whose instruction would accompany her through the most pivotal stages of her development — a progression that reflected her growing ambitions and the increasing seriousness with which she approached the sport.

Her colored belt career peaked during the 2022 and 2023 seasons. At purple belt in 2022, Vitória delivered one of the most complete performances in her division, claiming gold at both the IBJJF World Championship and the IBJJF Pan American Championship — a remarkable double that established her as one of the standout prospects of her generation. She had demonstrated elite-level potential years earlier as well, finishing as runner-up at the 2019 CBJJ Brazilian Nationals as a juvenile competitor.

Moving into the brown belt ranks, she carried that momentum forward without hesitation. Vitória opened 2023 by taking gold at the 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship, confirming that her purple belt dominance was no fluke. She capped her colored belt career with a gold medal at the 2023 IBJJF No-Gi World Championship — a result that served as a powerful statement of readiness for the elite black belt division and set the stage directly for her promotion.

In June 2023, Bruno Formiga and Double Five team leader Rafael Formiga promoted Vitória Assis to the black belt rank. The timing was significant: coming on the heels of her No-Gi Worlds gold, the promotion reflected the full confidence her coaches placed in her ability to compete at the highest level of the sport from the moment she crossed that threshold.

Vitória competes under the Double Five banner, a Brazilian team with a strong competitive tradition. She lines up in the Peso Pena division, with a weight limit of 58.50 kg (129.0 lbs) — a category in which she has steadily built a formidable record since earning her black belt.

Vitória's transition to the black belt division was immediate and authoritative. In 2023, she claimed gold at the IBJJF Brazilian Nationals No-Gi, one of her first major titles as a newly promoted black belt, signaling that the adjustment to the elite ranks would be seamless. She then backed that up by winning the 2023 IBJJF American Nationals and returned in 2024 to claim that title again — back-to-back golds that underscored her status as one of the division's most consistent performers.

At the major IBJJF circuit events, her results have reflected steady upward progression. The 2024 IBJJF European Open saw her earn a bronze medal, and she added another bronze at the 2024 IBJJF Pan Championship, demonstrating her competitiveness against the world's best. Later in 2024, she reached the final of the IBJJF Pan Championship No-Gi, finishing with silver — a result that illustrated just how close she had come to the top of the podium in the sport's most demanding formats. That trajectory continued into 2025, when Vitória advanced to the final of the IBJJF European Championship and secured a silver medal, further cementing her standing as one of the premier competitors in the Peso Pena black belt division.