BEATRIZ MESQUITA

Beatriz "Bia" Mesquita is one of the most decorated female competitors in the history of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and the figure most responsible for establishing women's lightweight competitive BJJ as a discipline of equal technical sophistication to the men's competitive game. Born in Rio de Janeiro in 1989 and trained from a young age under Leticia Ribeiro at Gracie Humaita, Mesquita won the IBJJF Mundial at black belt six times across her career, including multiple consecutive titles that established her as the dominant women's lightweight of the early 2010s.

Mesquita's competitive style emphasized closed-guard submissions, back-control chains, and a disciplined IBJJF-oriented points game that produced consistent podium results across more than a decade of competition. Her matches against Michelle Nicolini, Mackenzie Dern, and the broader women's lightweight roster across the 2010s and 2020s produced some of the most-watched women's BJJ matches in IBJJF history and contributed significantly to the institutional growth of women's competitive BJJ.

Alongside her active competitive career, Mesquita has been a vocal advocate for women's BJJ visibility and parity of opportunity within the competitive ecosystem. Her continued podium presence into the mid-2020s — long after most male competitors of her generation have transitioned away from active competition — demonstrates the longevity that the women's competitive game has begun to develop. As of 2026 Mesquita continues to compete at the elite level and remains one of the most influential figures in women's BJJ.