Emily Fernandez

Emily Fernandez is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Bruno Bastos and a representative of the Bruno Bastos Association and Team LEAD (Live Everyday to Achieve your Dreams) in the sport’s international circuit. Fernandez started making waves in the sport at a very young age, winning several World Championships (gi and no-gi) in the juvenile division of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), becoming widely recognized as one of the leading grapplers of her generation, a tradition she maintained on through to the adult division.

Emily Fernandez Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Emily Elizabeth Fernandez

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Luiz França > Oswaldo Fadda > Sebastião Ricardo > Wendell Alexander > Bruno Bastos > Emily Fernandez

Main Achievements:

• 2nd Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2022)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2021 purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2022 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2021* purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2022 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF American Nationals NOGI (2020 purple)

Main Achievements (Juvenile):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2018 / 2019)
  1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2018** / 2019)
  1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship NOGI (2019**)
  2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2019)
  3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2018*)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Closed Guard

Weight Division: Peso Leve (64 kg / 141.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Team LEAD

Emily Fernandez Biography

Emily Fernandez was born on February 7, 2002, in Midland, Texas, United States of America, where she grew up.

Sports played an important part in Fernandez’s upbringing as a way to give focus to her life after she was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Emily practiced a variety of activities as a child and in junior high school, but never settled in any for too long up until the moment she found jiu-jitsu.

The first martial art experience of Fernandez was judo, which she practiced for a few months before the classes ended due to the gym closing down. She would return to grappling, through BJJ at the age of 11, on October 2013.

Fernandez’s first steps in jiu-jitsu were taken under the supervision of coach Bruno Bastos – a renowned instructor in the Texas region – quickly becoming recognized as one of the ascending competitors on the junior and juvenile scene.

Emily worked with Bastos from white to black belt, climbing quickly through the ranks thanks to her outstanding performances in the sport’s top tournaments. She received her black belt rank in a promotion that took place after her brown belt silver medal performance at the IBJJF World Championships in June 2022.