Gisele Menezes

Gisele Constante Menezes Tavares, commonly known as Gisele Menezes, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Renato Sousa (Panda) of the GF Team Association (GFT) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Gisele Menezes first made waves in the sport while competing on the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) circuit, where she won important medals both as an amateur colored belt, a good form she maintained as a black belt.

Gisele Menezes Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Gisele Constante Menezes Tavares

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Luis França > O. Fadda > Monir Salomão > Julio Cesar > Renato Panda > Gisele Menezes

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2025)
• 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, RJN (2025)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2025)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2025)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2023 purple)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2021 blue, 2022 purple)
• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2021 blue, 2022 purple, 2023** brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2022 / 2023 purple)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2021* blue)
• 3rd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2023* purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2021* blue, 2022* purple)
• 3rd Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2021 purple)

Main Achievements (Teen / Juvenile):

• 1st Place IBJJF European Championship (2020**)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2020*)

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Favorite Position/Technique: Guard Passer

Weight Division: Peso Médio (69,00 kg / 152.5 lbs)

Team/Association: GF Team

Gisele Menezes Biography

Gisele Menezes was born in May 2003, in the famous Cidade de Deus, one of the most well-known slums in Brazil’s Jacarepaguá suburb, Rio de Janeiro.

As is often the case in many Brazilian slums, there are several community-based organizations offering activities for underprivileged children, and Menezes participated in many from a young age, practicing Capoeira, Tennis, Boxing, and other sports.

When she was 9 (2013), the local police precinct started its own social project to help build a bond with the community. In that endeavor were kids’ jiu-jitsu classes, where Gisele gave her first steps in grappling under the instruction of Officer Chagas.

As Gisele got more involved with the tournament side of jiu-jitsu as a teenager, she decided to invest in a more competition-driven workgroup. She found what she was looking for at a GF Team Academy affiliate in Vila Sape, under the instruction of coach Renato “Panda”.

With competition in her mind since the early stages of her grappling career, Gisele struggled to compete at the bigger tournaments in the United States for some years due to a lack of funds. Her first big trip outside of Brazil to compete was at the European Championship in Portugal as a juvenile, where she earned double gold.

Gisele quickly became one of the hottest prospects in the colored belt division. Her good form led to her black belt promotion by Renato Panda after the IBJJF World Championships in June 2024.