Ingridd Alves

Ingridd Alves de Sousa is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Edilson Albuquerque who worked extensively with coach Eduardo Cunha. Ingridd became a familiar face in the sport’s international scene after her brown belt performances of 2020, a time when she conquered several important tournaments of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) league, events such as the European Open and South American Championships.

Ingridd Alves Jiu-Jitsu

Name: Ingridd Alves de Sousa

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Takeo Iano > Master Francisco Sá > Carlos Pinto Sá “Sazinho” > Ricardo Barros “Chita” > Edilson Albuquerque > Ingridd Alves

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2021**)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2021***)
• 1st Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2021)
• 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, RJN (2023)
• 1st Place AJP Grand Slam, ABD (2023)
• 1st Place AJP North America Continental Pro (2021*)
• 1st Place AJP Africa Continental Pro (2022)
• 1st Place AJP Brazil Nat. Pro (2021**)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2023)
• 2nd Place ADCC Brazilian Trials (2022)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, RJN (2021 / 2022)
• 2nd Place AJP Grand Slam, LDN (2023)
• 3rd Place AJP Abu Dhabi World Pro (2023)
• 3rd Place AJP Queen Of Mats (2022)
• 3rd Place AJP Grand Slam, MIA (2022)
• 3rd Place AJP Grand Slam, LDN (2022)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF European Open (2020 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF South American Championship (2019 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Curitiba Summer Open (2020* brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Salvador Spring Open (2019* brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Vitória Open (2019 brown)
• 1st Place IBJJF Fortaleza Open (2019** purple)
• 1st Place AJP Brazil National Pro (2020** brown [+ black])
• 1st Place AJP Brasília Pro (2019** / 2020** brown [+ black])
• 1st Place AJP Fortaleza Pro (2019** purple, 2020** brown)
• 2nd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2018 / 2019** purple)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Curitiba Spring Open (2019 brown)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2018* purple)
• 3rd Place IBJJF South American Championship (2019* brown)
• 3rd Place AJP Grand Slam, RJ (2020 brown [+ black])

* Absolute
** Weight and Absolute

Weight Division: Pesado (79 kg / 175.0 lbs)

Favorite Position/Technique: Open Guard

Team/Association: Guigo JJ

Ingridd Alves Biography

Ingridd Alves was born on January 29, 1995, in Teresina – the capital of the Brazilian state of Piauí. Being the daughter of a military man, Ingridd lived where her father was stationed, moving around the country while growing up.

While growing Alves played several different school sports at a competitive level, being particularly keen on futsal (a form of indoor soccer) and volleyball.

By the time she reached adulthood, Alves had fallen into the shortfalls of a sedentary lifestyle, a time when she reached over 100 kilograms (220 lbs). Although struggling with insecurities due to her physical appearance and with low self-esteem, Ingridd decided to join a jiu-jitsu school located inside a military club by the end of 2014.

From the very beginning of her jiu-jitsu tuition, Ingridd enjoyed the training, saying jokingly in an interview with BJJ Heroes from January 2021 that grappling had been a “love at first choke”. Within only a few months of practice, Alves lost 30 kilograms (66 pounds).

Her devotion for grappling early on led Alves down the path of competitive jiu-jitsu when she was in her early days as a white belt. Even though she was choked out of consciousness in her very first ever match, the experience did not detour her from returning to the tournament scene, quite the opposite. The ordeal made her return to the training room with even more determination.

Working with coach Edilson Albuquerque, from a small town (in jiu-jitsu terms), in a lesser-known gym, Ingridd Alves was able to become one of the most well-known athletes on the Brazilian circuit.

Coach Albuquerque’s gym was affiliated with different associations over the years, from the famous Northeastern Brazil team of SAS to the international NewSchool Brotherhood. Taking full advantage of the gym network associated with Albuquerque, Ingridd trained extensively in Fortaleza with coach Eduardo Cunha. During the early months of 2021, Ingridd moved to São Paulo, then joining the Guigo Jiu-Jitsu Academy.

The cover photo was taken by Ilan Pellenberg.