Kaua Gabriel Barbosa

Kauã Gabriel Barbosa (note that the “ã” in Kauã represents a nasalization at the end of the syllable used in the Portuguese language. e.g. sounds somewhat similar to “hunt” but without the “nt” being pronounced.) commonly known as Kauã Gabriel is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Melqui Galvão who first broke out in the sport back in 2022 after he made the final of the ADCC Brazilian Qualifier in São Paulo as an 18yo purple belt. He would cement his claim as one of the hottest prospects in the sport in the years that followed, particularly in the no-gi circuit.

Kauã Gabriel Barbosa Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Kauã Gabriel De Araujo Barbosa

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Royler Gracie / Rolker Gracie > Augusto Monteiro > Ronnie Melo > Melquisedeque Galvão > Kauã Gabriel

Main Achievements:

• 2nd Place ADCC Brazil Trials 1 (2024)
• 2nd Place ADCC Brazil Trials 2 (2022 / 2024)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals NOGI (2023** brown)
• 1st Place CBJJE Mundial Championship NOGI (2023** brown)

Main Achievements (Junior):

• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2016)
• 1st Place CBJJ South American Championship (2017)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2019)

Main Achievements (Other):

• 1st Place FILLS/FASUB Luta Livre Nationals (2022)
• 1st Place FEJAMA Amazonas Judo State Championship (2020)

Favorite Position/Technique: Well Rounded

Weight Division: Peso Pena (70,00 kg / 154.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Escola Melqui Galvão

Kauã Gabriel Biography

Kauã Gabriel was born in January 2004 and grew up in Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.

Being raised by a jiu-jitsu practitioner – his mother, Natalia Oliveira de Araujo was a purple belt at the time and is now a black belt – grappling was a natural path for Gabriel, who started practicing the Gentle Art at the age of 4 under the umbrella of Omar Salum, and his mother, Natalia, who was an instructor at the time and maintained her coaching career as a black belt.

Training at Omar Salum’s school, Kauã went through all the kids’ belt ranks. Midway through 2019, as a green belt, Gabriel started working with coach Melqui Galvao who would eventually take over his tutelage.

While working with coach Melqui, Kauã had access to other instructors from other aspects of grappling such as Luta Livre Esportiva (a form of Brazilian catch wrestling) with Anderson Alves and Judo with Dejanir Nunes, challenging himself in tournaments of these two disciplines as well in the Manaus region.

Competing exclusively on the Brazilian circuit and mostly in the North East region of the country, Kauã Gabriel proved his worth as an athlete in the blue belt division which led to his purple belt promotion in June 2021, and later his brown belt in May 2022.

By the end of his purple belt campaign, Kauã started gaining recognition in the no-gi scene. The habit persisted as a brown belt, leading to his black belt promotion on September 26, 2023, after an epic double-gold performance at the CBJJ Brazilian National No-Gi Championship. The rank was awarded by his instructor, Mr. Melqui Galvao.

NOTE REGARDING KAUA GABRIEL’S RECORD

Traditionally BJJ Heroes has only accounted for black belt records as they signify an athlete’s entry into our sport’s elite ranks. Gabriel, however, is a special case as he’s been competing in the pro-grappling circuit before his promotion. This has left BJJ Heroes with a delicate predicament of defining when to start accounting for the young player’s match records.

Considering the real potential Kaua has of one day conquering the ADCC World Championship, we have decided to add his matches in the event’s Brazil qualifiers in 2022, before him being ranked as a black belt. We did this for historical purposes but our readers should be mindful that Gabriel competed as a black belt for the first time at the AIGA Finals in 2023.