Maria Luiza

Maria Luiza Nunes Pinto, commonly known as Maria Luiza, is a jiu-jitsu black belt under Caio Almeida and a member of the Almeida Jiu-Jitsu team who often represents the Atos Association in international events due to the affiliation between AJJ and Atos. Maria Luiza first made waves in the sport as a juvenile but it was as a brown belt that she truly broke through as one of the top competitors of her generation through her wins in the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) World & Brazilian National Championships.

Maria Luiza Jiu-Jitsu

Full Name: Maria Luiza Nunes Pinto

Nickname: referenced as “Maria Chiquinha” by her peers due to her trademark pigtail hairstyle, a look that is often associated with a character from a famous TV series named Maria Chiquinha.

Lineage: Carlos Gracie Sr. > Helio Gracie > Carlos Gracie Junior > Ryan Gracie > Gabriel Vella > Caio Almeida > Maria Luiza

Main Achievements:

• 1st Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2025)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2024)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2024)
• 3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2025)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2025)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

• 1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2023 brown)
• 1st Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2023 brown)
• 2nd Place IBJJF Pan Championship (2023 brown)
• 3rd Place IBJJF European Open (2023 brown)
• 3rd Place CBJJ Brazilian Nationals (2021 purple, 2022 brown)

Main Achievements (Juvenile):

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

Favorite Position/Technique: Well Rounded

Weight Division: Peso Pena (58,50 kg / 129.0 lbs) & Peso Leve (64 kg / 141.5 lbs)

Team/Association: Almeida JJ (Atos Affiliated)

Maria Luiza Pinto Biography

Maria Luiza was born on October 31st, 2002, in the city of Tiradentes, located inside Sao Paulo’s state borders in Brazil.

When she was 9, Maria moved to Rio de Janeiro, and it was there that the young Paulista joined her first jiu-jitsu class, influenced by her father-in-law, who was a brown belt at the time. This first contact took place at a social project in the Beira do Rio community with a coach named Kimo.

Maria’s time training jiu-jitsu at her neighborhood’s social project ended abruptly when the workgroup shut down, but Luiza was already too much of a fan of the sport to quit. She would go on to join Nova União’s team in the Recreio area with coaches Jobel Teixeira and Leandro Thule, who promoted the young athlete until her orange belt.

As a 14-year-old, Luiza returned to Sao Paulo and joined Caio Almeida’s team (Almeida Jiu-Jitsu) and it was there that her sporting mentality took a turn towards a full-time occupation. An ambition that was cemented during her first trip to the United States of America, at age 15, an experience that fueled her aspirations in the sport.

Under the guidance of her mentor, Caio Almeida, Maria Luiza went through the belt ranks with great competitive success, a good form that led to her black belt promotion on June 3, 2023.