Raquel Pa'aluhi Canuto

Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Robert Drysdale and a representative of the Zenith team in the sport’s international circuit while being also a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and title contender for the well-known women’s cage fighting promotion: Invicta Fighting Championship. In jiu-jitsu Raquel has conquered numerous important titles including International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s (IBJJF) Pan American (purple belt), No-Gi World Champion (purple + blue belt), and No-Gi Pan American (purple).

Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto Jiu Jitsu

Full Name: Raquel Dayne Kaleialoha Pa’aluhi Canuto

Nickname: N/A

Lineage: Carlos Gracie > Helio Gracie > Rolls Gracie > Romero Cavalcanti > Leonardo Vieira > Robert Drysdale > Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto

Main Achievements:

1st Place IBJJF World Championship NOGI (2017 / 2019 / 2021)
1st Place IBJJF Long Beach Open (2017 )
1st Place IBJJF Dallas Open (2021 )
2nd Place IBJJF World Championship (2018)
2nd Place IBJJF European Open (2018)
3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2021)

Main Achievements (Colored Belts):

1st Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2016 purple)
1st Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2016/2015 purple, 2014* blue)
1st Place IBJJF Pans Championship No-Gi (2015 purple)
1st Place IBJJF Las Vegas Open (2016** purple, 2017 brown)
1st Place AJP Grand Slam, LA (2016 purple)
1st Place IBJJF World Championship (2017 brown, 2016 purple)
2nd Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2014 blue)
3rd Place IBJJF World Championship (2016*purple, 2013 blue)
3rd Place IBJJF Pans Championship (2017 brown, 2015 purple)
3rd Place IBJJF World Championship No-Gi (2015* purple)
3rd Place IBJJF Pans Championship No-Gi (2015* purple)

Favorite Position/Technique: Pressure Passing

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

Team/Association: Zenith JJ

Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto Biography

Raquel Pa’aluhi (Canuto) was born on October 14, 1990, in Wai’anae, Hawaii – United States of America where she was raised.

Being the daughter of one of Hawaii’s mixed martial arts (MMA) pioneers – David Pa’aluhi, it didn’t come as a surprise to many when little Raquel decided to start training karate at the age of 9. Pa’aluhi would later move on to freestyle wrestling during her high school years at Wai’anae High, and Jamestown College where she earned an All-American WCWA 4th place (Women’s College Wrestling Association) and a spot in Hawaii’s National Wrestling Team.

In 2009, as she finished her first year of College, 19 YO Pa’aluhi started training for MMA at Hakuilua – her family’s gym. It was at this stage that Raquel was introduced to jiu-jitsu, strictly from a cage fighting perspective.
Diving straight into MMA’s deep end, Pa’aluhi faced a legion of the sport’s toughest women, including future Ultimate Fighting Champion (UFC) Amanda Nunes, and UFC title contenders Sara McMann and Raquel Pennington. The level of talent and experience she faced inside the cage made some of the holes in Raquel’s game more evident, particularly her shortcomings on the ground.

With her improvement as a mixed martial artist in mind, Raquel’s coach advised her to take a year off from fighting to focus solely on BJJ. Pa’aluhi agreed and it wasn’t long before she started training and competing in jiu jitsu, her first tournament being UAEJJF’s World Pro Trials which she won as a white belt (mixed class of white-blue belts). Going to the World Pro finals in Abu Dhabi and seeing the size of the sport helped cement Raquel’s intentions of full dedication in grappling’s competitive circuit.

Given that competitions were few and far between in Hawaii, and training was not geared towards her ambitions, in 2014 purple belt Raquel Pa’aluhi travelled to Las Vegas to train with Robert Drysdale. She fell in love with the people and the training methodology there, deciding to move to the Fight Capital of the world.

It was at Drysdale’s academy that Raquel met fellow professional athlete and Zenith BJJ representative Renato Canuto, the two would get married in 2016. On August 2017 Robert Drysdale awarded Raquel Pa’aluhi Canuto her black belt in a private dinner following her title fight for Invicta FC.

Raquel Pa’aluhi vs Chelsah Lyons