Melissa Cueto
Born (1990-06-21) 21 June 1990
Pelotas, Brazil
Other namesMelissa Stricker Cueto
DivisionMedium Heavy −74 kg
Heavy −79.3 kg
Fighting out ofAlliance San Diego
TeamAlliance
RankBJJ black belt[lower-alpha 1]
Medal record
Representing  Brazil
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2023 California, USA − 79.3 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2023 California, USA Openweight
Bronze medal – third place 2022 California, USA − 79.3 kg
Gold medal – first place 2021 California, USA − 79.3 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 California, USA − 74 kg
World No-GI Championship
Silver medal – second place 2022 California, USA − 71.5 kg
Pan-American Championship
Gold medal – first place 2022 California, USA − 79.3 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2022 California, USA Openweight
Silver medal – second place 2021 California, USA − 79.3 kg

Melissa Cueto (born 21 June 1990) is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor from Brazil. Cueto is a two-time IBJJF jiu-jitsu world champion and the 2022 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Medium Heavy Champion.[2][3]

Career

Melissa Cueto was born on 21 June 1990, in Pelotas, Brazil. During her early adolescence, Cueto practiced taekwondo for three years, then at the age of 17, her parents enrolled her in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ).[2] Her first instructor was Antônio Pedro Dias (Kapincho), who awarded her all her belts from white to brown belt.[3] After her relationship with Kapincho deteriorated she switched coach to Leonardo Morosetti of Thork Jiu-Jitsu.[3]

Throughout her time as a purple belt, she became two-time South American champion, two-time Brazilian Champion, and earning two silver medals at the Brasileiros competition. Upon reaching the brown belt level, she won gold at both the Brasileiros and the World Championships, which led to her promotion to black belt in December 2018 under the guidance of her then-coach, Leonardo Morosetti.[2] In 2019, she teamed up with Diego Unfer, a representative of the RMNU Association (Robson Moura Association) then in 2021, she joined Alliance Association, becoming a member of their team for international competitions.[2]

As a black belt, she won her first IBJJF World Championship title in 2021, winning silver competing at the World IBJJF No-Gi.[4] the following year she dominated the heavyweight division at the 2022 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship where she won gold and bronze in the Openweight.[3] In 2023 she became world champion for the second time winning the heavyweight and bronze in the openweight at the 2023 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship.[2]

Cueto was invited to compete in a women's heavyweight grand prix at BJJ Stars 11 on September 9, 2023.[5] She submitted Tamiris Silva in the opening round but lost on points to the eventual winner, Gabi Pessanha, in the semifinal.[6]

Notes

  1. ↑ Under Leonardo Morosetti[1]

References

  1. ↑ "Best BJJ Rising Stars 2023". Elite Sports. 6 March 2023. Retrieved 8 August 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Melissa Stricker Cueto". BJJ Heroes. 13 December 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Aggressive Female BJJ Black Belt – Melissa Cueto". Elite Sports. 9 November 2022.
  4. ↑ "Athlete Results Melissa Cueto". Athlete Results. 22 February 1999.
  5. ↑ Burne, Kathrine. "Full Lineup Confirmed For BJJ Stars 11". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
  6. ↑ "BJJ Stars 11 Full Results And Review". Jitsmagazine. Retrieved 11 September 2023.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.