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From Local Tournaments to Global Titles: Cassia Moura’s Climb
Most people believe that Cassia Moura went from blue belt to black belt in just one year, something extremely rare in jiu-jitsu and, from a technical standpoint, nearly impossible.
How could someone have the talent to reach a black belt in such a short period of time? And beyond that, go on to conquer one of the sport’s most prestigious titles, like the UFC BJJ belt?
Cassia’s journey, however, started long before that.
Born and raised in Realengo, a neighborhood in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, she started training jiu-jitsu at just eight years old. Before reaching the black belt rank, she progressed through the kids’ belt system, earning her grey and yellow belts, and later receiving her blue belt as a juvenile in December 2020.
But her career accelerated rapidly after she moved to Midland, Texas, to train under Professor Bruno Bastos. She was promoted to purple belt in June 2023, then to brown belt in December of the same year, and finally to black belt just six months later.
How It Started
Cassia Moura was born on December 22, 2005, in Realengo, Rio de Janeiro. She was raised in a modest household, where resources were limited, but her connection to jiu-jitsu began early.
At 8 years old, she started jiu-jitsu in Ypê Jiu-Jitsu, a social project led by Claudio Nascimento – the first black belt promoted by Professor Bruno Bastos.
She wasn’t considered a standout talent at first - she was simply consistent and a hard worker. She competed regularly, collecting wins and losses like any developing athlete.
Through this project, she progressed through the kids’ BJJ belt system, earning her grey belt in 2015, yellow belt in 2017, and blue belt in 2020, when she was still a juvenile.
While in Brazil, Cassia didn’t have the resources to travel across the country, so she became used to competing in local tournaments around Rio de Janeiro. Then, in 2021, something happened that would change her life forever.
The Double Gold at CBJJ Brazilian Nationals
The juvenile blue belt division is tough, especially in Brazil. Dozens of young athletes, many coming from similar social projects, chase the same dream of building a life through jiu-jitsu.
In 2021, Cassia stood out. She won double gold, taking the gold in both the lightweight division and the open class. But success in jiu-jitsu doesn’t always come with financial reward.
Winning a major tournament when you are not a professional often means spending money on travel, registration, and preparation, only to return home with a medal. And with that reality, pressure began to grow within her family for her to find a stable job and help support the household.
That’s when Bruno Bastos, now her professor, told her that if she kept training and competing, he would find a way to bring her to the United States — to train under his guidance and pursue something bigger.
The Turning Point in Her Career
In 2023, Cassia boarded a plane for the first time, leaving behind everything she knew in pursuit of something bigger. At that time, the goal was only doing a 4-month training camp in Midland, Texas, at LEAD Jiu-Jitsu, to compete at the IBJJF Worlds and then return to Brazil. Things didn’t go as planned.
As a blue belt, she had an amazing performance in Long Beach, California, capturing gold and becoming a World Champion. Following that, she was promoted to purple belt.
After only six months, Cassia made her debut at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship in a style. Winning the absolute division, she claimed her second world title in the same year, this time at a new belt rank, and earned her promotion to brown belt.
Her plans to return to Brazil were canceled as she decided to pursue a professional jiu-jitsu career in the United States. While teaching at LEAD Jiu-Jitsu, Cassia continued to train intensely, and in June 2024, she reached another milestone: winning the IBJJF World title as a brown belt and earning her promotion to black belt.
That’s why many people say Cassia went from blue to black belt in just one year. But few know the full story — that it wasn’t talent, but discipline and hard work.
Her Black Belt Journey
It might sound unreal: a newly promoted black belt collecting the biggest titles in jiu-jitsu. But if you know Cassia, you know it’s anything but impossible.
Since her promotion, she has taken on numerous superfights and continued to perform at a high level across the sport’s major tournaments.
Her first major title at black belt came at the IBJJF No-Gi World Championship — just six months after her promotion. Today, she is a two-time world champion.
She also captured gold at the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals in 2025.
Even in tournaments where she didn’t take gold, she remained on the podium: in 2025, she earned second place at the IBJJF Pan Championship, and third place at the IBJJF World Championship, IBJJF European Championship, and IBJJF The Crown.
In 2026, she made history as the first female bantamweight UFC BJJ champion.
UFC BJJ Breakthrough
After 12 years of hard training, Cassia has been living the best moment in her career so far. In March 2026, she became the first female to win the bantamweight title at the UFC BJJ.
Cassia’s journey into UFC BJJ began even before the organization officially launched the new brand — through the UFC Fight Pass Invitational (FPI).
In 2024, she made her debut at FPI 8, where she faced Cindy Hung and secured the victory. The following year, she defeated Sarah Galvão by points at FPI 10.
Later that same year, she stepped onto the UFC BJJ stage twice — at UFC BJJ 1 and UFC BJJ 3 — earning victories over Talita Alencar and Alex Enriquez, and establishing herself as a title contender.
In March 2026, she made history as the first female bantamweight UFC BJJ champion, defeating Ffion Davies.
What looked like a one-year rise was, in reality, a lifetime of work. And now, at the top of the sport, Cassia is exactly where she was always meant to be. At just 20 years old, this is only the beginning.