Gabriel Costa
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Bacabal, Maranhao, Brazil
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About Us
Gabriel Costa was born on April 22, 1998, in Bacabal, a small town in the Brazilian state of Maranhão, located in the Northeast region of the country.
Growing up in the remote countryside, there were no sporting activities to play, and Gabriel’s only outlet was jiu-jitsu, a sport he started at the age of 12, after moving to the state capital of São Luis to live with his stepfather and mother. It was by his stepdad’s influence that Costa joined a Guigo Jiu-Jitsu Team affiliate near his new home, where he started training under Roberto Ferreira.
The proximity to the gym meant “Maranhão” spent the majority of his days, outside of school time, at the academy, training and watching the adults train. This day-to-day proximity with jiu-jitsu inspired Gabriel to pursue a professional career in the sport.
Competing under the guidance of coach Roberto Ferreira – himself a black belt under Luiz Guilherme “Guigo” – Gabriel Costa quickly started making his name known in the local circuit. His good performances as a blue belt led the youngster down to São Paulo to compete in the local circuit, arguably one of the strongest grappling tours in the world. When in São Paulo, “Maranhão” trained at the Guigo Headquarters, the team to which coach Ferreira was affiliated with.
After a few trips to São Paulo to compete, team leader Luiz Guilherme invited Gabriel to remain in São Paulo and train on a full-time jiu-jitsu scholarship, an offer accepted by Costa.
Gabriel “Maranhão” immediately made his talent known on a national level under the watchful eye of coach Guigo, conquering every major tournament on the Brazilian Gi circuit, but, unfortunately, he was unable to compete in the most important tournaments on the international circuit during his rise to black belt as he was not granted a visa to enter the United States, where the World and Pan American Championships are held.
After dominant performances in Brazil and an impressive run at the European Open Championship of 2020, where Costa earned a silver medal, Costa was finally promoted to black belt by Luiz Guigo in a ceremony that took place on November 2020.
