Rerisson Gabriel

Rerisson dos Santos Gabriel was born in August 2002 in Rio de Janeiro and raised in Cantagalo, a hillside community in the city’s South Zone. He started Jiu-Jitsu in the community’s social project, with Douglas Rufino and Sandro Vieira, and collected titles at the colored belts: Brazilian Nationals at blue, Worlds at purple in 2022, and Europeans at purple and brown.

He received his black belt on June 7, 2024, from his brother Cleison Santos, already as an Alliance Rio athlete. Nine months later, in March 2025, he beat Diogo Reis in the Pan final by referee decision after a tied score and took gold at light-featherweight. A few weeks earlier, after a bronze medal at the Europeans, he had told VF Comunica: “The year is just starting and you can be sure you’ll still hear my name a lot.”

The title opened doors. In June 2025 he faced Mikey Musumeci for the first UFC BJJ bantamweight belt and lost by heel hook in the third round. He returned to the event in February 2026 and beat Landon Elmore by decision.

In 2026 he won the CBJJ Brazilian Nationals, beating Shoya Ishiguro in the semifinal and Diego “Pato” Oliveira in the final, both on advantages. At the Worlds, he lost in the quarterfinal. On October 15, the IBJJF announced him as the final featherweight for The Crown on November 8 in Long Beach, one division above where he usually competes (read the story). He had already laid out his career plan in 2025: “My plan was always to win a world title at light-featherweight and then move up to featherweight.”