Beatriz Mesquita

Beatriz de Oliveira Mesquita, better known as Bia Mesquita, was born on April 7, 1991, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She started Brazilian jiu-jitsu in 1996 alongside her brother and kept training after he left the sport. When her family moved to Saquarema, in Rio de Janeiro state, Mesquita continued at Vento Sul under Luis Fernando, collecting junior titles early enough that her potential was obvious before she was a teenager. Her athletic base was broader than BJJ: she also competed in judo, swimming, and freestyle wrestling, winning a junior state wrestling title at 15 before focusing fully on jiu-jitsu.

Luis Fernando eventually sent Mesquita to Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro, to train under Leticia Ribeiro, one of the foundational coaches of modern women's jiu-jitsu. Inside Gracie Humaita she developed the closed-guard, armbar, back-attack, and explosive passing game that became her signature. Ribeiro promoted her to brown belt on the podium of the 2009 IBJJF World Championship, then to black belt at the 2011 Pan Championship. That promotion placed Mesquita directly in the elite black-belt field at a time when the women's divisions were rapidly professionalizing.

Mesquita's black-belt resume became one of the deepest in the sport. She won her first IBJJF black-belt World title in 2012 and reached a record 10 black-belt World Championship gold medals by 2021, including lightweight titles and absolute titles. She also won major titles at the Pan Championship, European Championship, Brazilian Nationals, World No-Gi, Abu Dhabi World Pro, and the UAEJJF Grand Slams. In no-gi she added the 2017 ADCC -60 kg world title, the 2018 EBI 16 bantamweight crown, and the WNO women's bantamweight title, while continuing to medal at ADCC in 2022 and 2024.

After completing nearly every major grappling milestone, Mesquita moved into mixed martial arts while training at American Top Team. She announced the transition in 2023, made her professional MMA debut in 2024, won the LFA women's bantamweight title in 2025, and then signed with the UFC. By July 2026 she was unbeaten at 8-0 as a professional and 3-0 in the UFC, with all three Octagon wins by submission. The MMA run has not replaced her jiu-jitsu identity; it has extended it, with Mesquita using the Lady GOAT moniker to connect her record-setting grappling career to a new competitive chapter.