Thamires é faixa-preta do professor Lucas Leite

O Jiu-Jitsu feminino da Checkmat está em alta, e quem anda puxando a fila de renovação de novos talentos é Thamires Monteiro, 23 anos. A atleta dominou a divisão peso leve no Pan da IBJJF e no Mundial Sem Kimono, além de beliscar medalhas de prata no Pan Sem Kimono e no Mundial, em 2021.

A jovem campeã destaca a mentalidade como principal evolução durante a última temporada.

“Creio que nos últimos anos eu cresci muito, técnica e fisicamente”, avalia Thami. “Mas nesse ano de 2021 evoluí muito mentalmente. Isso ajudou muito a melhorar minhas atuações nos campeonatos. Lógico que eu queria ter ganhado o Mundial, mas foi um grande ano. Vai ser melhor na próxima temporada, agora na faixa-preta. Quero mandar bem na elite do esporte”, promete ela, que foi graduada pelo professor Lucas Leite e por Jackson Douglas, seu esposo e também faixa-preta.

“Creio que lutarei de peso-pena na faixa-preta, acredito que é um ótima divisão para ver meu Jiu-Jitsu fluir”, antecipa Thami, que fez uma retrospectiva de suas lições na marrom.

“Todas as lutas na faixa marrom me marcaram de alguma forma, mas a final do Mundial Sem Kimono se destaca. Eu estava muito focada e com um embalo incrível! Me via consciente de cada movimento que estava fazendo e fui capaz de achar a finalização bem mais rápido do que esperava”, lembra a fera.

Thamires Monteiro is a Jiu-Jitsu black belt under Lucas Leite

Women’s BJJ at Checkmat is thriving, and the person leading the charge of this renovation of new talents is Thamires Monteiro, 23. She dominated the light division at the Pan and No-Gi Worlds, as well as winning silver at the No-Gi Pan and at the Worlds, all from the IBJJF, in 2021.

The new champion pointed to her mindset as her biggest evolution during the latest BJJ season.

“I believe in the last few years I grew a lot both technically and physically, but in this year of 2021 for sure I evolved a lot mentally”, said Thami. “This greatly helped improve my performance in championships. Logically, I wanted to have won the Worlds too, but it was a great year. It’s gonna be better in the next season, now as a black-belt. I want to do well in the sport’s elite!”

Monteiro was recently promoted by Lucas Leite and Jackson Douglas, the latter her husband and fellow black-belt.

“It’s a mixture of feelings,” she said with a chuckle. “I feel very well and very anxious for the next year of competition! I’m still deciding, but I believe I will fight as a featherweight in the black belt—I believe it’s an excellent division for seeing my jiu-jitsu flow.”

Before finishing the interview, Thamires remembered her performance during her last season as a brown-belt: “All the matches in my brown belt period left some kind of mark on me, but the final of the No-Gi Worlds, without a doubt, was the most memorable! I was very focused and had an incredible flow! I was conscious of every movement I was making and was able to find the finish much more quickly than I expected.”

Photo: Personal Archive

Women’s jiu-jitsu has been growing fast, and one effect of this is noticeable in IBJJF events. From the blue belt up to the brown – where Thamires Monteiro competes – women are more professional and standing out more.

A few weeks ago, Thamires shone at the 2021 Pan, held in Orlando, Florida. The young Checkmat star defeated three opponents to bag the gold medal in the lightweight division. In the final, she scored ten points on Joanna Christine (Tac Team BJJ).

“I did three fights in the division; no points or advantages were scored against me in the course of the competition,” Thamires said in a recent interview. “I was able to put my whole game into action. I was one step ahead of the other girls.”

She trains at Checkmat La Habra, in California, alongside her husband, the black-belt Jackson Douglas. The 23-year-old Thamires dreams of becoming a strong black-belt. She trains under Lucas Leite, who is charged with shaping her way of fighting. At the Pan, for example, her way of conducting matches was quite clear – always scoring as much as possible until reaching a submission.

“The training is fully focused on competition: specific training and brawling,” she said with a laugh. “I love guard-passing; it’s my favorite game! But it’s been a while since I started challenging myself on the bottom, and it’s going well… I confess I even like it!”

Thamires then shared some thoughts on the growth of women’s BJJ: “I believe we’re on the right path to gaining our due recognition, but changes take time. Each passing year, the quantity of girls in competitions goes up, which really helps bring visibility to women’s BJJ. Big events like Fight to Win, BJJ Stars, BJJ Bet are including girls in their events. Of course it’s still one or two women’s fights to a card with five men’s fights, but it’s getting better. The more women we have in the competitive jiu-jitsu scene, the more visibility we’ll have and, consequently, the more opportunities. I hope.”

In the course of her career, Thamires has won gold medals in the American Nationals (weight and absolute), Brazilians Nationals and Pan.