The May 2024 update has been applied to the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings and the full standings can be found here. April been a pretty big month for gi competition, but there hasn’t been a lot in the way of high-level no gi events really. Many of top gi grapplers competed at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam event and many more did at the same at the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship at the end of the month, while BJJ Stars put on yet another stacked grand prix tournament on the same weekend. There were still some no gi events, most notably the Professional Grappling Federation returning for their latest season and ONE Championship booking several matches. While only a handful of no gi divisions have changed, the gi divisions have undergone a pretty big upheaval in every weight class.
Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings – March 2024 Update
Men’s No Gi BJJ Rankings
Bantamweight – Under 135lbs
It was another quiet month for the bantamweight division as only a single change happened at the bottom of the rankings. Zayed Alkatheeri entered the top 15 right in the very final spot despite being very new to no gi competition at the highest level, and it was all thanks to a big win over former IBJJF no gi world champion Osamah Almarwai at Pit Submission Series 4.
Featherweight – Under 148lbs
Lightweight – Under 162lbs
Julian Espinosa might have moved down in one weight class but he has broken into the rankings in another, as he beat Carlos Henrique in the final of the Sapateiro World Championship 2024 Bethlehem Qualifier. Espinosa comes into the division at 11th, while Henrique drops out of the top ten and winds up just below him.
Welterweight – Under 175lbs
This is the division that felt the impact of PGF Season 6, and there was a few changes thanks to the relentless action during the week and in the grand finale. The season’s champion Andy Varela shot into the rankings at number six thanks to a solid campaign over the course of the week and a victory over PJ Barch in the final. A big win and some impressive draws was enough for Davis Asare to move up a single place into 14th, while his teammate Oliver Taza also moved up one place into 13th thanks to his tournament win at Submission Hunter 90.
Middleweight – Under 190lbs
The movement at middleweight this month all came from courtesy of the Ruotolo brothers competing at ONE Fight Night 21. They both competed under this weight limit against top-ranked competitors and they both won their matches by submission too. Tye Ruotolo made it into the top three thanks to his win over Izaak Michell and Kade Ruotolo broke into the middleweight rankings at 5th place by beating Francisco Lo, while both of their opponents lost a few places.
Light-Heavyweight – Under 205lbs
There were no changes in the May 2024 update for this division of the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings.
Heavyweight – Under 225lbs
There were no changes in the May 2024 update for this division of the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings.
Super-Heavyweight – Over 225lbs
There were no changes in the May 2024 update for this division of the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings.
Pound for Pound
Pit Submission Series 4 also effected the pound for pound rankings, as Kaynan Duarte lost a decision to Pouya Rahmani in an openweight match. Losing to an unranked competitor really hurt Duarte’s position here and he dropped down five places to 12th as a result. Mikey Musumeci also entered at 15 thanks to the previous number fifteen dropping off the rankings entirely, while Kade Ruotolo was the only other one to have a positive impact as he moved up into the edge of the top 3 thanks to his performance at ONE Fight Night 21.
Men’s Gi BJJ Rankings
Bantamweight – Under 137lbs
There was plenty of movement at bantamweight even before one of the biggest tournaments of the year, starting with Yuri Hendrex submitting Leonardo Mario in the semi-finals of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rome this month and taking his place at 6th. Shortly after that it was Everton Teixeira who managed to break into the rankings, as he won the IBJJF Orange County Open and took 15th place. Brasileiro only had a small effect in fact, as there were only a handful of ranked bantamweights competing. The only effect was Welerson Goncalves advancing a single place to number ten, while Oziel Santos slipped down.
Featherweight – Under 154lbs
Meyram Maquine made a big move thanks to his win over Samuel Nagai at BJJ Stars 12, moving into 2nd place and knocking Nagai off the top spot. Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira actually takes Nagai’s place at the top of the rankings, moving up from his old place at number two. As if that wasn’t enough, the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship 2023 caused absolute chaos in this division. Guilherme Fernandes has come blazing into the rankings at number eleven thanks to a massive upset win during his run through the tournament, as he beat Isaac Doederlein. The tournament also meant that Kennedy Maciel slipped into 3rd place, Cleber Sousa climbed a space into 6th, Anderson Duarte moved up two to 13th, and Leonardo Mario broke into 15th at this weight.
Lightweight – Under 169lbs
There were quite a few changes in the lightweight division of the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings in April 2024, and they were all down to the big events of the month. Pedro Maia was the champion in this weight class and he moved into the rankings very highly at 9th, while the man he beat in the final was Luiz Paulo and he comes in at 12th. Paulo lost to Felipe Ribas at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rome just a few weeks earlier, and Ribas takes the spot in above him at number eleven. Lucas Protasio drops down to fifteen despite taking a bronze medal at Brasileiro while the other man on the third place on the podium, Rolando Samson, enters just above him at 14th.
Welterweight – Under 181lbs
Johnatha Alves slips into the rankings at fifteen thanks to a win over Alef Brito at the IBJJF Orange County Open, but there wasn’t much happening at welterweight outside of that. The other story is that Jhonathan Pessanha had a great performance at Brasileiro, walking away with a silver medal and breaking into the rankings at 7th thanks to some big wins over Bruno Bressan and Fabyury Khrysthyan.
Middleweight – Under 194lbs
Middleweight was home to the BJJ Stars 12 grand prix and combined with the two major tournaments this month, there was a lot of movement here. Matheus Vetoraci kickstarted the month with some big wins at ADGS Rome that put him in the rankings for the first time at 9th and one of the men he beat, Lucas Giraud, fell clean out of the rankings with another loss to another unranked opponent immediately after. That left room for Sebastian Rodriguez to claim his place, as he moved into 14th at this weight. Uanderson Ferreira also lost to Menezes but he made an incredible comeback with some of the biggest wins of his career at BJJ Stars 12 and finished the month in 5th place.
Fellipe Andrew won the BJJ Stars 12 tournament though and he shot straight into the number two spot at middleweight while several of the men he beat dropped down places. Brasileiro only really effected the bottom half of the rankings, with the champion Gabriel Costa taking the 11th position on the rankings. Manoel Junior might have only taken a silver medal at the tournament but he did beat Wellington Sebastiao along the way, and those two factors combined allowed him to slip into 15th place.
Light-Heavyweight – Under 208lbs
Several competitors broke into the light-heavyweight rankings, starting with Henrique Betta coming in at 11th after beating Marcos Carrozzino in the final of ADGS Rome. Brasileiro had an even bigger impact on the division though, as several top-ranked competitors ended up losing. Vinicius Liberati beat Italo Lima Costa to move into 6th place, while Patrick Gaudio actually won the division and he moved up to 3rd thanks to beating Pedro Machado in the final. The other bronze medalist Vital Neto also entered the rankings at 7th after getting a big decision win over Lucas Alves.
Heavyweight – Under 225lbs
Wildemar Souza did well at Brasileiro and comes into 14th place at Julian Stonjek’s expense, while Eldeson Santino beat both Souza and Anderson Kauan to win a bronze medal and enter the rankings at 10th. Alongside him, Gabriel Oliveira also won a bronze medal at the event and he comes in at 8th over Elioenai Braz after beating him, while Harryson Pereira won a silver medal to hold on to his spot despite not winning the tournament. Henrique Betta emerged as the champion and he breaks into the rankings in another weight class this month, occupying the 5th spot here.
Super-Heavyweight – Over 225lbs
There was only a minor change at super-heavyweight, as Helder Junior enters the rankings at 15th thanks to winning a gold medal at Brasileiro despite originally losing in his semi-final match.
Pound for Pound
Kennedy Maciel had an incredible performance in the absolute division at Brasileiro and he breaks into the pound for pound rankings at 15th, while Meyram Maquine takes the spot above him at 14th. Fellipe Andrew also moved up a place to 10th
Women’s No Gi BJJ Rankings
Strawweight – Under 115lbs
There were no changes in the May 2024 update for this division of the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings.
Featherweight – Under 125lbs
Cindy Ung won the under 125lbs title at Finishers: Saturday Night Main Event and she breaks into the rankings at number fifteen as a result.
Lightweight – Under 135lbs
Laylah Watkins is just 16 years old but she got the biggest win of her career so far by beating Nicole Mathew on her way to winning an under 135lbs tournament at Midwest Finishers 18. She slides into 10th as a result of the huge win, and Mathew gets sent down the rankings just below her.
Middleweight – Under 146lbs
Ffion Davies put on a clinic at Subversion: Reign to add another title to her collection, although this time it was at 145lbs. As this was a slightly heavier weight than she usually competes in, so she became eligible for ranking at her third weight class and will now occupy the 13th spot at middleweight.
Heavyweight – Over 146lbs
There were no changes in the May 2024 update for this division of the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings.
Pound for Pound
There were no changes in the May 2024 update for this division of the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings.
Women’s Gi BJJ Rankings
Strawweight – Under 118lbs
Andressa Tolentino got a huge win over Jessica Dantas at the IBJJF Rio Fall Open at the beginning of the month and although she lost their rematch at Brasileiro, the close nature of the loss helped keep her in the rankings at 6th. Brenda Larissa beat Dantas on points in the next round and she moved up to 4th while Mayssa Bastos won the division and held her place at the top. Shelby Murphey won her division and continued her climb to the top by moving into 2nd as Giulia Gregorut manages to make it into 10th place with her silver medal performance. The IBJJF Orange County Open also had a small effect as Ana Carolina Lima gained a place and Jhenifer Aquino lost several due to their match.
Featherweight – Under 129lbs
Brown belt Randryely Souza came out of nowhere at ADGS Rome to beat both Gabriela Pereira and Alexa Yanes, earning a spot at number five, while Beatriz Campos beat Pereira too and goes just under her to occupy 6th place. Nathalie Ribeiro also got a big win over Larissa Campos at the IBJJF Orange County Open, taking her place at 4th in the rankings, while Andreia Cavalcante got some good results at Brasileiro and she moves up two spaces.
Lightweight – Under 141lbs
There was a chain of matches at ADGS Rome that shook up the lightweight division, with Maria Delahaye winning a stacked division and breaking into the rankings in 3rd place. Stephanie Faure got some good wins too and she enters the rankings at number ten, with several competitors above her and Delahaye losing ground. Amanda Hening also enters right at the bottom at 15th thanks to a bronze medal at Brasileiro that included a win over a formerly ranked competitor. Vitoria Vieira actually won Brasileiro but still lost a place due to ADGS Rome, while Sabrina Gondim managed to climb a single space after winning her superfight at BJJ Stars 12.
Julia Alves beat Luiza Monteiro at BJJ Stars 12 and this would have been enough for her to take her place at number two in the division normally, but her loss Delahaye earlier in the month gave her a fair bit of downward pressure. Nathalie Ribeiro meanwhile didn’t actually compete at this weight at all this month, but still advanced two spaces just by virtue of the chaos around her.
Middleweight – Under 163lbs
All the changes at middleweight were down to IBJJF competition, starting with Renata Bueno coming in at 13th with a big win over Vannessa Griffin at the IBJJF Orange County Open. Mayara Melo beat her immediately after though, and she takes the 11th spot. Brasileiro was where things really got shaken up though, with Sabatha Lais winning gold and entering the top five for the first time and Thamara Ferreira not far behind her at 7th.
Heavyweight – Over 163lbs
Maria Vicentini managed to beat Melissa Stricker on points in the IBJJF Orange County Open and she broke into the rankings at 8th despite losing in a lighter weight class at Brasileiro. Stricker recovered a lot of ground by winning the heavyweight title at Brasileiro though, as she beat some tough competitors along the way and still moved up to 9th. Amanda Magda won silver there and also moved up to 10th, while Tamiris Silva dropped down to 11th after being submitted by her.
Pound for Pound
A silver medal in the absolute division at Brasileiro moved Yara Soares up a single place to 12th even though she remained stagnant in her weight class, and Melissa Stricker entered the rankings at 14th thanks to her bronze medal. She isn’t alone either, as Shelby Murphey also breaks into the pound for pound rankings just one place below her at fifteen. Thamara Ferreira crept up to 13th place and now that Nathalie Ribeiro is in the top five of two different weight classes, she has found herself at number ten here. Mayssa Bastos was the only one moving up in the top five as she advanced one place into 3rd, while the rest of the division just shifted to accommodate the newcomers.
