BJJ Stars 14: The History is scheduled for December 7th, 2024 and we’ve put together a full preview of every superfight and the fantastic featherweight grand prix tournament. BJJ Stars almost always books tournaments that are stacked with the very best grapplers in the world in their weight class, and this latest event is no exception. Most of the top featherweight competitors are going to be stepping on the mats and even outside of that, there’s still plenty for fans to enjoy. The main event match in particular is one of the biggest gi superfights that could be made at the moment.
BJJ Stars 14 Full Preview
Jansen Gomes vs Fellipe Andrew
This is some seriously impressive matchmaking from BJJ Stars, as they’ve managed to bring together two of the best pound for pound gi grapplers in the world right now. Both Jansen Gomes and Fellipe Andrew are known for competing and winning across multiple weight classes, so they’re meeting in the middle here for this match. Gomes is generally a little lighter but he had some excellent performances in the absolute division this year. Andrew does have the slight advantage on paper and a previous win over Gomes on points but this will be a very hard-fought match that really could go either way.
Giovanna Jara vs Tayane Porfirio
This is another rematch, as Tayane Porfirio beat Giovanna Jara by decision a little over a year ago at ADXC 1. Jara is still very early in her competitive career and their first meeting took place just a few months after she was promoted to black belt. She’s been improving at a rapid rate though and it’s not hard to imagine that she might have close the gap between them. Porfirio on the other hand is a veteran competitor who’s been beating the best in the world for almost a decade now. This will be another close match, but we’re predicting that Jara has improved enough to get the win this time around.
Jaime Canuto vs Piter Frank
Jaime Canuto and Piter Frank are both veteran competitors who are known for having exciting styles, meaning that this should shape up to be a very entertaining matchup. Canuto has competed at a higher level throughout his career though and he’s got quite a few big wins on his record as a result. Frank is a very game opponent who is tough to submit, but Canuto should be able to win this match by decision even if he can’t find the finish.
Marco Aurellio vs Rafael Paganini
Marco Aurellio is a solid competitor with a decent track record in the past, but he has an incredibly tough match ahead of him here. Rafael Paganini is a top competitor in both gi and no gi, with a superb de la riva guard that will cause Aurellio a lot of trouble. Even if Aurellio chooses to play guard himself, he won’t find that much easier either. Paganini is known for his lethal guillotine chokes and he has quite a few different paths to success in this match. The most likely outcome here is that Paganini gets the win.
Leticia Cardozo vs Izadora Silva
Leticia Cardozo is an excellent competitor and although she hasn’t been as active this year as she has been in the past, she’s still a force to be reckoned with. Izadora Silva has been a little more active recently and she’s been putting in some excellent performances, most notably at the IBJJF Pan Championship where she came away with gold in her weight class and silver in the absolute. Cardozo definitely has what it takes to win but Silva’s recent form means that she should be able to come away with the win in this match.
BJJ Stars 14: Featherweight Grand Prix Preview
The Favorites
Meyram Maquine
Meyram Maquine is coming into this as everyone’s top pick to take home the title really, and for good reason. He’s got a combined record of 7-3 against men in this bracket and he’s been in incredible form lately. Maquine is also the reigning IBJJF World Champion at this weight class, marking the second time that he’s won the title. Anything can happen in a tough bracket like this but realistically, Maquine has the best chance of leaving with the BJJ Stars featherweight title.
Kennedy Maciel
The other favorite in this preview of the BJJ Stars 14 Featherweight grand prix is Kennedy Maciel, and he has a combined 5-2 record against the other competitors here. Maciel came within inches of making history this year, as he won three majors and was on his way to a grand slam before losing on advantages at the IBJJF World Championship. He’s the most likely man to meet Maquine in the final depending on how the bracket is drawn, but it’s going to be tough for him to win a direct match against him.
The Contenders
Fabricio Andrey
Fabricio Andrey has everything it takes to come away with the win here and he also has the most experience against his potential opponents. He’s come up against most of them before and holds a 9-7 record against them, so he definitely has the ability to win the title if things go his way. He will almost certainly make it out of the opening round but that’s where things will start to get even tougher. Andrey will need to pull out one of the best performances of his career to win a bracket this stacked, but it’s not hard to imagine him doing just that.
Diego Sodre
Diego Sodre has won several IBJJF majors and he’s been right on the verge of a world title more than once during his career. His total record against the men here is 3-6 and although that might not seem great on the face of it, half of those losses have come against Maciel. Sodre could definitely make it to the final if he gets a favorable draw in the bracket and it’ll be interesting to see how another match with Maciel unfolds. He’s going to have to beat more than one man who has a win over him to leave with the title though, and that’s always tough.
The Dark Horses
Israel Almeida
Despite being a veteran black belt competitor, Israel Almeida only actually has a 2-2 record against the men in this bracket. His wins are over Andrey and Maquine though, so he’s already beaten some of the toughest opponents he could possibly face here. Almeida has been putting in a ton of work this year too, competing at any event he can get his hands on. He isn’t going to be one of the favorites, but he’s definitely one to keep an eye on as he’s more than capable of causing an upset here.
Cleber Sousa
Cleber Sousa is one of the most experienced competitors in the bracket, with matches against the best grapplers in the world dating back to 2017. He’s gone 3-7 against his opponents here though, so it’s going to be very tough for him to make a deep run in this bracket. He has beaten both Maciel and Maquine in the past though, demonstrating that he can come away with the win on the right day. It’s going to take something really special to beat both of them on the same day though, which is almost certainly what he’d have to do in order to win this division.
The Underdogs
Malachi Edmond
Malachi Edmond has a great passing game that could cause trouble for some of his opponents here, and he has the advantage of never having faced most of them before. The only one he has faced is Sousa and although that was a loss, it was only on points. It’s unlikely that he submits many of his opponents here but he could surprise someone with a points win. Doing that three times in a row is a monumental task though, and Edmond is an underdog in this bracket.
Kaua Gabriel
Kaua Gabriel is the youngest competitor in this division and the 20 year-old has only been a black belt for a little over a year now. He has a 1-3 record against the rest of this bracket, but every single one of those matches have been in no gi competition. It’s hard to imagine him coming away with the title here, as any man in this bracket is going to be a very tough opponent for him. Like Edmond, he might be able to spring a surprise on someone but it’s unlikely he’s able to do that three times over.
BJJ Stars 14: The History, including every match in the above preview, will be available to watch on December 7th, 2024 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
