BJJ Stars 15 is scheduled for April 26th, 2025 and we’ve put together a full preview of the card. There’s going to be plenty of amazing matches, as there’s an excellent middleweight no gi grand prix and both of the promotion’s absolute titles are on the line. Some of the best no gi grapplers in the world are taking part in the tournament but even so, there’s still going to be a lot of attention on the superfights. Gabrieli Pessanha will defend her absolute title against Tayane Porfirio and the men’s absolute title is also going to be up for grabs, as the promotion’s reigning champion Erich Munis will have to fend off Adam Wardzinski.
BJJ Stars 15 Full Card Preview
Gabrieli Pessanha vs Tayane Porfirio
Tayane Porfirio is one of a tiny handful of women who have beaten Gabrieli Pessanha, but Pessanha has since returned the favor multiple times over. Pessanha has won every one of their matches since the very first one and the series between these two women currently stands at 4-1 in her favor. During that time, Pessanha has become a dominant force and become the double champion at the IBJJF World Championship four years in a row. Porfirio is tough to submit but Pessanha is the clear favorite to get the win, even if it on points in the end.
Erich Munis vs Adam Wardzinski
Erich Munis is the reigning champion and the favorite, as he very rarely loses a match. He also generally competes at a higher weight class than Adam Wardzinski, usually at either super-heavyweight or ultra-heavyweight. He also holds a previous win over Wardzinski too, although that was only by two points and nearly four years ago now. Wardzinski has gotten a lot better since then and reached the peak of his career last year when he became the first European man to win a world championship. Wardzinski will definitely make life hard for Munis and he is always dangerous, but Munis is the most likely to leave with the title.
Meyram Maquine vs Diogo Reis
This is a fantastic matchup between two of the best grapplers in the world in the lighter weight classes, and they have a bit of a rivalry with one another too. Meyram Maquine has multiple IBJJF world championships and although Diogo Reis has done his best work in no gi competition, he has a few IBJJF majors to his name as well. The score between them is currently 1-1 and both of those matches happened in 2021, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens this time around. They’re fairly evenly-matched but Maquine is a gi specialist and this is his world, so he has enough of an advantage to net him the win.
Leonardo Ferreira vs Hygor Brito
The final superfight on the BJJ Stars 15 card is also the toughest to predict in this preview. Hygor Brito is a veteran grappler who has had almost two hundred matches at the highest level, and he’s facing top prospect Leonardo Ferreira while he’s still in his first year at black belt. Ferreira has only really dropped matches against some of the best around so he should be considered the slight favorite, but really the match could go either way depending on what form Brito comes in on.
Middleweight No Gi Grand Prix
Favorites
The obvious favorite here is Mica Galvao, he’s an incredible grappler under any ruleset but this being under ADCC rules also leans in his favor too. He won gold at ADCC 2024 in the under 77kg division and he has looked virtually unstoppable since he first arrived on the scene. His toughest test on paper is probably going to be Elijah Dorsey, who finished fourth in the same division last year and has never actually faced Galvao before. Dorsey is very well-rounded and has the ability to take advantage of anyone else in this bracket’s weaknesses. Dorsey and Galvao are the most likely final pairing but Galvao is the most likely winner, as he has so few weak areas to exploit.
Contenders
Jonnatas Gracie has the ideal grappling style to succeed under ADCC rules, as he focuses on winning scrambles and maintaining top position with heavy pressure. Although he doesn’t finish many opponents, he wins most of his matches that reach the end of the time-limit. Izaak Michell also has a good chance and he’s been working on his wrestling a lot recently, so he should be able to beat at least half of the men in this bracket standing. Jon ‘Thor’ Blank is another one to watch, as he’s an elite leglocker that can finish anyone if he gets an opportunity to attack the legs.
Dark Horses
Gabriel Almeida and Oliver Taza are both ADCC veterans as well and they have competed against pretty much all of the best grapplers in the world anywhere near this weight class. They both definitely have the ability to make a run in this bracket, but Taza is 3-6 against the other men here and Almeida 2-1 with his only matches being against his fellow dark horses. Rafael Paganini is the final man in this grand prix and he has only had one match against the other competitors here, a loss on points to Almeida. He stepped up on short notice to replace Isaque Bahiense and he’s going to give anyone a tough match, but it’ll take something very special for him to win this tournament.
BJJ Stars 15: The History, including the full card in this preview above, will be available to watch on April 26th, 2025 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
