BJJ Stars 5 is almost here and the eight-man Heavyweight Grand Prix lineup is complete after a last-minute change where Mahamed Aly was replaced by Yuri Simoes. The event will also mark the very first time that BJJ Stars has been available to watch as part of a FloGrappling subscription, after Third Coast Grappling left the platform to try and go it alone, it seems that the platform have replaced them incredibly quickly. One of the biggest surprises to come out of the entire event however is the attendance of Erberth Santos, who was previously banned from the promotion altogether. This was after he caused absolute chaos at the very first BJJ Stars event by running off the mat to attack someone and a brawl ensued that involved dozens of people, tarnishing an otherwise fantastic event debut for the promotion.
While it’s surprising he’s competing, Santos is still a top-notch competitor and should be more than capable of challenging any of the other grapplers in the Heavyweight Grand Prix. The biggest favorite to take home the crown and 100,000 Brazilian Real would likely be either Nicholas Meregali, Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa, or Felipe Pena; three prolific competitors who have proven themselves capable of winning anything on their day. As with any event, there will also be a few dark horse competitors who, while not being expected to win, could quite feasibly deliver an upset to one of the more seasoned competitors.
Erich Munis has only recently been awarded his black belt, but has already proven himself capable of competing with the best grapplers on the planet. Then of course, you have Gutemberg Pereira and Luiz Panza, the latter of which is coming into this hot on the heels of a great year in 2020 where he managed to come out of the IBJJF Pan-Ams with a silver medal. Alongside this phenomenal lineup for the BJJ Stars Heavyweight Grand Prix, the event will also feature a number of superfights between some of the best grapplers available outside of that weightclass:
BJJ Stars 5 Superfights
Leandro Lo vs Alex Munis (Gi)
Roberto Jimenez vs Isaque Bahiense (No-Gi)
Beatriz Mesquita vs Thamara Fereira (No-Gi)
Milton Vieira vs Gabriel Rollo (No-Gi)
Mario Reis vs Leon Amancio (Gi)
Vitor Terra vs Percio Broca (No-Gi)
BJJ Stars 5 be available to watch anywhere in the world live on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
The event will also be available to watch on their website as a Pay-Per-View event for those living in Brazil, click here to find out more.