The Combat Jiu-Jitsu Featherweight World Championship 2024 took place on March 24th, 2024 and the results saw the title wrapped around a brand new waist. The lineup was stacked with elite grapplers and there was some pretty notable names competing, but both of the two former Combat Jiu-Jitsu featherweight world champions were absent. Tom Halpin first won the title in 2020 and Keith Krikorian became the new champion in 2021 but neither man entered the bracket and in fact, there were no former CJJ world champions from any other weight class competing either.
There was a big change in the rules ahead of this event too, as Eddie Bravo revealed during the build-up that open-handed strikes would also be allowed in EBI overtime as well as the regulation period. Although this was originally how EBI overtime worked at Combat Jiu-Jitsu events, the rule was changed and has not been used for quite some time. Most of the competitors in the tournament took advantage of the rule-change at one point or another, as many matches went to EBI overtime. That doesn’t mean they weren’t exciting though, and in fact the overtime portion of the Julian Espinosa vs Rodolfo ‘Fito’ Rubio match was one of entertaining we’ve ever seen.
Gabriel Austin Daffron started his journey through the tournament bracket very quickly, submitting both Gustavo Mercado and Michael Cyr in less than 4 minutes in total. Zack Schneider was equally impressive in his first two matches as he won both to book a place opposite Daffron in the semi-final, setting up a rematch of the semi-final from the Combat Jiu-Jitsu Bantamweight World Championship last year. They battled all the way into EBI overtime, where Daffron managed to lock up a rear-naked choke against Schneider and submit him in order to make it into the final.
The other side of the bracket saw young purple belt Matt Masch lock up two finishes in regulation time just like Daffron, while his semi-final opponent Rey De Leon had to grind his way through two EBI overtime victories to meet him there. Masch kept up his fantastic streak with another submission win in regulation time that earned him a place in the final. The final match of the night didn’t last long though, as Daffron locked up a heel hook in less than a minute to register the quickest finish of the night and secure the Combat Jiu-Jitsu featherweight title.
Combat Jiu-Jitsu Featherweight World Championship 2024 Full Results
Superfights
Manny Vazquez defeats Brandon Alcantara via Submission – Verbal Submission
Brady Branscum defeats Rodolfo ‘Fito’ Rubio via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Opening Round
Gabriel Austin Daffron defeats Gustavo Mercado via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Michael Cyr defeats David Weintraub via Submission – Twister in EBI Overtime
Julian Espinosa defeats Rodolfo ‘Fito’ Rubio via Decision – Ride-time in EBI Overtime
Zack Schneider defeats Arturo Lois Cruz via Submission – Straight Ankle-lock
Rey De Leon defeats Alexis Torres via Decision – Ride-time in EBI Overtime
Mauricio Gomez defeats Juan Obregon via Decision – Ride-time in EBI Overtime
Matt Masch defeats Spencer Mumme via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
David Garcia defeats Tomas Torres via Submission – Smother in EBI Overtime
Quarter-Finals
Gabriel Austin Daffron defeats Michael Cyr via Submission – Heel Hook
Zack Schneider defeats Julian Espinosa via Submission – Heel Hook
Rey De Leon defeats Mauricio Gomez via Decision – Ride-time in EBI Overtime
Matt Masch defeats David Garcia via Submission – Triangle Choke
Semi-Finals
Gabriel Austin Daffron defeats Zack Schneider via Submission – Rear-naked Choke in EBI Overtime
Matt Masch defeats Rey De Leon via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Final
Gabriel Austin Daffron defeats Matt Masch via Submission – Heel Hook
The full Combat Jiu-Jitsu Featherweight World Championship 2024 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch on UFC Fight Pass.
