The date and location have just been announced for the upcoming IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix, and the exciting event will take place on September 1st, 2023. Eagle-eyed BJJ fans might recognise that this is actually the same date as Jiu-Jitsu Con 2023, as the tournament will take place at the event in a special hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center. There have been an increasing number of IBJJF Grand Prix events over the past few years, and each one of them has managed to deliver plenty of action for the fans watching.
When the IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix 2023 was first announced earlier in the year, it was clear that this was going to be one of the most exciting events of the calendar year. Not only do absolute tournaments generate some interesting matchups thanks to the size differences at play, but they also put together athletes who otherwise might not meet on the mats. As an added bonus, there’s a $40,000 grand prize available for the winner of the 8-man tournament and this will no doubt attract some of the best competitors available.
There’s plenty of elite heavier grapplers who would likely be eager to compete in the tournament like Erich Munis, Victor Hugo, and Kaynan Duarte. Fans will likely be eager to see Nicholas Meregali competing as well, tbut hat prospects seems incredibly unlikely given that he recently announced that he was done with IBJJF competition from now on. Regardless, this will still represent an opportunity for whoever wins to make a very convincing claim that they are the best gi grappler on the planet. There’s no news yet on the exact lineup for the event, but with the IBJJF world championship right around the corner there’s a pretty obvious invite on the table for whoever wins the absolute division.
The IBJJF announced the date and location for the upcoming Absolute Grand Prix 2023 in a recent post to their official Instagram account: