The IBJJF Grand Prix is returning in 2023 and FloGrappling have just announced the very first divisions that will be involved, and one of the superfights for the event. The event will take place on March 3rd and will feature two tournaments in different weightclasses, one male and one female. The men’s tournament will be contested in the lightweight division while the women’s tournament will be at the other end of the scale, at heavyweight. The IBJJF has not yet confirmed who will be competing in these two tournaments, but they regularly manage to attract some of the best athletes on the planet.
As usual, the event will also feature a number of superfights in between the tournament matches. The first of these superfights has also been announced, and it’s a fantastic matchup. Our choice for 2022’s grappler of the year, Tainan Dalpra, will be competing against Isaque Bahiense. Dalpra is an incredible grappler and he managed to go the entirety of 2022 without losing a single match, having only lost one since he was promoted to black belt back in 2020.
While Tainan Dalpra has been getting a lot of attention in recent years and he undoubtedly represents the next generation of gi competitor, Isaque Bahiense is no pushover either. Bahiense is also an IBJJF world champion in his own right, and both men have already won an IBJJF Grand Prix event in the past as well. Bahiense emerged victorious in the 2022 medium-heavyweight grand prix, while Dalpra won the middleweight grand prix the year before. The match will be contested under IBJJF rules just like every other match at the event, except this will be contested over 30 minutes.
The divisions and first superfight for the first IBJJF Grand Prix event of 2023 was announced in a post to the IBJJF’s official Instagram account:
