The Professional Grappling Federation have just announced an incredible lineup of four of the best coaches in the world for the upcoming PGF World Season 7 tournament from November 3rd to 8th, 2024. Although all athletes at competing in the promotion’s league format are ultimately playing for themselves, one of the most unique selling points of PGF is the team element. The four coaches and all twenty competitors will join together on the opening night to take part in a draft, where the coaches will select their teams one competitor at a time. It’s a fun night and an element that attracts a lot of attention, so it’s no surprise that the four men looking to lead a team are among the biggest names in the sport.
Although they won’t be stepping on the mats themselves at PGF World Season 7, the coaches have an incredible amount of competition experience behind them. Two of them also have experience under the format, as they have already led teams in PGF World Season 6 earlier this year. Neither of them were actually able to lead their team of middleweights to victory back then though, so they will be looking to improve upon their performance with light-heavyweight grapplers this time. The change of weight class also presents an interesting twist, as both of the returning coaches are known for their success in heavier weight classes.
Roger Gracie and Dean Lister are the two veteran PGF coaches who will be returning, but their two new opposing coaches are far from inexperienced in the sport. Carlos Machado is one of the pioneers of BJJ in the United States and was one of the biggest names in the sport in the 90s. Two of his brothers, Rigan Machado and Jean Jacques Machado, were actually coaches for Season 6 and Jean Jacques even drafted the winning team. The final coach will be Pedro Sauer, another pioneer in the US who learned from Rickson Gracie and has since become an 8th degree BJJ black belt.
The Professional Grappling Federation announced the list of four coaches for PGF World Season 7 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
