The IBJJF No Gi Absolute Grand Prix is returning in 2024 for the first time in five years on February 29th, 2024 and the promotion has just finished announcing the full lineup for this incredible event. It’s going to be very tough to predict who comes out on top seeing as the event will feature 8 of the best no gi grapplers on the planet. There are two reigning ADCC world champions and two reigning IBJJF No Gi World Champions, and the other four competitors have all either stood on the ADCC podium or at least been invited to the event in the past.
The early favorite is probably Kaynan Duarte, who won the Polaris absolute grand prix recently and is the ADCC world champion at under 99kg. He has plenty of competition though and there are several other competitors who could easily emerge victorious instead, like the under 88kg ADCC world champion Giancarlo Bodoni. The reigning ultra-heavyweight IBJJF no gi world champion Roosevelt Sousa will also be competing at the event, and he just so happens to be the bronze medalist from the over 99kg division at ADCC 2022 as well.
The other man in the bracket with a gold medal from the IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2023 is Elder Cruz, who stood on top of the podium in the heavyweight division. They aren’t the only four men with a high level of success in the last two years though, as Dante Leon is an ADCC bronze medalist at 77kg and he won the IBJJF No Gi Pan Championship 2023 in the super-heavyweight division. Although he might end up being the smallest man in the division on the day, he’s also proven that he’s more than capable of beating bigger opponents on numerous occasions in the past.
Pedro Rocha won the absolute division at that same event, and he has also entered the lineup for the IBJJF No Gi Absolute Grand Prix 2024. The final two men competing the bracket might not have achieved the same level of success as their potential opponents did recently, but they’re both top competitors in the heavier weight classes. ADCC veterans Patrick Gaudio and Haisam Rida are going to round out the bracket and they are both tough opponents who could definitely walk away with the title if things go their way.
The IBJJF announced the full lineup for the IBJJF No Gi Absolute Grand Prix 2024 in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
