The IBJJF Brazilian National Championship (Brasileiro) 2025 will take place from April 26th to May 4th, 2025 and we’ve put together a full preview of every division in the tournament. This is the third leg of the grand slam run and it’s also widely regarded as the toughest stage before the IBJJF World Championship. There are just a handful of grapplers who are still in the running for that honour this year and although they are all favorites to win their divisions, it will be far from easy. Between them and the returning champions from last year looking to defend their titles, there’s plenty of storylines for fans to pay attention to.
IBJJF Brazilian National Championship (Brasileiro) 2025 Full Preview
Men’s Divisions
Roosterweight
Favorites: Roosterweight is the smallest men’s division of the event with just 10 entrants and there’s no returning champion either, but it’s not that open. Welerson Goncalves is last year’s silver medalist and he has the best chance of winning gold, but it’s not exactly an easy run. Oziel Santos is likely his biggest opposition and he has beaten Goncalves before, but Goncalves has won most of their matches and should be able to add one more to that list if they meet.
Dark Horse: Aniel Bonifacio won a bronze medal last year alongside Santos and he should make it to the podium again, but it’s still Goncalves’ title to lose.
Light-Featherweight
Favorites: There’s no returning champion at light-featherweight but there’s quite a few different storyline to pay attention to. The top contender here is Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira, and he’s also the first man on the hunt for a grand slam. Standing in his way is one of his toughest rivals, Diogo Reis, and fans will likely see the next phase of their epic series that currently stands at 3-3. The final favorite is Yuri Hendrex and although he’s got a chance of winning gold, he’s also smaller than both Oliveira and Reis. Interestingly they actually all won different weight classes at the IBJJF European Championship this year, with Reis winning this weight class while Pato won featherweight and Hendrex won roosterweight.
Dark Horse: Shoya Ishiguro also won a medal at the IBJJF European Championship, but he had to settle for silver at this weight class behind Reis. He has the skills to make a deep run but it will be very tough got him to beat any of the 3 favorites.
Featherweight
Favorites: There’s 19 men competing at featherweight and although the reigning champion from this weight class isn’t here, Cleber Sousa is moving up after winning gold at light-featherweight last year. Sousa has a good chance of winning but the safest bet is Meyram Maquine; who actually won the IBJJF World Championship last year at this weight. The returning silver medalist at Brasileiro and the bronze medalist from Worlds is Alex Sodre and although he’s always a threat, Maquine is still the most likely winner.
Dark Horse: Cole Abate has completed his journey from top prospect to real contender now and although he generally has more success in no gi, he’s still a threat here. It’s unlikely he wins gold, but a place on the podium somewhere should be on the cards for him.
Lightweight
Favorites: This is another weight class without a returning champion in it, and it’s a surprisingly small bracket with just 16 competitors. There’s no clear number one contender really but 2024 silver medalist Luiz Paulo has a good chance of doing one better this year. Lucas Protasio won a bronze medal last year and a silver medal at Euros this year so he’s another possible winner, while top European competitor Espen Mathiesen is a tricky opponent for everyone.
Dark Horse: There’s actually a few people in this bracket who might surprise fans watching, but Bruno Bressan probably has the best chance of reaching the podium out of all of them.
Middleweight
Favorites: The middleweight division features a man on a mission, as Tainan Dalpra is halfway towards an IBJJF grand slam this year. He has had some unfortunate events in recent years but he’s been absolutely flawless over the last few months, particularly in his run at the IBJJF Pan Championship 2025. He’s submitted both of his biggest threats here before too, so he should be leaving with the title. Elijah Dorsey and Jefferson Goteu are those two threats and both of them will be doing everything they can to beat Dalpra and win gold.
Dark Horse: There’s one other man who stands out among the 20 middleweights, and that’s 23 year-old Gabriel Galvao. He was only promoted to black belt last year but he’s already made an impact and could go very far in this division.
Medium-Heavyweight
Favorites: This is the biggest division in this preview of the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship 2025, with 23 competitors involved. Gabriel Costa is the reigning champion and he stands a good chance of defending his title, but he’s not quite the outright favorite. That honor goes to the world championship silver medalist Jansen Gomes, who is one of the toughest men to beat in the gi. Uanderson Ferreira is another one to watch, as he’s been a top contender for a while and has actually beaten Gomes before.
Dark Horse: Davi Vetoraci holds a recent win over Ferreira and although it was on advantages, it was an impressive win regardless. That match resulted in him winning the IBJJF European Championship and after a major title like that, he could go far here.
Heavyweight
Favorites: Adam Wardzinski has been an elite competitor for a long time but he has hit his peak recently and is now on the road to an IBJJF grand slam as well. He made history by becoming the first male European world champion last year and he hasn’t lost since before then, so he looks poised win gold here. There’s 10 other men in the bracket alongside him and Pedro Machado is the biggest threat on paper, as they have a 2-2 record against each other. Another top contender here is Roberto Jimenez, but Wardzinski has a perfect record against him and will probably keep it if they meet here.
Dark Horse: Leonardo Ferreira stood on the podium next to Wardzinski at Euros with a silver medal, which was an excellent result for someone promoted to black belt so recently. He is still flying under the radar for most people but could cause an upset against one of the favorites if they’re not careful.
Super-Heavyweight
Favorites: There’s no champion and nobody on the hunt for a grand slam in the super- heavyweight division at the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship 2025, but there’s still a clear favorite in this preview. Erich Munis is one of the best BJJ competitors in the world and it’s hard to imagine any of the other 16 men in this bracket beating him. Nolan Stuart won the IBJJF Pan Championship and Windson Torres won gold at Euros at this weight, so both of them will likely end up on the podium somewhere at least.
Dark Horse: Elioenai Braz is an excellent no gi competitor but as this is a gi tournament, it’s going to be tough for him to beat the favorites. He could still make it to the podium depending on how the bracket is seeded, but an early run-in with one of them might be the end of his run.
Ultra-Heavyweight
Favorites: There’s 16 men competing at ultra-heavyweight and several of them could feasibly end up with the title. There’s no reigning champion but Luis Oliveira won double gold at Euros earlier this year, while Marcus Ribeiro won Pans at this weight and a bronze medal in the absolute there. There’s also the small matter of the reigning super-heavyweight world champion Anderson Munis, and any one of these three men could end up winning this division.
Dark Horse: Anderson Kauan is a great competitor and he’s had plenty of solid performances in tough divisions before, so it wouldn’t be all that surprising to see him leave with a silver or maybe even a gold medal here.
Women’s Divisions
Roosterweight
Favorites: This is the smallest division in both size and number, as just 6 women are competing at roosterweight. There’s no defending champion at this weight but Mayssa Bastos was the light-featherweight champion and it’s rare that anyone beats her in the gi. She did lose a match at Euros just a few months ago though and although the woman that beat her isn’t here, Thais Loureiro won the division in the end and could present Bastos with some problems.
Dark Horse: Mariana Rolszt is a frequent fixture on the podium of major IBJJF events and she’ll almost certainly stand on this one too, but it’ll take a very impressive performance for her to win the whole thing.
Light-Featherweight
Favorites: Although the reigning champion here is Bastos and she moved down to roosterweight, that division’s champion swapped places with her. Moving up is top Art of Jiu-Jitsu competitor Shelby Murphey and she has a great chance of winning a second title here. Her toughest test will come if she has to face Jessica Dantas though, as she’s coming off a big win at Pans and would even be the favorite on paper in that direct matchup.
Dark Horse: Brenda Larissa won a silver medal here last year and as this is a pretty small bracket with just 8 women, she could easily end up doing the same or even one better this time around.
Featherweight
Favorites: Maria Luiza won this division here last year and she’s coming in this time fresh off winning Pans too, so she’s the clear favorite at this weight. There’s 12 other women in the division and most of them would have a hard time beating Luiza, but Cassia Moura is one who can. She’s still very early in her black belt career but she’s already won her first major title at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship last year. Moura is a real threat and she could come away with the title, but she isn’t the only one who can challenge Luiza. Top European grappler Margot Ciccarelli is also here and she will be very tough to beat for everyone.
Dark Horse: Gabriela Pereira has already beaten several of the best female competitors in the world at this weight and although most of her experience at this level if on the AJP Tour circuit, she has a good chance of making a deep run in to the semi-finals and beyond.
Lightweight
Favorites: There might not be a reigning champion in this 10-woman bracket but there is someone vying for a grand slam, as Janaina Lebre has won both Euros and Pans with four submissions in five matches. That isn’t the only storyline at lightweight though, as the last woman to beat her is here too. Brianna Ste-Marie beat Lebre on advantages in the final of The Crown 2024 and it’ll be interesting to see who comes out on top when they inevitably meet again here.
Dark Horse: Maria Claudia is always tough to beat and although Lebre vs Ste-Marie looks like the most likely final, if anyone can stop one of them making it to the final then it’s Claudia.
Middleweight
Favorites: This is the biggest women’s division in this preview of the IBJJF Brazilian National Championship 2025, with 17 women competing. Thalyta Silva is the reigning champion but she’s not the only one, as Vitoria Vieira has moved up after winning lightweight last year. These two women represent the most likely final match, but Larissa Martins is someone you can’t ever count out. Martins won silver at Worlds last year and she is more than capable of taking either Silva or Vieira’s place in the final.
Dark Horse: Elisabeth Clay is another competitor who generally has more success in no gi, but she’s one of the best female leglockers in the sport. She’s in a stacked division so winning gold will be difficult, but she could submit any of the favorites if she’s given even the tiniest window.
Medium-Heavyweight
Favorites: There are 12 women competing at medium-heavyweight and the top contender is also the reigning champion, Sabatha Lais. Her biggest challenge will likely be coming from Ingridd Alves, as the two women are currently 1-1 against each other. Alves also won Euros earlier this year so she has a good chance of riding that momentum all the way to the title. Maria Vicentini won the other IBJJF major at this weight and a silver medal at Worlds last year, making her the second woman who might end up dethroning Lais here.
Dark Horse: Aurelie Le Vern won three silver medals across the two IBJJF majors this year and although she lost to two of the favorites in the process, she’s still a fierce competitor who is dangerous from a number of places. She’ll have to play a perfect game, but she’s capable of beating anyone in the world on the right day.
Heavyweight
Favorites: Melissa Stricker is both the reigning champion here and the European champion earlier this year, so she’s going to be tough to stop at Brasileiro. The problem is that there’s a newcomer to this weight class, as Yara Soares has never competed below super-heavyweight before. She’s been one of the best at that weight class for years and already beaten Stricker twice, so she will very likely win the title this year.
Dark Horse: Amanda Magda won a silver medal behind Stricker last year and a silver medal at Worlds, but both were without Soares in the bracket. She’s a great grappler and should do well, but it’s hard to see anyone stopping Soares from winning here.
Super-Heavyweight
Favorites: The super-heavyweight division is surprisingly big, with 8 women competing. The clear favorite is Gabrieli Pessanha though and she’s now on course for her fourth consecutive double grand slam. Pessanha hasn’t lost in well over a hundred matches across several years and looks almost impossible to beat, but Tayane Porfirio has done it before. Pessanha has beaten her multiple times since then, but Porfirio has at least proved that she can get the win. The two women are also facing each other at BJJ Stars 15 right beforehand so even if Porfirio loses there, she will have something to learn from ready to challenge her again here.
Dark Horse: Isabely Lemos is a pretty young competitor and she’s improving all the time, so she could deliver an upset or two here if things go her way. Pessanha is 3-0 against her with all of those wins coming by submission though, so it’ll take a huge performance for Lemos to win gold.
The full IBJJF Brazilian National Championship (Brasileiro) 2025 event will be available to watch live on April 26th to May 4th, 2025 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
