The IBJJF European Championship 2025 is scheduled for January 17th to 25th, 2025 and we’ve put together a full preview of every division. As the first major IBJJF tournament of the calendar, there’s always a lot riding on Euros and it has attracted over 200 elite black belts this year. There are over 6,000 competitors in total in fact, making this the biggest edition of the tournament yet. This is not only the first opportunity for gi competitors to make a statement by winning some silverware but it’s also the first step towards winning an IBJJF grand slam, a goal that dozens of grapplers have their eyes on every year.
IBJJF European Championship 2025 Full Preview
Men’s Divisions
Roosterweight
Favorites: This is the smallest men’s division with just 8 competitors and the reigning champion from the 2024 edition of Euros is the top contender once again. He also won gold medals at both Pans and Brasileiro, so it should be no surprise that Thalison Soares is the man to beat. Oziel Santos was the bronze medalist here last year and it’s pretty likely that we see him standing on the podium again, even if he can’t get ahead of Soares.
Dark Horse: Andrew Soares is also tough to beat at any tournament but he had an excellent performance last year on the biggest stage, as he won a bronze medal at the IBJJF World Championship 2024. If he can replicate that then he could definitely go far in this bracket.
Light-Featherweight
Favorites: There’s no champion returning here and 14 elite competitors vying for the title. Diogo Reis might be known more for his no gi accomplishments but he’s going to be one of the favorites to win it, as is last year’s silver medalist Anderson Duarte. Although they might be the final pairing, Leonardo Mario is another competitor who could go all the way and he has plenty of experience on the podium of major events to prove it, including a bronze medal at last year’s Brasileiro.
Dark Horse: Zach Kaina has been one to watch for a while now and the Art of Jiu-Jitsu black belt has a very good chance of standing on the podium at the end of the event.
Featherweight
Favorites: Kennedy Maciel won this tournament and two other IBJJF majors last year, coming very close to his first grand slam. He would normally be the obvious choice, but he will have to beat last year’s light-featherweight world champion Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira in order to win gold here. He won the Pan championship last year as well and can beat anyone in the world on the right day, so Oliveira is actually the most likely winner. There’s also Cole Abate in the mix as well, although he’d have to pull off something huge to beat both of them.
Dark Horse: Sebastian Serpa is another big name in the division and with 21 men in the bracket, anything could happen. He’ll likely need to beat one or more of the favorites to take gold, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him make it to the podium at least.
Lightweight
Favorites: This is the biggest bracket in this preview of the IBJJF European Championship 2025 and there’s no reigning champion, so the division is wide open. Espen Mathiesen is the returning silver medallist and he may very well do one better this time around, but his toughest opposition will probably come from last year’s IBJJF Brazilian National Championship gold medallist, Pedro Maia. There’s plenty of other elite opponents waiting for both of them of course, including the bronze medallist from that tournament; Lucas Protasio.
Dark Horse: Pablo Lavaselli won a bronze medal here last year and although he’s got a lot of matches ahead of him, he could improve on that position if things go well for him.
Middleweight
Favorites: This is a surprisingly small division with just 11 competitors and with no returning champion, the favorite on paper is silver medallist Andy Murasaki. His biggest rival Tainan Dalpra is also competing too and that stands out as the most likely final match of the bracket.
Dark Horse: Jefferson Goteu is a fantastic grappler and he’s almost certainly going to make it to the podium here, but beating Murasaki and Dalpra will be a big challenge.
Medium-Heavyweight
Favorites: With 22 competitors, medium-heavyweight is another big division without a returning champion. Uanderson Ferreira won the IBJJF Pan Championship last year and is a real contender to win another title here, but veteran grappler and 2018 world champion Isaque Bahiense is going to be tough to beat. Bruno Lima is on home-soil and he’s already won this event back in 2022, so he’s another big name who might end up taking home gold.
Dark Horse: Wellington Sebastiao was the silver medallist last year it’s going to be hard to replicate that success given how big the division is, but he definitely has the skills to do so.
Heavyweight
Favorites: There’s just 12 competitors at heavyweight and the reigning champion here is Adam Wardzinski, who also won his first IBJJF World Championship last year. He is the clear favorite here and he was on fire throughout last year, so it’ll be very hard to stop him from running through the bracket. Vinicius Liberati lost out to him in the final of Worlds and he’ll no doubt be out for revenge here, a feat that would likely earn him a gold medal if he can achieve it.
Dark Horse: Rider Zuchi also stood on the podium of Worlds, winning a bronze medal behind Wardzinski and Liberati. He wiki probably hit the podium again and might end up beating Liberati, but a win over Wardzinski would be huge at this point in time.
Super-Heavyweight
Favorites: There’s no returning champion at super-heavyweight but Anderson Munis stands out among the 13 men in the bracket as the most likely winner. He won both Pans and Worlds last year, but partially down to facing his brother in the final of both. He’ll have to get past Pedro Lucas too, a challenging matchup that could present some problems for him.
Dark Horse: The door is wide open for the other places on the podium and Vinicius Lessa looks like the right man to take one of them. He may very well end up winning the title too, as long as he can get past the favorites as he progresses through the bracket.
Ultra-Heavyweight
Favorites: Ultra-heavyweight is another 13-man division with no champion at the IBJJF European Championship 2025, but there’s no clear favorite to pick for this preview. Anderson Kauan has moved up after winning a silver medal at super-heavyweight last year and he has a good chance of making it to the final again, while Marcus Ribeiro is a frequent fixture on the podiums of major IBJJF events and could be the man opposite him.
Dark Horse: Nicholas Maglicic has been one to watch for a while and the ATOS black belt has been making a name for himself as one of the top Australian competitors. He should get on the podium, but it’s tough to predict exactly where he’ll be standing.
Women’s Divisions
Roosterweight
Favorite: This is the joint-smallest division in this preview of the IBJJF European Championship 2025 with just 4 women competing. Shelby Murphey is the reigning champion and she won two other major IBJJF events at this weight last year, so she stands out as the most likely winner again.
Dark Horse: Giulia Gregorut has had to settle for silver medals behind Murphey twice last year and she’s currently 0-4 against her. She’ll definitely be out for revenge and if she can get it then she may very well take gold, but past performances indicate that it will be unlikely.
Light-Featherweight
Favorite: There are just 6 women competing here and the favorite is an easy pick, as Mayssa Bastos is almost unstoppable. She won every other major last year, including the world championship, but had to settle for a silver medal here. Despite that slip, she’s still the safest bet to become light-featherweight champion this year.
Dark Horse: Jessica Dantas is the reigning champion here but she isn’t the favorite. She beat Bastos in the final back then but lost their most recent direct match and is 1-2 against her overall. That will be the most likely final match and Dantas clearly can win it, but Bastos is more likely to do so.
Featherweight
Favorites: With 15 women competing, this is the biggest women’s division in this preview of the IBJJF European Championship 2025. There’s no champion returning but the Pans champion last year, Larissa Campos, is going to be one of the top contenders. The bronze medallist there and fellow bronze medallist at Worlds was Emily Nicholson and she’s also competing in this division. Although Campos and Nicholson both have a great chance of winning, there’s a few different competitors who could feasibly end up winning.
Dark Horse: Cassia Moura hasn’t even been a black belt for a year and she’s already established herself as a force to be reckoned with. It’s still too early to consider her a favorite, but it wouldn’t be too surprising to see her leave as a champion regardless.
Lightweight
Favorites: There’s just 8 women competing at lightweight and although the reigning champion isn’t returning, there’s still plenty of top competitors in the division. Janaina Lebre is probably the biggest name competing here and she’s got a great chance of winning gold, although Worlds bronze medallist Stephanie Faure is probably the biggest opposition she’ll have to make it past.
Dark Horse: Andressa Tolentino has had some great performances lately and she could spring a few surprises on some of the more established competitors, so it’ll be worth watching her journey through the bracket.
Middleweight
Favorites: There’s no champion here and 10 women registered but Sabatha Lais stands out as the most likely winner after dropping down in weight from medium-heavyweight, where she won a silver medal last year. Vannessa Griffin has had quite a few impressive performances over the last few years and although she’ll have to be at her best in such a tough division, she definitely has the skills to win it.
Dark Horse: Sula-Mae Lowenthal is one of the top competitors in Europe and she’s known as a fantastic grappler, even if she hasn’t quite broken through to the very highest level just yet. Now might be her best chance to claim a major IBJJF title and it’ll be interesting to see how far she can go.
Medium-Heavyweight
Favorites: Aurelie Le Vern is the reigning champion here, but she has a strong field of 10 other women to get through if she wants to defend that title. She’s still the favorite but it won’t be easy for her, particularly with someone like Ingridd Alves waiting for her. Alves is the other contender for gold here and it’s tough to predict which of these women will come out on top.
Dark Horse: Salla Simola is another top European competitor and she won a bronze medal at Worlds last year to prove it. She has a great chance of taking either Alves’ or Le Vern’s places in the final and she’ll be a tough opponent for either one of them.
Heavyweight
Favorite: There are 6 women competing at heavyweight and Melissa Stricker is the reigning champion both here and at Pans. She also took home a bronze at Brasileiro and has been a top competitor for several years now. Stricker is the woman to beat here and it’s hard to imagine anyone else standing on top of the podium,
Dark Horse: Izadora Silva won this division at Pans and will almost certainly make it to the final at least. Whether she beats Stricker remains to be seen, but she’s got the bret chance of doing so out of anyone in the division.
Super-Heavyweight
Favorite: There’s only ever one woman to pick as a favorite at super-heavyweight, and that’s Gabrieli Pessanha. She has won double gold at every major IBJJF event for years now and none of the 3 other women in the division here are likely to stop her from continuing that streak.
Dark Horse: Yara Soares is still the only woman to beat Pessanha more than once and it’s not impossible to think she could do it again, although the most likely outcome for her is a silver medal instead.
The full IBJJF European Championship 2025 event will be available to watch live on January 17th to 25th, 2025 on FloGrappling, click here to subscribe and watch.
