The IBJJF No Gi Brazilian National Championship 2023 is scheduled to take place on September 24th, 2023 and we’ll break down each adult black belt division at the tournament in this preview. As a major IBJJF no gi event, naturally it has attracted some of the best no gi grapplers from around the world to compete alongside the most impressive talent that Brazil has to offer. As always, there will be both colored belt and masters divisions available at the event as well but most of the attention will be on the most experienced competitors who are in the prime of their athletic career.
IBJJF No Gi Brazilian National Championship 2023 Full Preview
Men’s Divisions
Roosterweight
Roosterweight might be the smallest men’s division in this preview of the IBJJF no gi Brazilian National Championship 2023, but it’s still very competitive. Oziel Santos is the returning champion who would normally be the favorite in the division, but Shay Montague has been doing fantastic work in the colored belt divisions before being promoted to black belt earlier this year.
Light-Featherweight
Felipe Machado is the silver medalist from the last edition of this event and he might be able to do one better in 2023 and come away with the gold medal. Yuri Hendrex and Welerson Goncalves will both be eager to stop him though, and Valor Boyer is a promising talent who might cause an upset.
Featherweight
The featherweight division is wide open really and any of the 10 men who have entered the bracket could emerge as the winner once the tournament is over. David Weintraub is a great competitor who might be able to shine here, while both of the Santos brothers have a good chance of reaching the podium representing Alliance Jiu-Jitsu.
Lightweight
With no returning champion in this division, Ruan Alvarenga is coming in to the tournament looking like he might be able to reach the top of the podium. It won’t be easy for him though, as Artur Lanes is the silver medalist from last year and he’ll be looking to do one better this time around.
Middleweight
Ygor Rodrigues occupied the top spot on the podium last year and he immediately stands out as the most likely to make it to the final again this year. That being said, middleweight is the biggest division in this preview of the IBJJF no gi Brazilian National Championship 2023 and it’ll be tough for anyone to make it to the top.
Medium-Heavyweight
Marco Queiroz was the silver medalist at middleweight last year and although he’s moving up in weight, he has a good chance of winning here. He has some big challenges waiting for him though as top competitors Servio Tulio and Rafael Paganini are both likely winners as well.
Heavyweight
Charles Negromonte is a big name in the heavyweight division and he’s always got the ability to win no matter who he’s up against, but Leonardo Goncalves is moving down in weight after a silver medal performance last year. Goncalves should win here, but it wouldn’t be too surprising if Negromonte is able to pull off the victory.
Super-Heavyweight
Elioenai Braz managed to get a silver medal at heavyweight last year and although he’s moving up in weight, he’s been having some great results on the IBJJF Open circuit lately. Joao Rangel is the returning champion though so the odds are in his favor to retain his title for at least one more year.
Ultra-Heavyweight
Antonio de Padua is the defending champion and it does seem likely that he wins the tournament once again, but there is one competitor who stands out as his biggest threat. Guilherme Lambertucci had to settle for a bronze medal in the end last year, so it’ll be interesting to see if he can occupy a higher spot on the podium this time around.
Women’s Divisions
Light-Featherweight
The light-featherweight division at the IBJJF no gi Brazilian National Championship 2023 has no returning champion as the division didn’t run last year, so there isn’t any history to take into account in this preview. Jessica Dantas is a top competitor who immediately stands out as the most likely winner, and her main opposition will likely come from last year’s brown belt champion Barbara Souza.
Featherweight
The featherweight division also didn’t run last year due to a lack of competitors, but there’s 4 women entered here this year. Smaller brackets generally favor the underdogs as a single win can seal the whole tournament for them, but the smart choice here is still Vitoria Assis.
Lightweight
Izabel Seki won a bronze medal last time around at lightweight but with neither of the two women standing above her then returning in 2023, she might have a clear path to gold. It won’t be easy though, as Maria Claudia also has a great chance of winning and could prove to be Seki’s undoing in the division.
Middleweight
Middleweight is the biggest women’s division in the tournament and coincidentally, also the one that is the most open for anyone to win. There’s going to be plenty of tough matches between the 6 women competing but Julia Boscher might just have what it takes to get to the top of the podium.
Heavyweight
There are only 2 women in the super-heavyweight division of the IBJJF no gi Brazilian National Championship 2023, so this is just a preview of a single match. Aurelie Le Vern is a pretty consistent figure on the podium of the IBJJF Open circuit, and she should be able get the win over Karen Correia.
Super-Heavyweight
This just another division that only has 2 competitors, so this division will consist of a single match between Mikaela Barros and Roberta Ribeiro. Ribeiro seems like the logical choice as the brown belt no gi world champion last year, but anything can happen in a straight final.
The full competitor list for every division in this preview of the IBJJF no gi Brazilian National Championship 2023 is available here.
