The IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023 is scheduled for October 26th to 29th, 2023 and we’ve put together a preview of every division being contested at the event. Some of the best no gi grapplers from all around the continent will be travelling to Rome, Italy in order to attempt to reach the top of the podium in one of the toughest tournaments around. The event is taking place just a little over a month after the ADCC European Trials 2023 and it’ll be interesting to see who redeems themselves after not winning there. Additionally, this tournament will prove as a great time for those who didn’t win an invite to ADCC 2024 to show some improvement before the second ADCC Trials event for the continent comes around.
IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023 Full Preview
Men’s Divisions
There are some pretty big men’s divisions at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023, but we’ve broken down both every single one of them in this preview regardless of the number of grapplers competing.
Roosterweight
Shay Montague is the top seed in this division for very good reason, he’s been in fantastic form and has quickly established himself as one of the top competitors in Europe. Unless he’s the victim of disastrous bad luck or falls to an incredibly close referee decision, he should be the clear winner here.
Light-featherweight
Edwin ‘Junny’ Ocasio is making a pretty long journey to compete at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023 and he’s the favorite to win the light-featherweight division in this preview. Although it’s difficult to imagine anyone stopping Junny from taking home the gold medal, there are some interesting and challenging potential matches with Valor Boyer or Daniel De Groot that might await him.
Featherweight
Out of all 22 competitors at featherweight, the two ADCC 2022 veterans both stand out as likely champions. Ashley Williams and Sam McNally have been put on one side of the bracket and it’ll be interesting to see if anyone can stop them from meeting in the semi-final. While those two are the most likely winners, other top grapplers like David Weintraub and Kamil Wilk are also in the division.
Lightweight
Lightweight is another big division with 20 competitors, but the podium placement is far less clear than it is at featherweight. Marcus Phelan is the top seed and although he’s always tough to beat, there are a number of grapplers in the bracket who could feasibly stop his run and take the top spot instead.
Middleweight
This is the biggest division in this whole preview of the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023 and again, ADCC veterans stand out as the most likely winners. Oliver Taza is the top seed and although Tommy Langaker isn’t seeded as high, he’s the other favorite to win here. They will likely meet in the semi-final, while the other side of the bracket has Pierre-Olivier Leclerc and Lucas Protasio as the most likely to make it to the final.
Medium-heavyweight
Sebastian Rodriguez and Clay Mayfield are going to be the men to beat in this division and they’ve been placed on opposite sides of the bracket, so this is the most likely final match. Austin Oranday is almost certainly going to reach the podium at least and if he can get past Rodriguez in the potential semi-final then he might just be able to come away with the gold medal here.
Heavyweight
Santeri Lilius is fresh off winning ADCC Trials at 88kg and he’s the favorite to repeat that feat here as well. There’s some tough matches waiting for him though, as he’ll probably have to bear Jackson Sousa or Catriel Rodrigues in order to get to the final. Charles Negromonte and Leonardo Goncalves stand out as the most likely men to wait for him there, but Lilius should still be able to win gold regardless.
Super-heavyweight
Two top American have made the journey to compete in the super-heavyweight division at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023 and they both stand out as potential winners in this preview. Eliot Kelly and Devhonte Johnson will be very tough to beat, while Freddie Vosgrone is the Europe’s best hope of getting a homegrown champion.
Ultra-heavyweight
The seeding in the ultra-heavyweight division has produced an opening round match that really wouldn’t look out of place as the final. Vinicius ‘Trator’ Ferreira is the top seed as the favorite to win the division but the bottom seed is Heikki Jussila, an ADCC veteran who is also the most likely to stop him from doing so. If Jussila wins this match then he blows the division wide open but if Trator beats him, he should be able to win the whole thing.
Women’s Divisions
The women’s divisions in this preview of the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023 aren’t quite as full as the men’s weight classes, but there’s still plenty of action to be seen and many elite grapplers stepping on the mats.
Light-featherweight
There’s only 4 competitors in this weight class and Roger Gracie black belt Nina Navid is the top seed in a short bracket. She has drawn Thais Loureiro in the opening round and it’s likely that the winner of the tournament is decided in this match. Failing that, the other side of the bracket has Fiona Middleton looking like a potential champion as well.
Featherweight
The obvious favorite in this division is Adele Fornarino and she’s even got a bye in the first round too, so she should be fresher than her opponent in the semi-final too. Her biggest challenges are all on the other side of the bracket, as Zofia Szawernowska and Rose El Sharouni will be battling it out in the opening round. Ashley Bendle is also in the mix and if she can perform to the maximum of her potential then she might be able to cause an upset here.
Lightweight
This is another small division with just 4 entrants and it’s likely that the champion will be decided in the opening round match between Izabel Seki and Maria Claudia. The other opening round match features Nadine Tavares and she might be able to win too, but the safe bets are on either Seki or Claudia.
Middleweight
Gamila Kanew stands out as a potential champion in this preview of the middleweight at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023, but she doesn’t have it easy. There’s some interesting unknown quantities here as both Gabi Schuck and Rosa Walsh have been seeded quite low, even though they’re both capable of causing the upset.
Medium-heavyweight
Elizabeth Mitrovic is the clear favorite in this division and it’s going to take a lot for anyone to stop her, especially because she’s going to get a bye straight through to the semi-final. Joanna Dineva is the woman who is most likely to stop her, but she’ll have to win two matches against tough opponents in order to face her in the final.
Heavyweight
This division just has a single match in it, and Maria Vicenti is most likely going to beat Leah McCourt.
Super-heavyweight
Roberta Ribeiro is the only woman signed up to this division so she’ll take a default gold medal away from the event, but she’s almost certainly going to compete in the absolute division and has the chance to impress the crowd there.
The full competitor list for the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2023, including every division detailed in the above preview, can be found here.
