The IBJJF World Championship 2023 is almost upon us and the brackets for the event have now been released, ahead of it taking place across June 1st to 4th, 2023. Although all athletes are seeded according to their IBJJF accomplishments in recent years, the divisions are so stacked with phenomenal grapplers that every single match is a tough one. Even more so than the average world championship-level competitor, several big names have been matched up in the very first round or two of the tournament. We already previewed the full divisions for each weight class and picked out the most likely winners, but here are some of the best matches fans can watch straight away.
One match in particular stands out at roosterweight, where Zayed Alkatheeri has been matched up against Osamah Almarwai in the first round. There’s a fun corner of the featherweight division too, where Brian Mahecha and Osvaldo ‘Queixinho’ Moizinho meet in the opening round before the winner faces off with one of the favourites in Diego Sodre. Lightweight is where things really start to kick off though, as the draw has gifted us several fantastic matchups immediately like Levi Jones-Leary vs Matheus Gabriel, Max Lindblad vs Pablo Lavaselli, and JT Torres vs Natan Chueng.
The medium-heavyweight division is very busy right from the start too, with two of the top competitors meeting in the first round, as Elder Cruz and Matheus Spirandeli have been drawn against one another. There’s also another exciting opening match between Manuel Ribamar and Clay Mayfield, and fans will get to see a rematch from the Denver Open a few weeks ago between Shane Fishman and Francisco Lo. Heavyweight has an interesting section in the first two rounds too, as Fellipe Andrew has received a bye and will be waiting for the winner of Roberto Jimenez v Caio Vinicius.
Devhonte Johnson and Fellipe Trovo represent a fun matchup in the opening round of the super-heavyweight division, while ultra-heavyweight will give the fans Pedro Alex v Roosevelt Sousa as well. The women’s brackets at the IBJJF World Championship 2023 have also produced some exciting matches in the opening rounds. In the light-featherweight division, ADCC trials winner Adele Fornarino and top competitor Alexa Yanes will be meeting immediately.
The lightweight division has a lot to look forward to as well, with Brenda Ariane and Brianna Ste-Marie battling it out to determine who gets to face Luiza Monteiro. That isn’t all though, as Janaina Lebre and Thamires Monteiro are also clashing straight away. There will no doubt be plenty of action as the middleweight women make their way through the brackets, but the opening round match Thamara Ferreira and Raquel Canuto will likely be one of the most exciting of the whole IBJJF world championship 2023.
The full brackets for every division at the IBJJF World Championship 2023 can be found here.
