The IBJJF World Championship 2024 will take place from May 29th to June 2nd, 2024 and we’ve put together a full preview of every incredible bracket at the event. With almost 350 elite black belt competitors signed up for the various weight classes, this is once again guaranteed to be the biggest gi tournament of the entire year. There are plenty of storylines to pay attention to as well; from the grapplers aiming for an IBJJF Grand Slam to the reigning champions from last year looking to defend their titles, and from veterans on one more run at glory to top prospects making their debut at the highest level.
IBJJF World Championship 2024 Full Preview
Men’s Divisions
Roosterweight
Favorites: Roosterweight is historically a smaller bracket but this year there are 23 men competing. There’s no returning champion but the silver medalist, Thalison Soares, is the clear favorite after a fantastic year that has seen him in the running for his first ever IBJJF Grand Slam. His main opposition will be coming from Rodnei Barbosa and Welerson Goncalves, both of whom have had to settle for silver medals behind Soares this year. Barbosa lost on advantages in the final of the Pan Championship this year and Goncalves lost 8-4 on points in the final of this year’s Brasileiro.
Dark Horse: Oziel Santos has been a frequent fixture on the podium of major IBJJF events and he’s had to settle for bronze medals so far, but he’s still a fantastic grappler. He definitely has what it takes to beat Goncalves or Barbosa in a single match but the prospect of beating both of them and Soares at one event might be a little too much to expect.
Light-Featherweight
Favorites: Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira is the reigning champion and the IBJJF Pan Championship gold medalist from this year, but it definitely won’t be easy for him to win again as there’s some tough opposition here. Last year’s silver medalist was Meyram Maquine and he was also the champion in 2022, so he could definitely add another world title to his collection. He made a great impression by winning a gold medal at Euros earlier this year, so he will be Oliveira’s biggest threat.
Dark Horse: Cleber Sousa will also be competing and as the returning bronze medalist, he’s another one who will likely go far in this bracket. Pato and Maquine are the only people who’ve won this division in the last 3 years though, so he’ll have to pull off something special to beat them both to the title.
Featherweight
Favorites: With 37 competitors, featherweight is the busiest division at the IBJJF World Championship 2024 and some of the best grapplers on the planet feature in this preview. Samuel Nagai is the reigning champion and he’s involved in a great storyline, as Kennedy Maciel is on track for his first IBJJF grand slam and already holds a win over him from 2022. They aren’t the only favorites though, as Fabricio Andrey has beaten both of them before and Alex Sodre has had some very close matches with them over the years. These four men represent the most likely podium and although Nagai and Maciel are more likely to stand on top, it wouldn’t be too surprising to see them in any order.
Dark Horse: There’s another big storyline in the featherweight division, as Cole Abate will be competing in the adult black belt divisions for the very first time. The odds are definitely stacked against him but he’s been capable of beating elite competitors for several years now, so it’s hard to predict just how far he can go in his first major IBJJF tournament at this level.
Lightweight
Favorites: The lightweight division is incredibly busy too, with 35 competitors and several elite grapplers who could end up as the champion. Johnatha Alves is the reigning world champion but Mica Galvao has dominated the middleweight division by winning every major IBJJF event this year and he’s dropping down to finish his grand slam run. Andy Murasaki is another big name dropping down from middleweight who will be a top contender while last year’s silver medalist, Pedro Maia, may very well end up on top of the podium this year.
Dark Horse: Anything can happen in such a big division because fatigue will start to factor in when competitors make it to the later rounds of the tournament. Elijah Dorsey has had a great year so far with a gold medal at the IBJJF European Championship, so he might be able to spring some surprises on the favorites and could even go all the way.
Middleweight
Favorites: There’s no returning champion at middleweight but Tainan Dalpra was the world champion in both 2022 and for the first time back in 2021. Dalpra is always going to be a top contender but he has a very big challenge waiting for him in the division this year, as Tye Ruotolo will be competing once again and fans may finally get to see this long-awaited match. That isn’t the only great match that we might get to see though, as Jackson Nagai has moved up in weight after winning the lightweight division at Pans and he should make it very far at this weight.
Dark Horse: Jhonathan Pessanha has done very well this year, with an IBJJF Brazilian National Championship under his belt already. It’s not likely that he stands on top of the podium given the incredibly high level of competition here, but he might be able to beat one of the favorites and make it further than most would expect.
Medium-Heavyweight
Favorites: There’s 32 elite grapplers competing at medium-heavyweight but more importantly, there’s actually two reigning champions vying for the title. Gustavo Batista won this division last year and Jansen Gomes is returning to medium-heavyweight after winning his first world title at middleweight. They represent the most likely final pairing but Isaque Bahiense is definitely a top contender to win the division as well. Even though it’s been a few years since Bahiense last won this event, he’s a constant threat and won a bronze medal last year.
Dark Horse: Sebastian Rodriguez is the other bronze medalist from this tournament last year and he only narrowly lost to Batista on advantages in the semi-finals. It’ll be difficult for him to win his first world title but he might have been able to make enough improvements to push himself over the edge and into the final at least.
Heavyweight
Favorites: The heavyweight division of the IBJJF World Championship 2024 is one of the toughest to predict in this preview, with 26 talented grapplers and no returning champion. Pedro Machado is probably the slight favorite as last year’s silver medalist, and he’s reached the podium of several major IBJJF events this year already. Adam Wardzinski is another potential winner as he’s coming off another European title at the beginning of the year and although he has been submitted by Machado recently, he’s also beaten him before. Roberto Jimenez is also a bit of a wild card and although he hasn’t won a major tournament in the gi before, this may well be his time to shine.
Dark Horse: Rayron Gracie is pretty much the definition of a dark horse as far as the heavyweight division is concerned, and he’s definitely one to watch. He won the brown belt absolute division last year and got a bronze medal in the super-heavyweight division of the Euros in his black belt debut. Then he submitted the reigning champion of this division, Fellipe Andrew, at ADXC 3 and announced that he was a serious contender at this level. If he can perform at that level throughout the whole tournament, he might just be able to win a black belt world title on his first attempt.
Super-Heavyweight
Favorites: Erich Munis is the reigning champion in this division and he’s held the title since he first won it in 2021, so he’s going to be really tough to beat here. His main opposition will come from Anderson Kauan and Harryson Pereira, although he’s already beaten Kauan by an incredible 26-point margin earlier this year. Pereira is a new opponent, but he’s lost to several competitors that Munis has beaten throughout the year and it’d be a pretty big upset if Pereira won.
Dark Horse: Anderson Munis is Erich’s older brother and he actually won his first IBJJF major this year, although he won his gold medal at Pans after the brothers closed out the division together. It’s unlikely he takes the title over his brother but he might be able to make it on to the podium and if Erich loses elsewhere, the division is suddenly wide open.
Ultra-Heavyweight
Favorites: Ultra-heavyweight is the smallest men’s division in this preview of the IBJJF World Championship 2024 with just 17 competitors, and it’s wide open thanks to their being no returning champion here. Marcus Ribeiro was the silver medalist last year and won double bronze at Euros this year, so he stands a great chance of winning. Gutemberg Pereira was the double champion at Euros while Yatan Bueno is the Pan champion at this weight class and holds wins over both him and Ribeiro this year, so both of these men are top contenders too.
Dark Horse: Kjetil Lydvo has only been a black belt for a little over a year but he will be one to watch as the bracket unfolds, as he’s already stood on the podium of both Pans and Euros. He actually beat Ribeiro on points earlier this year too so although it will be difficult for him to win gold, he may very well end up on the podium once again.
Women’s Divisions
Roosterweight
Favorites: Mayssa Bastos has been the roosterweight world champion since 2019 and she’s only lost a single match since the beginning of last year. Given that the woman who handed her that loss isn’t competing at this weight class at the IBJJF World Championship 2024, she’s a heavy favorite to win in this preview. Jhenifer Aquino is the silver medalist from last year and although she’s 0-2 against Bastos so far, she should still be able to present a tough challenge to the leading favorite.
Dark Horse: Ana Carolina Lima has been a black belt for just a few months but she’s already beaten Aquino twice and established herself as one of the top competitors in this weight class. It wouldn’t be surprising to see her on the podium but it’ll be really tough for her to beat her Art of Jiu-Jitsu teammate Bastos.
Light-Featherweight
Favorites: There’s no returning champion at light-featherweight, but the silver medalist from last year was Thamires Aquino and she’s going to be tough to beat. On the other hand, Jessica Dantas has been an elite competitor for years now with several gold medals at major IBJJF events. A world championship has eluded her so far but she only narrowly lost on advantages to Aquino last year so this might be the perfect time for her to win the biggest title in the sport.
Dark Horse: Brenda Larissa won a bronze medal at roosterweight last year and she’s been a permanent fixture on the podium this year, adding more medals from various major tournaments around the world to her collection. It’s going to be really tough for her to win gold here but she’s almost certainly going to stand on the podium somewhere.
Featherweight
Favorites: There’s no returning champion at featherweight but winning the division won’t be easy with 15 elite competitors in it. Anna Rodrigues is the silver medalist from last year and she’s won the light-featherweight division twice before that, so she stands out as the most likely champion this year. Margot Ciccarelli took one of the bronze medals last time but she’s shown some huge improvements throughout the year in winning both the Euros and the ADCC European Trials, so she has a good chance of winning gold this time.
Dark Horse: Larissa Campos turned a corner in a huge way this year when she won a gold medal at Pans and she should be able to mount a serious challenge in this division. She’ll be a tough matchup for anyone but with Rodrigues and Ciccarelli both in the bracket, it’s going to be difficult for her to win the title.
Lightweight
Favorites: Lightweight is another division without a returning champion and it’s tough to predict who might win it. Brianna Ste-Marie won bronze last time and she could end up being just the second Canadian to ever win an IBJJF world title, but she has Luiza Monteiro standing in her way. Monteiro currently leads the series 2-1 and the fourth match between them may very well be the final of this division. Vitoria Vieira has been on a great run lately too though, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see her beat one or both of these women.
Dark Horse: Sabrina Gondim has had mixed results since being promoted to black belt but she’s already earned a win over Vieira and went to decision against Monteiro. If she’s able to put it all together on the day then she could be a threat but the odds definitely aren’t in her favor with a division as stacked as this.
Middleweight
Favorites: Andressa Cintra has won the IBJJF World Championship at middleweight for the last 3 years in a row so even though it’s the biggest women’s division in this preview of 2024, she’s still the favorite. Thalyta Silva was the silver medalist last year and although she’s lost gi matches to Cintra 3 times now, each one has been very close. Silva will get her first grand slam if she wins here too so she’ll have a ton of momentum coming into this event. The final top contender is Ingridd Alves, as she has a 1-1 record against Silva and she’s dropping down to this division after winning Pans at medium-heavyweight.
Dark Horse: Vannessa Griffin was the bronze medalist in this division last year and she’ll almost certainly do well again, but she has a big mountain to climb to win gold. She’s come up against Cintra and Silva multiple times in the past and lost every match so far, but there have been some close matches and she might be able to bridge that gap.
Medium-Heavyweight
Favorites: Amy Campo is the reigning champion at medium-heavyweight but she hasn’t competed at all throughout 2024 so far so there’s no way to predict what form she arrives in here. She submitted most of her opponents at this weight last year, including Maria Malyjasiak in the final. Malyjasiak is a veteran competitor with several major tournament wins under her belt though, so she’s definitely capable of getting revenge if Campo isn’t at the top of her game.
Dark Horse: Thamara Ferreira has moved up in weight since winning a bronze medal at this tournament last year and she’s had some great results already this year. It will be tough for anyone to dethrone Campo of course but Ferreira has the skills to do so, it just depends on how the rest of the bracket performs too.
Heavyweight
Favorites: Melissa Stricker is the reigning heavyweight champion and with just 7 other women in the bracket, there’s not a lot of room for surprises. She’s been on a great run in IBJJF competition this year too and the most likely outcome is that she wins a third title, but Larissa Dias might be able to throw a spanner in the works. Dias lost to Stricker in the final last year on advantages but she has beaten her before, and she’ll be eager to win the next phase in their rivalry here.
Dark Horse: Elizabeth Mitrovic had a fantastic year in no gi competition last year but she’s equally skilled in the gi, and she will be a tough opponent for anyone in the bracket. It’s not hard to imagine her standing on the podium when the dust settles, but she’ll have to be in top form to beat the two favorites.
Super-Heavyweight
Favorite: There are only 6 women competing at super-heavyweight at the IBJJF World Championship 2024 and with Gabrieli Pessanha involved, there can only really be one favorite in this preview. She has won both this weight and the absolute division for the last 3 years in a row here, and she’s won them at every major IBJJF event since her first grand slam in 2022. She hasn’t even lost a single match since the year before that, so it’s hard to imagine anyone stopping her from making history here.
Dark Horse: Yara Soares is not only one of just 3 women who have beaten Pessanha but she’s also the only woman to do it more than once. Soares has actually won 4 matches against her but considering the fact that they’ve faced each other 20 times in total over the years, she’s still the underdog going into this tournament.
The full IBJJF World Championship 2024 event, including all of the divisions in the above preview, is available to watch live on FloGrappling.
