The Sapateiro World Championship 2025 took place on March 15th, 2025 in Tampa, Florida and this was the biggest show that the promotion had ever put together. There was a grand prize of $100,000 on the line for the eventual winner and it was due to take place at under 160lbs. It’s been a long time in the making too, as they started laying the foundations for this event at the beginning of 2024. After putting on several qualifier events that saw talented grapplers win their spot in the bracket, they handed out the final invites to some of the best competitors in the world. That made for one of the most stacked lineups in recent memory and the bracket was set, so all that was left to do was determine a winner.
Josh Cisneros had a great run through one side of the bracket, starting out with a submission win over Anthony Molina in the opening round. He then won a decision over Gianni Grippo before beating Ethan Crelinsten on points, securing his place in the final with excellent performances against a pair of fellow ADCC veterans. Cisneros was one of the early favorites that most people would have picked to make it to the end, but the other side of the bracket actually saw a huge upset in the semi-final. Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira was the top contender to take home the title on paper but in the end, he had to settle for 4th place instead.
Deandre Corbe was the man who took him out, winning a decision in an incredibly close match. He also submitted Manning Leverett in the opening round and beat Kade Tsitos in the quarter-final before that, coming into the final with the exact same record as Cisneros. Corbe attacked the legs pretty early on and although Cisneros defended well, he transitioned quickly into a tight kneebar in order to secure the finish. Corbe added some seriously impressive wins to his record at the Sapateiro World Championship 2025, leaving with the inaugural 160lbs title and the $100,000 grand prize as well.
Sapateiro World Championship 2025 Full Results
Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira defeats Jordan Holy via Submission – Triangle Choke
Gavin Corbe defeats Jett Thompson via Decision – 2 to 0 on Points
Deandre Corbe defeats Manning Leverett via Submission – Armbar
Kade Tsitos defeats Tristan Sainz via Decision – Judge’s Decision
Josh Cisneros defeats Anthony Molina via Submission – Armbar
Gianni Grippo defeats Werther Merciales via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Ethan Crelinsten defeats Reese LaFever via Decision – 3 to 0 on Points
Max Hanson defeats Julian Espinosa via Decision – 3 to 0 on Points
Quarter-Finals
Diego ‘Pato’ Oliviera defeats Gavin Corbe via Decision – Judge’s Decision
Deandre Corbe defeats Kade Tsitos via Decision – 3 to 0 on Points
Josh Cisneros defeats Gianni Grippo via Decision – Judge’s Decision
Ethan Crelinsten defeats Max Hanson via Submission – Rear-naked Choke
Semi-Finals
Deandre Corbe defeats Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira via Decision – Judge’s Decision
Josh Cisneros defeats Ethan Crelinsten via Decision – 5 to 0 on Points
Final
Deandre Corbe defeats Josh Cisneros via Submission – Kneebar
