With 2024 now over, we at Jits Magazine are here to announce the winners of our fourth annual BJJ awards. There’s been almost too much to follow this year, as there have been more great events and more matches between elite grapplers than ever before. The biggest storyline this year was of course the battle between ADCC 2024 and the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational, with those three days easily being the biggest weekend in the history of the sport. Even outside of that, there was the regular slate of major IBJJF events and so many other promotions putting on great events throughout the year.
We have continued to make the nominees for each award public this year and we revealed all four nominees for each award throughout December in a series of posts on Instagram. This year we have also taken into account the public vote, and our followers have collectively been given the same ranked vote as each of our writing staff. As always, the condition we place on any nominees is that those in line for individual grappler of the year awards must have competed in at least five professional Jiu-Jitsu matches in that discipline (gi or no gi) in the calendar year. Then our ‘Breakout Grappler of the Year’ awards will only take into account results in the highest level of competition available and athletes will only be eligible when competing in their first full calendar year as a black belt or earlier.
Click here to see all of the previous year’s Jits magazine BJJ Awards before 2023.
Collective BJJ Awards 2024
Promotion of the Year
The Craig Jones Invitational
This was one of a handful of votes that were absolutely unanimous. Every single one of our writing staff selected the Craig Jones Invitational as their top pick, and 89% of the public vote went the same way at the time of writing. It’s not surprising either really, seeing as the event gave out the biggest prize money in the history of the sport by making two grapplers millionaires by the time it finished. It also featured the first major intergender match that the sport has ever seen as well, and it’s no exaggeration to say that CJI may very well have changed the game forever.
Fight Card of the Year
The Craig Jones Invitational 2024
Again, this vote was completely unanimous across our writing staff and this time 91% of the public swung this way at the time of writing. When a promotion wins Promotion of the Year off the strength of a single event, it’s almost a certainty that the event is going to win Fight Card of the Year as well. For CJI 2024 specifically, the main reason they won this award was the strength of the under 80kg division that they put together. That may well have been the most talented group of competitors who have ever been put together in a 16-man tournament and it’s going to be very hard to beat it. That combined with the aforementioned intergender match, a fantastic over 80kg division, and the return of BJJ legend Mackenzie Dern made CJI 2024 an unmissable event.
Match of the Year
Kade Ruotolo vs Andrew Tackett – The Craig Jones Invitational 2024
In 5 years’ time when we do an inevitable retrospective of this decade in BJJ, don’t be surprised to see this match listed as match of the decade. That isn’t recency bias either, this battle between Kade Ruotolo and Andrew Tackett has been regarded by many people as the single greatest BJJ match they’ve ever seen. It took place in the semi-final of the under 80kg division at CJI 2024 and both Ruotolo and Tackett are known for being exciting competitors, so it was always going to be a fun match. Nobody could have expected what happened though, as they both gave it everything across all three rounds and put on a display of every single element of Jiu-Jitsu at the highest level. 95% of the public voted this way at the time of writing, and every member of our writing staff agreed with that decision.
Brand of the Year
Scramble won the public vote with 52% of the vote-share at the time of writing, but it was far from unanimous between our writing staff. There was very little agreement on the exact order and each of the four nominees were someone’s top choice, but Scramble was the only brand to reach no lower than third on anyone’s ranking. The most impressive part of Scramble’s year was their collaboration with Pancrase and although it produced some great products, the historical value of that partnership was huge. Pancrase are the oldest MMA promotion in the world and over the last three decades they’ve staged hundreds of events. The Scramble collaboration with them was a unique moment and a big achievement for the brand.
Team of the Year
This award really was undeniable, as ATOS enjoyed what might be the most successful weekend in Jiu-Jitsu history at one point this year. Kade Ruotolo won the incredible under 80kg division at CJI, but ATOS also won more gold medals at ADCC 2024 than any other team. Kaynan Duarte won the under 99kg and absolute divisions, while Adele Fornarino won the under 55kg and women’s absolute divisions. Rafaela Guedes also won the over 65kg division and the team as a unit brought home multiple other titles and accolades throughout the year. The public agreed and although this was closer than other votes, ATOS still took 56% of the vote at the time of writing.
Individual BJJ Awards 2024
Submission of the Year
Michael Pixley submits Nicholas Meregali with a D’arce Choke at ADCC 2024
This submission was actually joint-top of the public vote, with 39% at the time of writing. It wasn’t the top choice for all of our writing staff, but it was never any lower than second either. This meant that Michael Pixley breezed into first place with what was one of the most shocking upsets that fans have been treated to in the last few years. Nicholas Meregali was one of the favorites to win the under 99kg division at ADCC 2024 but Pixley hit a beautiful counter-throw straight into a D’arce choke in order to stop his run.
MMA Submission of the Year
Stevie Ray defeats Lewis Long via Scottish Twister at PFL Europe 3
Incredibly, this is the second time in his professional MMA career that Stevie Ray has hit this unique variation of the Twister. It’s his signature submission and has even been named after him, but it was still shocking to see him pull it off in the PFL Europe 3 main event. It’s a brutal submission that sees a ton of pressure go straight into rotating the opponent’s spine and that combined with how genuinely rare it is makes it truly special. The public agreed too, with 75% of them voting for Ray’s Scottish Twister at the time of writing.
Male Breakout Grappler of the Year
Owen Jones was another star that broke out at ADCC 2024 and the young grappler put on an incredible display that saw him finish fourth in the under 66kg division. He also registered the fastest submission of the tournament too, and finished his year with another superb performance. He was invited to represent Al Leone in the AIGA Champions League Astana Qualifier and he submitted all 3 of his opponents to become one of the team’s standout members. Jones also won 48% of the public vote at the time of writing, securing his victory.
Female Breakout Grappler of the Year
Cassia Moura had an incredible year and the public recognised that, as she secured the top spot with 44% of the vote at the time of writing. She was only promoted to black belt halfway through the year after winning the IBJJF World Championship at brown belt, but she immediately became a force to be reckoned with. She finished off the year by cementing her status as a top competitor by winning the IBJJF No Gi World Championship this year in what was her very first attempt. It’s even more impressive considering that she’s just a teenager and her entire run from blue to black belt was completed in less than a year.
BJJ Personality of the Year
This was one of the closer votes, but Craig Jones has won BJJ Personality of the Year for the second year in a row. He won 48% of the public vote at the time of writing to finish first there, and it’s easy to see why the majority of our writing staff agreed with that assessment. Jones was the driving force behind what was the biggest professional Jiu-Jitsu tournament the world has ever seen. He made two talented grapplers millionaires in one weekend and his new travel show debuted at the end of the year, proving to be very popular already.
Male Grappler of the Year (No Gi)
Kade Ruotolo
Kade Ruotolo secured the top spot in the public vote with a 42% share at the time of writing, and he was the only nominee who went undefeated over the year. He started the year by defending his ONE Championship belt in impressive fashion but it was what took place after that that made him stand out. His victory in the most stacked bracket that might have ever been seen in the sport deserved special recognition, and this is the second time he’s won this award after his incredible run in 2021 earned him similar recognition.
Male Grappler of the Year (Gi)
Adam Wardzinski didn’t actually win the public vote, he came second with 30% of the share at the time of writing. What he did win was the first-place vote of every single member of our writing staff, proving more than enough to win him the title. It’s no surprise either, Wardzinski made history as the first European man to win an IBJJF world title and the rest of his year was equally impressive. He beat several of the best gi grapplers in the world this year and finished with a 25-1 record, including adding The Crown 2024 to his collection of accolades.
Female Grappler of the Year (No Gi)
The public gave Adele Fornarino 73% of the vote at the time of writing, which wasn’t entirely surprising given that she went 15-0 in no gi competition in 2024. Her crowning achievement was the pair of gold medals she won at ADCC 2024, which was a special moment for several reasons. She became the first Australian champion, she won the absolute despite being the lightest woman competing in it, and she also became the first female ADCC double champion in almost two decades.
Female Grappler of the Year (Gi)
Gabrieli Pessanha barely won the public vote, beating out the second-place by a single percentage-point with a 40% share at the time of writing. She was the unanimous pick from our writing staff as well though, which wasn’t surprising considering that she had yet another undefeated year. She finished at 39-0 in the gi with yet another double grand slam, marking the fourth year in a row that she has won this title. She’s done more in a few years than almost any other competitor ever has, and the latest edition of this award is just as well-deserved as the ones before it.
