Now that 2025 has come to a close, it’s time to take a look back at some of the biggest moments of the year for the Jits Magazine BJJ Awards. There were several huge storylines in 2025 of course, and competitors are now routinely being paid more than they ever have been before. There has been two changes to the awards themselves this year, starting with our removal of ‘Brand of the Year’. Now that Jits Magazine has moved into promoting regional events as Jits Pro League, we can’t in good conscience continue this award with the conflict of interest we have as we engage with sponsors for it.
Secondly, we’ve introduced ‘Community Moment of the Year’ to try to capture the most unique moment of the year that really stood out, whether that be a match or anything else. 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 2025.
Collective BJJ Awards 2025
Promotion of the Year
It’s been a big year for everybody of course and truthfully this was a very close decision, as this award could easily have gone to the Craig Jones Invitational. Both events focused primarily on team grappling this year and although the prize money available at CJI 2 was obviously bigger, Polaris really did deliver the better results on the mat. Where CJI faced criticism initially for slower matches and a lack of finishes, all four Polaris Squads events in 2025 featured a ton of finished and several wild matches. The fact that they did this four times in a row and crowned the inaugural Intercontinental champions gave Polaris the edge they needed to claim this award.
Fight Card of the Year
Craig Jones Invitational 2
It’s really hard to argue that any other single event deserves this award, as nobody else has managed to bring together virtually all of the biggest names in the sport on one mat. Truthfully there was only a handful of elite competitors missing from the CJI 2 lineup, and that was purely because there was only so much room on each team. 40 of the best male grapplers in the world across all 5 ADCC weight classes battled it out and Quintet rules made from some unique matchups that fans will probably never see again, while the $100,000 four-woman tournament is the highest-paying the sport had ever seen.
Match of the Year
Sarah Galvao vs Ana Vieira – Craig Jones Invitational 2
With dozens of elite events and hundreds upon hundreds of exciting matches every year, choosing the ‘Match of the Year’ is always a tough decision. This match between Galvao and Vieira really stood out because it stole the show at the biggest event of the year, and it was one of the most high-profile examples of a top prospect facing a longstanding veteran. The pit obviously helped contain the action and keep it flowing, but full credit goes to Galvao and Vieira because they both went all out in search of the win.
Team of the Year
Many might think that winning CJI 2 would be enough to secure B-Team Jiu-Jitsu this award but not only was it a pretty narrow win in the final, but their biggest hitter in the tournament was a wildcard who isn’t a member of their usual roster. AOJ on the other hand might have been absent from that event, but they’ve delivered consistent wins at the highest level of both gi and no gi events all year long. Two of their youngest black belts became world champions this year, as did 7 other members of their competition team and they finished the year with more black belt world champions than any other team.
Community Moment Of The Year
Lachlan Giles vs Marcelo Garcia at ONE Fight Night 38
The result of this match is not the important part at all, the reason that Lachlan Giles and Marcelo Garcia have won this award is because the match happened at all. Both men were though to be retired for good and although Garcia already made his comeback last year, most people would not have predicted that he’s get booked in a match this competitive. ONE Championship pulled it off though; they gave the fans a show that was thought to be impossible and it’s the type of matchup that only comes around once every few years.
Individual BJJ Awards 2025
Submission of the Year
Mica Galvao submits Roberto Jimenez with an Armbar at BJJ Stars 15
Mica Galvao has undeniably mastered the armbar and even though it’s the submission he uses most often, he still finds ways to catch the best grapplers in the world with it. The level of opposition here obviously makes it impressive right from the start, but how relentless Galvao was when hunting the finish is what made it stand out. He attacked the arm from the bottom and transitioned through multiple different variations as Jimenez scrambled to escape, constantly keeping him in danger. He did get the finish after a few seconds of transitioning, demonstrating just how incredible he is at this particular submission.
MMA Submission of the Year
Jean Silva submits Bryce Mitchell with a Ninja Choke at UFC 314
Bryce Mitchell is an excellent grappler as far as MMA fighters go and generally speaking his opponents will try to avoid going to the ground with him. He had Jean Silva up against the cage but rather than continue defending the takedown, Silva attacked a ninja choke and Mitchell suddenly found himself in danger. He tried to finish the single-leg first before accepting bottom position in order to escape but Silva held on to the choke, finishing it at an unorthodox angle that must have put a ton of pressure on Mitchell’s neck.
Male Breakout Grappler of the Year
There’s been quite a few new male grapplers breaking into the highest level of the sport this year but none of them can compete with the performances that Jaworski has been putting in consistently. People in the know have been paying attention to the Polish leglocker for a while now but his appearance at CJI helped bring him global recognition. Then he won the ADCC European Trials 2025 and on his very first attempt, he won IBJJF majors at the black belt level. His double gold performance at No Gi Euros 2025 was particularly impressive but finishing the year by winning what will likely be the first of many titles at the IBJJF No Gi World Championship 2025 was the icing on the cake.
Female Breakout Grappler of the Year
Sarah Galvao was a brown belt until halfway through the year and her first appearance at a major event as a black belt was CJI 2. She didn’t end up winning the event but she did beat the ADCC 2024 champion in the opening round, proving she belongs at this level already. Then she won an IBJJF major on her first attempt when she took home gold at No Gi Pans 2025, before taking home the only gi title left for the year. Despite facing 3 elite competitors who have all already won black belt world titles of their own, Galvao was able to win The Crown 2025 and finish her year on a huge high note.
BJJ Personality of the Year
Jones was always going to be in a strong position for this award thanks to the return of CJI but he also maintained the charitable relationships he’s become known for along the way too. Jones also did something that most promoters would be unable or unwilling to do when he saw that there was some criticism of day 1 of CJI; he introduced huge submission bonuses in an attempt to fix things. He also drew a ton of attention for a big crossover this year, where he sat down with Mikey Musumeci for a friendly debate about some of the biggest topics in the sport.
Male Grappler of the Year (No Gi)
Roosevelt Sousa hasn’t suffered a single loss in no gi competition this year, an impressive feat for someone who featured in more than 20 matches and multiple tournaments. Along the way he won double gold at both No Gi Pans and No Gi Worlds, adding four major titles to his resume in the space of just a few months. His run at worlds was particularly special, as he won 6 of his 7 matches by submission despite facing several ADCC Trials winners along the way. It has been a great year for Sousa in no gi competition and he thoroughly deserves this award.
Male Grappler of the Year (Gi)
One man has made history in gi competition this year, as Adam Wardzinski became the first European to win an IBJJF Grand Slam. That alone deserves recognition, but Wardzinski’s journey to the top of the sport has been nothing short of inspirational. He spent years perfecting his craft and developing the best butterfly guard in the world, going 13-0 across the 4 IBJJF majors this year. His full record this year was 15-2 but those losses were moving up in weight against the top super-heavyweight and a shock upset after coming out of retirement for one more tournament. Cementing his position in the history books this year was more than enough to secure him this award.
Female Grappler of the Year (No Gi)
Crevar has added multiple titles to her collection this year, travelling all around the world to put together a 17-1 record in no gi competition. She won the WNO title by submitting Elisabeth Clay at WNO 27 and defended her Polaris title multiple times, before also winning another of the promotion’s belts in a second weight class at Polaris 34. She also won the $100,000 tournament at CJI 2 and even competed in team grappling by leading the North American Squad to victory at Polaris 32. In Crevar’s final appearance of the year she won her first no gi world title, winning virtually everything she could this year in no gi competition despite still being a teenager.
Female Grappler of the Year (Gi)
This award has only ever been won by one woman, and for very good reason. Gabrieli Pessanha has won double gold at IBJJF majors for years now and although she didn’t win the double grand slam last year she still held an incredible record. Pessanha went 31-1 in gi competition throughout 2025 and 5 of her wins actually came against the only woman who beat her, Tayane Porfirio. What makes Pessanha’s run even more special is the fact that 28 of her 31 wins came by submission too, showing just how untouchable she has been the majority of the time.
