Wellington ‘Megaton’ Dias made history at the IBJJF World Championship 2023 when he became the first coral belt to ever compete at the event. It’s a monumental achievement that serves as a testimony to the incredible longevity that Megaton has experienced in the sport, as he’s been able to compete with alongside adult competitors decades after most athletes leave that division. He’s been a permanent figure at the world’s most prestigious gi tournament since it was first created and he’s grown into one of the most popular and well-loved figures in the sport since those early days.
Adult divisions are reserved for those over the age of 18, but anyone over the age of 30 has the ability to enter master divisions instead, which aren’t present at the IBJJF world championship. It’s not uncommon to see athletes continue to compete in adult division in their early 30s and in some cases even around the age of 40. Megaton is 55 years old at present and as a result, he’s eligible to compete in the master 6 division with other 55-60 year-old competitors. In fact, he actually stepped on the mats just a week before this event at the IBJJF Master International – North America Championship 2023 where he won that division.
Megaton was awarded his coral belt in 2022, a rare achievement in the sport that is reserved for those who have dedicated decades of their life to Jiu-Jitsu. It denotes that a grappler has spent 31 years training as a black belt and as such, it’s incredibly unlikely to ever see a coral belt competing at all. Wellington ‘Megaton’ Dias has defied all reasonable expectations to not only compete as a coral belt, but to do it against the adults in the lightweight division of the IBJJF world championship 2023. He met a top competitor, Espen Mathiesen, in the opening round and was submited with a straight ankle-lock but he’d already made history at that point.
The IBJJF announced the news that Wellington ‘Megaton’ Dias had become the first coral belt to ever compete at the IBJJF World Championship in a recent post to their official Instagram account:
