COMBAT SPORTS
IBJJF’s The Crown: The Least You Should
Know

For most professional competitors in the IBJJF world, it’s No Gi Season as of the No Gi Pan American Championship earlier this month. However, with 250K in prize money on the line in an invitation-only tournament bracket, a handful of elite competitors have a few good reasons to keep the kimono on. 

What is The Crown?

The Crown is the IBJJF’s answer in the gi to the likes of popular invite-driven, highly-produced no gi tournaments like ADCC and CJI. So far, the event has occurred only once before, and this edition of The Crown includes returning champions in the technical Tainan Dalpra (Men’s Middleweight), the indomitable Gabi Pessanha (Women's Super-Heavyweight) and the practically-undefeated Erich Munis (Men's Ultra-Heavyweight). 

For those who follow disputes regarding athlete pay and discrepancies in IBJJF prize money across men’s and women’s divisions, note well: guys and gals will be collecting same-sized checks out of The Crown. To be fair, this makes sense in this instance: the brackets are equivalently sized at eight competitors each and most are genuinely competitive for a change. 

According to the FloGrappling’s reporting on the IBJJF, the payout breakdown is as follows:

• Champion - $20,000

• Runner-Up - $5,000

• Third Place - $3,000

• Fourth Place - $2,500

Read on for the least you should know about the second edition of The Crown, featuring twice the number of divisions and–we can only hope–twice the action. 

Who’s Fighting on The Crown?

Participants by Division

Men's Featherweight (<70kg/<154lbs)

• Diego “Pato” Oliveira

• Kennedy Maciel

• Jamil Hill-Taylor

• Ademir Barreto

• Eduardo “Dudu” Granzotto

• Osvaldo Moizinho

• Marco Mendes

• João Mendes

Men's Middleweight (<82.3kg/<181bs)

• Tainan Dalpra

• Mateus Luna

• Andy Murasaki

• Mauricio Oliveira

• Elijak Dorsey

• Jaime Canuto

• Manuel Ribamar

• Gabriel Galvão

Men's Heavyweight (<94.3kg/<208lbs)

• Adam Wardzinski

• Gustavo Batista

• Horlando Monteiro

• Rider Zuchi

• Mateus Rodrigues 

• Paulo Merlin

• Patrick Gaudio

• Matheus Spirandeli

Men's Ultra-Heavyweight (No Weight Limit)

• Erich Munis

• Gutemberg Pereira

• Pedro Machado

• Marcus Scooby

• Roosevelt Sousa

• Felipe Costa

• Kjetil Lydvo

• Kristof Szucs

Women's Lightweight (<62.8kg/<138.5lbs)

• Brianna Ste-Marie

• Janaina Lebre

• Cassia Moura

• Gabrielle McComb

• Vitoria Vieira

• Thaynara Victoria 

• Vitória Assis

• Jaine Fragoso

Women's Super-Heavy (No Weight Limit)

• Gabrieli Pessanha, 8x IBJJF World Champion (including Super-Heavyweight and Absolute titles) 

• Nathiely de Jesus

• Melissa Stricker

• Tamiris Silva

• Giovanna Jara

• Isabely Lemos

• Mayara Custodio

• Maria “Maca” Vicenti

The Least You Should Know About The Crown

Featherweight Division 

Pato may have had a ‘meh’ ADCC performance compared to expectations, but he is still king in the gi, and The Crown is an ideal opportunity to reinforce his claim to the throne. Kennedy almost grand slammed this year in the gi, and comes in with strong odds to win it all–especially with a slight size advantage over Oliveira in the gi. 

Ademir Barreto could turn heads if he repeats the dynamic, assertive kinds of performances he had at Worlds 2024, making it to the finals against the Meyram Maquine (who would have been a tremendous addition to this bracket of The Crown). 

As for the rest of the bracket: 

• Moizinho winning The Crown would be the most interesting thing about his career this year after having won the World Masters division that included “Mighty Mouse” (Masters 2/Black/Feather). 

• Jamil Hill-Taylor and João Mendes are legitimate contenders, but the former has yet to regain the sparkle of his Worlds-winning year (2021) and the latter, despite being a legitimate member of Atos’ stable of competitors, pales in star power and credentials compared to a Hulk or Batista.

• Granzotto and Marco Mendes come in on the younger side in age and experience relative to others in this bracket. Having had noteworthy careers at the colored belts, The Crown could be a great opportunity for them to get some exposure and substance, especially Marco Mendes, who has been somewhat underrated in this weight class. 

Middleweight Division 

After a contentious final against Mica Galvão at Worlds 2024, I am here to see Andy Murasaki shine. There’s reason to believe he will: he’s improved performance over performance in 2024 and looked indisputably competitive runner-up performances against the peerless Galvão throughout the three of the four IBJJF gi majors in 2024. Need the proof: see the 2024 Euros, Pans, and Worlds finals matches between them for yourself. 

Call me a hater, but I’d love to see Andy take Tainan to the cleaners in this latest matchup and legitimize these two as a real Middleweight rivalry. Murasaki faced Dalpra in the finals in the previous edition of The Crown, and his near-pass got him triangled. Andy’s grown a lot and deserves another shot against Tainan: the Murasaki of 2024 isn’t the Murasaki of 2022 or 2023–and frankly, Dalpra of 2023 and 2024 looks, dare I say…mortal? 

Dalpra, despite getting mostly-feeder matches to look good sem kimono at Who’s Number One, has lost a bit of his luster following his loss to Jansen Gomes in the Worlds 2023 finals and his DQ against Francisco Lo in the Worlds 2024 quarterfinals. 

Unfortunately, Lo withdrew from The Crown Middleweight bracket. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s because he’s ducking Dalpra. Fans are hungry for what would be a delicious rubber match, but Francisco is a bit of a whiner and probably knows he got lucky against Tainan the first time around and that Dalpra would be back for blood in a rematch. 

As for the rest of the bracket, the saying goes, “if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it.” But I’ll note that:

• It’ll be interesting to see Dorsey back at it after being flash leg-locked into another dimension by PJ Barch at ADCC 2024. 

• It’s cute that Manuel Ribamar is competing in this with his wife, Nathiely de Jesus. The Crown’s a true family affair for the competitor couple. 

Heavyweight Division 

Batista is the likely king of this division, but I’m still rooting for Wardzinski after the most heroic, “knocked down seven times, get up eight” career at Black Belt. The “wizard” and butterfly guard player finally won his first World Championship title this year, and did so in rousing fashion. 

Rodrigues might not take it, but his performance will be worth watching when it comes to a glimpse of the future of AOJ among beefier men’s divisions. He walks, weight-wise, between Dalpra and Gutemberg, and his increased profile stands to give AOJ increased credibility among the heavier men’s weight classes.

As for the rest of the bracket: Gaudio is old news, but IBJJF keeps wheeling him out like Joe Biden prior to withdrawing his candidacy from the 2024 Election. Merlin is no wizard. I can’t get excited about Monteiro or Spirandeli. Last but not least, like “fetch,” the IBJJF keeps trying to make Zuchi “happen,” but he’s never going to happen–at least not until Batista retires. 

Ultra-Heavyweight Division 

I’m quick to sleep on Ultra-Heavy, given that there tends to be more size and steroids than actual skill to witness in the division. Munis and Pereiera are the obvious favorites. Scooby is a perennial staller, and Sousa is a perennial snoozer. Felipe “Laranjinha” Costa had a formidable Bronze performance at -88kg at ADCC 2024 in August, but his Six Blades teammate, Victor Hugo, is a better fit, weight-wise, for this Ultra-Heavyweight gi bracket. Unless they become remarkable for some other reason, jiu-jitsu-wise, the two Eastern European dudes “filling out” the bracket are only interesting to me for the fact that both their first names start with ‘K.’

One one worthwhile tidbit about Munis: his only losses the last two years have been to Victor Hugo and to his brother, Anderson Munis. For those who only care only to watch sibling rivalries when the Tacketts or Ruotolos are involved, I urge you to take a look at the 2024 World Finals between the Munis brothers. The kneebar that ends the match is nasty.  

Lightweight Division  

Janaina Lebre likely comes in as a favorite for The Crown’s lightweight bracket. 

• She’s excelled in the IBJJF Grand Prix format and has accelerated improvements to her style and game since beginning to train at AOJ in early 2024

• Without another rubber match against Luiza Monteiro to get through, has fewer obstacles standing in her way between her and claiming the crown. 

Speaking of Luiza Monteiro: she withdrew from The Crown, but has a worthy substitute in World Champion and fellow Atos teammate, Gabrielle McComb. 

• Gabi is a steady contender, who has fought from Feather to Middle over the years, and brings a wealth of experience both over the years and across weight classes, especially against younger or more renowned competitors in the bracket. 

Ste-Marie is a hitter who all but guarantees an entertaining performance in the gi. 

• See her performances against fellow Crown invitee Vitoria Vieira from Worlds 2023 and her finals match against Luiza Monteiro at Worlds 2024. 

• Especially in the absence of a competitor like Ffion Davies, IBJJF can’t have a watchable lightweight women’s bracket without Ste-Marie. She’s one of the few females in the gi at this weight with name-brand recognition 

• In the wake of Ste-Marie’s disappointing performance at ADCC 2024, The Crown could be the beginning of Ste-Marie’s redemption arc and mark a real return to the gi for the smiley Canadian. 

Moura has a lot of hype and expectations to live up to as she enters this division in The Crown

• Moura has been made “famous” for blue belt to black belt in the span of a year thanks to talent, IBJJF rules regarding World Championship wins, and the decisions of her coach, Bruno Bastos. 

• She blew through the Brown Belt Featherweight division at Worlds, and The Crown is a killer opportunity to build momentum and credibility following her winning Black Belt debut at Jiu-Jitsu Con in September.

• She’s beaten black belts before (see her WNO submission over Jessie Crane), and “punched above her weight” when it comes to solid Absolute division performances, but she hasn’t gone up against competitors as decorated and dangerous in the gi as  

As for the rest of the bracket:

• Vitória Assis is an interesting competitor to watch–extremely dynamic (though a little less so in the gi), also coming in on the lighter side of the bracket, weight-wise: she typically competes at Featherweight and has had some exciting scraps against Adele Fornarino. 

• Thaynara Victoria is a latecomer to the division following Margot Ciccarelli’s last-minute withdrawal from the bracket, but a welcome one: adding Victoria, and, in general, adding more scrappy up-and-comers to The Crown creates fodder for future rivalries among the likes of Moursa, Assis, etc. 

• Vitoria Vieira and Jaine Fragoso are fine, I guess. Nothing to write home about–or to write about here. 

Super-Heavyweight Division 

Normally, I’d say that Pessanha would cruise through this division as she has at every one of her World championships for the last four years (both in the Super-Heavyweight and Absolute divisions). But there are at least two competitors here that are worth a second look:

First up: queen of the lasso, Nathiely de Jesus. 

• If there’s one gal who could become queen in The Crown and upset the reigning champ of the division in Pessanha, it’s de Jesus. 

• Nathi’s a wildcard par excellence and does well as an underdog, especially against heavier opponents: she holds a few wins over Gabi Garcia (see Who’s Number One, August 2021) and most recently made it to the ADCC 2024 finals against Rafaela Guedes after some postpartum time off from the competition scene. 

• A world champion in her own right with a lot of experience, Nathi is an intriguing stylistic foil to Gabi. If de Jesus can impose her lasso game, she’s got the best shot out of anyone in the division to hold up to Pessanha’s patience and pressure. 

• For a look at what we might expect in a likely de Jesus x Pessanha final, see de Jesus’ Open Class final against Gabi Garcia from Pans 2019.

The other athlete to watch: Giovanna Jara. 

• Jara was a monster in heavier weight classes circa 2022, prior to injury and pregnancy. She’s beaten Lemos before, has a size and skill advantage over former teammate, Maria Vicente, and well to the challenge against elite opponents (for those with a UFC Fightpass Subscription, check out her Polaris 23 match against Ffion Davies).  

• In matchups against Pessanha in the past, Giovanna has given Gabi trouble–a fact that no one else in this bracket can readily claim. Need proof? Check her final from AJP World Pro in 2022

• The Crown could be Jara’s chance to come back on top and make a statement, especially after what’s been a belated and long-awaited IBJJF rookie season as a black belt. As far as stages on which to stage a comeback, The Crown is about as high profile a stage Jara can get. 

As for the rest of the bracket: 

• Mayara Custodio hasn’t had a remarkable performance since her No Gi Worlds run in 2021 and, as a masters competitor, time isn’t on her side against the young guns in the bracket. 

• Pessanha wiped the floor–twice–with hot prospect Isabely Lemos at the BJJ Pro in São Paulo a few months ago. 

• Maria Vicente (Worlds 2024 runner-up at Medium-Heavy), Tamiris Silva (2024 World Champ at Heavyweight), and Melissa Stricker (2x World Champ at Heavyweight) are steady contenders, but none has the size or submission-heavy dominance of Pessanha. 

When and Where to Watch IBJJF’s The Crown

IBJJF’s The Crown goes down in the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA on Sunday November 17, 2024. Streaming of fights begins at 2PM Eastern time on FloGrappling. Subscribe