The first-ever women’s squads are coming to Polaris and it’ll be Team Europe versus Team North America in a setup that’s only gotten more interesting with last-minute additions and swaps to both teams: most notably, Ffion Davies, the European Team Captain, withdrew due to injury and a “mental health break” from competition to some nonnegligible internet fanfare. 

Nevertheless, with a roster full of No Gi World Champions, ADCC veterans, and up-and-comers with something to prove, there are no bad matchups in these squads. Much as I’d have loved a head to head between Ffion and Helena, the fans don’t need Davies in the mix to have a worthwhile show of women’s jiu-jitsu.

Here’s the least you should know about the Polaris Squads ruleset, how the teams break down, and the most intriguing potential matchups coming this weekend at Polaris 32. 

The North American Team captain is the eighteen-year-old Helena Crevar, who finally has her black belt after a seemingly-endless adolescence in the BJJ spotlight. Fresh off of winning Worlds in the gi at Brown belt last month, Danaher’s golden girl sheds the gi and gets into her official rookie season as a Black Belt at Polaris. 

Crevar isn’t the only teen wonder on the squad: she’s joined by fellow eighteen-year-old Taylor Hishaw, a B-Team up-and-comer who’s been active in a variety of no gi promotions, including FURY and Who’s Number One. Her style is top heavy, aggressive, and—no surprise—wrestling based.

No one is steadier on this squad than 2x No Gi World Champ Brianna Ste-Marie, who smiles her way through just about any match and is notoriously hard to submit–she’s only been tapped out four times in her entire Black Belt career, and consistently podiums at major events for a reason. 

Alanis Santiago is better known as Levi Jones-Leary’s girlfriend these days but she comes with a lot of BJJ pedigree and should be a fun watch. Old footage reveals one of the nastiest kimuras from the closed guard, and after years of training pedigree at Unity and Absolute, she should have the inversion and leglock proficiency to be extra dangerous in a no gi ruleset.

Two ADCC vets, Elizabeth Mitrovic and Alex Enriquez are late additions to the North America squad, filling in for Amanda “Tubby” Alequin and Jasmine Rocha. Mitrovic has a wicked armbar and strong closed guard-to-back transitions. Enriquez will shine if she brings the same kind of submission chaining she showcased in UFC FPI 11 to her Polaris debut. 

Nia Blackman is a last-minute addition as captain of the European Squad, filling in for Ffion Davies, and leads a lineup composed of fellow ADCC veterans (Ciccarelli and Loewenthal) and ADCC Trials winners (Svendsen and Modig). Only twenty-one years old, she’s got plenty of time to improve and become an increasingly-dominant presence in the heavier weight classes.  

Josefine Modig just earned her Black belt under Tommy Langaker and is the rare female at her weight who doesn’t just roll over in a match against AOJ’s Funegra girls–which means something going up against a similarly-technical North American squad. 

Sula-Mae Loewenthal has long legs and she uses them well, but she isn’t an exciting fighter unless she finds a closed guard submission. While she’s strong from there, she’s no Roger Gracie, and I expect most on the North American Squad team to work to deny her the position entirely. 

Ane Svendsen, hailing from Norway, is a perpetual contender in the heavier weight classes and a frequent presence on the IBJJF podium at the No Gi Majors from 2022, onward. She’s on the older side relative to others on this Squad, but meets every Scandinavian stereotype of sturdiness and strength. 

Fellow Norwegian Selma Vik is a brown belt whose last appearance on Polaris concluded by submitting her opponent with a vicious head and arm choke. Vik has the unfortunate fate of being in Sarah Galvão’s division for the foreseeable future and continuing to be wrecked by her in IBJJF tournaments, but she’s one of Europe’s brightest at her weight and it’ll be interesting to see how she fares at Polaris against the North American Squad of highly-accomplished, mostly-Black Belt females. 

Last but not least on the squad is Margot Ciccarelli, who has yet to reclaim the magic of her ADCC European Trials run, where the notorious guard player managed to score some actual takedowns. This is her first no-gi competition since last year’s ADCC.

Helena Crevar vs Nia Blackman: This one would be a perfect rematch for the Polaris stage–their last and only match was a title match at Polaris 30. Crevar took the win by unanimous decision last time, but Blackman should be ready to run it back. Depending on what weight class Helena chooses to register for in the future of IBJJF (Middle vs Medium Heavy), this could be the first of many more matches against Blackman, pitting the American prodigy against Europe’s closest equivalent of a BJJ child star.

Taylor Hishaw vs Selma Vik: These are the two athletes with the most to prove as the only colored belts within a lineup of black belts with ADCC Trials and ADCC accolades. Both are willing to dog it out. Vik leads on experience, and Hishaw leads on scrappiness. If there were a “Fight of the Night” within the Squads, I would bet it happens between these two, because they’re easily the most aggressive individuals on each Squad. 

Alanis Santiago vs Margot Ciccarelli: These two were teammates back in the day and I think a Unity alumnae showdown would be an interesting thing to witness given the time and distance between the two athletes. Margot has been more competitively active than Alanis, but Margot is older and has taken more than a few licks this year–she’s rumored to have torn her LCL in the finals of Brasileiros.

Alex Enriquez vs Margot Ciccarelli: Had Jasmine Rocha not withdrawn from Polaris, a Rocha vs Ciccarrelli rematch of the opening round of ADCC 2024 would have been stellar, but Enriquez vs Ciccarelli is just as interesting. Despite being in the same weight class, the two have never matched up, neither in nor outside of the gi. Margot’s flexible guard, heavy tarikoplata attempts, and lower-body attacks could be a great matchup against Alex’s wrestling, top pressure, and her tendency to get a good d’arce or guillotine from passing positions. 

Sula-Mae Loewenthal vs Elizabeth Mitrovic: Both ladies are big on exploiting their length to attack from the closed guard. Whoever gets to the mat first has a definite edge, but Mitrovic has more tools in her toolbox with tested pressure passing and superior leglocks.

Ane Svendsen vs Elizabeth Mitrovic: A rubber match of the 2023 No Gi European Final, this is the Heavyweight matchup I’d most like to see given how much Mitrovic’s star has risen since she and Svendsen last matched up. These two are contemporaries, Mitrovic won the last bout narrowly (3-0), but Mitrovic has been on a hotter streak since then, winning No Gi Worlds and making it to ADCC. Albeit in the gi, she completely defied expectations for me at 2025 Worlds by beating the division favorite, Maca Vicentini, to make it to the semis. Svendsen is tough, but Mitrovic has upleveled since the two last met.

Even if every match went to a decision, the talent on the North American Squad is net stronger than that of the European Squad. Assuming Ste-Marie and Santiago fall into the Lightweight class, odds are good for them to perform against the Heavyweights on the European Squad given their durability and submission success in Open Class contexts. 

Polaris 32 goes down on Saturday June 28, 2025 between 3:00PM-10:00PM UK Time, 9:00-5:00PM Eastern Standard Time with a UFC Fight Pass subscription.