The annual Rio BJJ Pro is going down this weekend in Rio de Janeiro, and, as always, the cash prizes at the event are bringing out some of the sport's toughest competitors for the latest installment of the IBJJF Pro series.

On top of the monetary reward, medalists will receive double the IBJJF ranking points compared to an International Open at this tournament, which is ranked two stars.

The Rio BJJ Pro takes place on Saturday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 29, at the legendary Tijuca Tenis Club, the original home of the IBJJF World Championships before it relocated to the United States in 2006. Here is a brief breakdown of the four male adult black belt divisions and the female adult black belt absolute.

Featherweight

Former Brazilian national champion Isaque Paiva (Saikoo) is one of the most successful athletes in BJJ Pro history. Paiva has accumulated three gold medals and a silver at BJJ Pro events, including first place at the 2016 tournament in Rio. He has won the Sao Paulo BJJ Pro two years in a row, and with a victory this weekend in Rio he will have won all the BJJ Pro events in Brazil over the last two years.


​Isaque Paiva will be shooting for featherweight gold. Photo: Vitor Freitas / FloGrappling

Paiva will be challenged in this bracket by Jorge Nakamura (GF Team), Carlos Holanda (Holanda BJJ), and rookie black belt Pedro Dias (Caio Terra Association). The veteran Holanda is a world bronze medalist, Pan champion, and holds two victories over Caio Terra throughout his long black belt career.

Middleweight

If there is a tournament with money on the line, you can bet on 2017 world bronze medalist and current 11th-ranked black belt Jaime Canuto (GF Team) being in the mix. Canuto is the jiu-jitsu equivalent of a mercenary, having chased cash prizes on several different continents already throughout 2017. If the closed-guard specialist can pull off a gold medal in Rio, he will rise all the way to eighth in the IBJJF rankings. Canuto has finished with two silver medals and a bronze in previous BJJ Pro events. 


​Jaime Canuto goes for an armbar at the IBJJF 2017 World Championships. Photo: Chase Smith / FloGrappling

Three-time world champion Celso Vinicius (Ryan Gracie), two-time Brazilian national champ Luan Carvalho (Nova Unaio), and 2017 brown belt world champion Hugo Marques (Soul Fighters) will be standing in his way in a stacked division. Vinicius and Carvalho fought to a referee's decision at the 2017 Sao Paulo BJJ Pro, with Carvalho being awarded the victory. The always dangerous Carvalho also holds victories over legends Lucas Lepri and Michael Langhi in recent years.

Heavyweight

Patrick Gaudio (GF Team) has won two BJJ Pro events, taking the money home one year ago here in Rio and just a few weeks ago in San Diego. Gaudio has had an impressive 2017, winning Brazilian Nationals and Pans to go along with a silver medal at the world championships. Along the way, Gaudio defeated Romulo Barral with a brutal toehold at worlds and out-pointed Claudio Calasans in a no-gi match. The 14th-ranked Gaudio should break into the top 10 if he's successful in Rio.


​Gaudio dislocates Romulo Barral's ankle at the IBJJF World Championships. Photo: Chase Smith / FloGrappling 

Alliance teammates Dimitrius Souza and Guilherme Santos both finished with bronze medals at the 2017 Worlds in the heavyweight division, a weight class above Gaudio's normal weight of medium-heavy. Souza is one of the most active competitors in jiu-jitsu, currently holding the fourth overall IBJJF rank. He could even overtake Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida for third place with a win here. Souza has taken gold and silver on two occasions each at BJJ Pro events but lost on points at the Rio Pro a year ago to Gaudio.

Ultra-Heavyweight

Otavio Nalati (TLI), the 2017 world bronze medalist, is matched up in this five-person bracket with four athletes from the GF Team. Considering the IBJJF Pro rules of athletes from the same team fighting no later than the semifinal, Nalati should start in the final and face off against whoever comes out of the GFT side of the bracket.


​Beatriz Mesquita. Photo: Michael Sears 

Women's absolute

The women's black belt absolute division should come down to a clash between three-time world champion Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaita) and 2017 world champion Claudia Do Val (De La Riva).

Mesquita's attempt for a fourth world title this year ended with a disqualification loss in the final, but she has since gone on to win gold at the 2017 ADCC in Espoo, Finland. The two women have fought twice in absolute divisions this year, with Mesquita winning both by a score of 6-0.