IBJJF 2017 European Jiu-Jitsu Championship

2017 European Championships Recap: The Tayane Porfirio Era

2017 European Championships Recap: The Tayane Porfirio Era

Alliance representative Tayane Porfirio emerged as one of the biggest stars of the 2017 IBJJF European Championships in Lisbon, Portugal, this weekend.

Jan 26, 2017 by Reid Connell
2017 European Championships Recap: The Tayane Porfirio Era
After six days of the 2017 IBJJF European Championships, there were many stories to emerge in it's chartreuse aftermath in Lisbon, Portugal, from Cobrinha's emphatic gold medal performance to Leandro Lo's untouchable run through the heavyweight division. And if there was any doubt as to the level of European jiu-jitsu heading into the competition, we can officially lay those questions to bed. Swedes, Norwegians, and Irish all showed up to claim what was theirs in a tournament that is not only one of the largest of the year, with over 3,900 entrants, but also one of the toughest.

However, one of the biggest stars of the weekend came from the black belt women's division. This year's female absolute division was stacked with stars such as Bea Mesquita, Mackenzie Dern, and Nathiely De Jesus, but it was Alliance representative Tayane Porfirio who would managed to come out on top. 

Porfirio's feat was all the more impressive considering she has been a black belt for less than a year. After winning the 2016 World Championship gold in Irvine, California, Alexandre Paiva promoted his star student to "faixa preta" while on the podium -- a long-standing tradition for elite brown belts. And if this past weekend was any indication, Porfirio's reign over the black belt absolute and super heavyweight divisions has only just begun. 

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At the 2017 European Championships, she routed BJJ/MMA superstar Mackenzie Dern and squeaked out a close decision over Beatriz Mesquita in the absolute finals on Sunday after beating her 3-0 in Abu Dhabi last year.

Many will draw comparisons to another dominant black belt and current global MMA superstar, Gabi Garcia (in fact we did in 2015). Both Porfirio and Garcia represent Alliance and are known for their pressure heavy games. While both at times have been criticized for having lackluster styles, Porfirio is impressively agile and limber for her size. Not only does she have the size advantage but she will also often have the speed advantage even against lighter weights.

Tayane Porfirio vs. Venla Luukkonen


So, who can challenge the 2017 European champion? Both Dern and Mesquita employed different strategies over the weekend in an attempt to overthrow Porfirio, but she couldn't be stopped. One name that she hasn't been tested against is four-time world champion Dominyka Obelenyte. The Fabio Clemente representative has been dominant in her own right during the 2015-16 seasons and would be a ripe test for the Alliance star. Obelenyte will still be the smaller competitor (something she isn't used to either), but her tricky spider guard game could cause problems for Porfirio.

While Porfirio still has a long way to go to equal the accomplishments of some of her peers, it's clear she is well on her way to becoming one of the all-time great female competitors just a few months into her black belt career.