The IBJJF Pan Championship is coming up quick, with only a few weeks left until the tournament kicks off March 18-23rd. This is one of the toughest gi tournaments on Earth and the registrations continue to pour in from the best in the world. While we expect even more elite names to join in, there's already a lot of top talent and we found ten names that fans should keep an eye out for.

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Every year the Pan Championship provides a lot of great action and surprising upsets that add fuel for the eventual fire that is the Worlds in late May/early June. For most in this bracket, this will be the closest thing to the Worlds that they will compete in all year and that opportunity brings pressure. It is the second of the four IBJJF major championships, with the European, Brazilian National, and World Championships also qualifying.

The European championships saw some great runs from athletes like Diogo Reis, the return of Tainan Dalpra, the wild tournaments from the Vetoracci brothers, and a finals round that provided tons of action for the Lisbon fans. Athletes like Gabi Pessanha, Mayssa Bastos, Diogo, Tainan, and Adam have already made their intentions for the Grand Slam known - meaning Pans will be a must for them.

The black belts kick off March 22nd and then finish on the 23rd, with colored belts mixed in through that week. For anyone who wants to check the full registrations for every division, check here. We have found ten of the most interesting additions so far among black belts, with each being an athlete that fans will want to pay attention to when the tournament kicks off.

Adam Wardzinski

Adam is on the hottest streak of his career and now he enters the Pan Championship - which is coincidentally the last gi tournament that he lost. In the middle of Adam's otherwise sterling IBJJF campaign in 2024 he did lose by submission to Pedro Machado in the semifinal. Now he returns back to Florida after winning Worlds, Crown, and Euros in a row since. Can the butterfly master get it done at heavy? In his way, Patrick Gaudio will be in the mix as the recent New Wave transplant is back in the gi.

Gabi Pessanha

It's Gabi Pessanha's world and we are all just living in it. She has won double gold at nearly every IBJJF major since the covid pandemic and is stunningly dominant. She is right now the only athlete entered in her super-heavy division at Pans and is the prohibitive favorite in any matchup you could name. Gabi's really developed her ankle lock into a vicious position for herself but her back takes and forceful overall game are just as dominant as ever.

Cole Abate

Cole is back at Pans and ready to make a statement now that his career has finally hit the trajectory he was always expected to have. After some early injury concerns and stumbles in his black belt run, Cole won gold at No-Gi Pans and No-Gi Worlds in impressive fashion and has continued to rack up wins on the Open scene. He recently beat world champion Sam Nagai by points at the Austin Open and could capture his first gi major title at black belt in Florida. He stumbled early at Euros against Kennedy Maciel in a great match, losing by way of some early negatives but nearly pulling things out in the end.

Sam Nagai

The 2023 world champion is back for Pans, with 'The Samurai' bringing his usual aggression and flash to featherweight. If you want a glimpse at what he can do when he is on, go no further than his armbar win in his World title campaign against Isaac Doederlein. Sam is competitive with any featherweight on Earth, but has come up short in his last few major outings and recently had a loss to Cole Abate at the IBJJF Austin Open. Now he aims to right the ship and get back to his winning ways in Florida. Sam reps CheckMat but is mostly training out of his own academy in Texas now, Inevat jiu-jitsu.

Jackson Nagai

Jackson returns to Pans, which was a major turning point for him and his career last season. He broke through to win major gold here at lightweight before bumping up to middleweight for Worlds where he became the unlikely champion. Now he's back to defend his spot on the podium, with a lightweight division ahead full of killers including Pedro Maia, Alexandre Robinho, and Natan Chueng (among others).

Elisabeth Clay

Elisabeth Clay is back in the gi! After taking most of 2024 off to welcome her first child, Clay returned to win IBJJF No-Gi Pans & Worlds and now puts the gi back on in her first major tournament in a while for this style. 

Everton Teixeira

Everton is one of the most under-appreciated grapplers on Earth. He is a back-to-back IBJJF No-Gi World Champion at rooster and has done so in really impressive fashion - including a submission in the World finals this last year. Now, 'Pitolo' aims to bring the show to Orlando with an entry into rooster here. The division is still small but should grow as more top names register. It'll be really interesting to see how Teixeira matches up with those guys like Thalison, Bebeto, Soares, and more.

Wallisson Souza

Wallisson really opened a lot of eyes with his breakout performance at the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds last year, submitting both Francisco Lo and Sebastian Rodriguez on his way to gold. The Atos product (who has trained extensively with Hulk Barbosa) showed off some great leg locks but has a solid overall game. He's been in these brackets before but not as a known commodity like he is now. Does that help give him the confidence needed to reach that next level or does it make his opponents turn up the heat? We'll see.

Anabel Lopez

I really think Anabel Lopez is right on the verge of really breaking out as one of the top names in women's jiu-jitsu. She's already a black belt world champion at only 19 years old and showed some great skill at No-Gi Worlds last year where she won gold. The Spanish grappler who trains out of London has mostly made her name as a no-gi grappler but now we get the chance to see her in the gi at heavyweight in a really fun division.

Luccas Lira

Luccas is a super aggressive submission hunter who is finally back in the gi after a few years focusing on his no-gi career. He's in at medium-heavyweight here and that's a pretty open weight where he could make a nice run. He's no stranger to jumping into submissions, could we see some of the same at Pans?

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