The IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Con is right around the corner, and the anticipation is at an all-time high. As one of the most prestigious and action-packed tournaments on the IBJJF calendar, this event consistently draws elite talent from around the world—and this year is no exception. With a stacked black belt roster featuring seasoned world champions, rising stars, and returning legends, fans can expect a weekend full of high-level technique, fierce rivalries, and unforgettable moments on the mats. In this article, we break down the most notable black belt entries competing at Jiu-Jitsu Con, giving you a closer look at the athletes you won’t want to miss.

Notable Jiu-Jitsu Con Gi Entries

• Men's Rooster
  • Samuel Marquez
  • Lucas Castro
• Men's Light-Feather
  • Keven Carrasco
  • Roiter Lima
  • Willis Nunes
• Men's Feather
  • Steven Gomez
  • Gui Fernandes
  • Zach Kaina
  • Leo Vilela
  • Israel Almeida
  • Ismael Lima
  • Sebastian Serpa
• Men's Light
  • Mateo Cardona
  • Alexandre Molinaro
  • Kevin Mahecha
  • Gabriel Amorim
• Men's Middle
  • Daniel Sathler
  • Pablo Lavaselli
  • Rafael Silveira
  • Mateus Moraes
• Men's Medium-Heavy
  • Wallisson Oliveira
  • Enderson Dias
  • Gabriel Silva
  • Gavin Sonnier
  • London Horn
  • Pedro Veras
  • Thiago Cesar
• Men's Heavy
  • Rafael dos Anjos
  • Dory Aoun
  • Rider Zuchi
• Men's Super-Heavy
  • Mateus Rodrigues
  • Lucas Norat
  • Harry Loseby
• Men's Ultra-Heavy
  • Francisco Papasidero
  • Luis Cantereira
  • Otavio Nalati

This is a fun mix of veterans and newcomers in this off-season event. There's rookie black belts like Mateo Cardona and Steve Gomez who can contend at the world level but need more experience after just performing well at brown belt. Be on the lookout for a fun division at medium-heavy, with a lot of experienced guys in the mix including no-gi World Champ Wallisson. Luis Cantereira of Fratres is the likely favorite for double gold, but he does have 2024 world champion Nalati in the way at super-heavy. Featherweight will also probably be very fun but it's loaded up on AOJ talent so that may end up clogging up some of the bracket. I'm interested to see what a guy like Israel Almeida can do against that field. For highlight reel moments, watch out for guys like Daniel Sathler, Dory Aoun, Gavin Sonnier, Kevin Mahecha, and Keven Carrasco.

• Women's Rooster
  • Mariana Rolszt
• Women's Light-Feather
  • Ashlee Funegra
  • Mia Funegra
  • Naiomi Matthews
• Women's Feather
  • Lauren Sognefest
  • Vitória Assis
  • Maria Luiza
  • Yasmyn Castro
  • Karen Terra
• Women's Light
  • Janaina Maia
  • Emily Ferreira
  • Beatrice Jin
• Women's Middle
  • Gabriele Schuck
  • Kennedy Franklin
• Women's Medium-Heavy
  • Aghata Fernandes
  • Denise Krahn
• Women's Heavy
  • Melissa Stricker
  • Letícia Teixeira
  • Maria Ruffatto
• Women's Super-Heavy
  • Gabi Pessanha

This feels like a really good opportunity to see some of these young stars in their rookie black belt year get in some matches. What's really enticing here is that we could see brown belt open class champion Letícia Teixeira taking on the apex predator of women's hiu-jitsu Gabi Pessanha. Teixeira has had incredible success through the colored belt and is very powerful, now the Atos Dream Team champion will take on the best there is. Gabi had a close match here last year against Maca, is there a chance for Letícia? It's always great to see world champions Janaina Lebre and Melissa Stricker in the mix. The Funegras will both be in the same black belt division for the first time, so that's a fun piece of history. Aghata Fernandes is a super aggressive young black belt who I think will be contending by the time next season starts, so definitely get an eye on her early.

Notable Jiu-Jitsu Con No-Gi Entries

• Men's Rooster
  • Samuel Marquez
  • Lucas Castro
  • Denis Beenen
• Men's Light-Feather
  • Frank Cespedes
  • Chris Tran
  • Willis Nunes
• Men's Feather
  • Steven Gomez
  • Vinicius Inacio
  • Kyvannn Gonzalez
  • Matheus Nicolau
  • Emilio Hernandez
• Men's Light
  • Gianni Grippo
  • Alexandre Molinaro
  • An Vu
• Men's Middle
  • Thiago Saboia
  • Mateo Cardona
  • Mateus Moraes
• Men's Medium-Heavy
  • Wallisson Oliveira
  • Charlie Gilpin
  • Clay Mayfield
  • Pedro Veras
• Men's Heavy
  • JP Nicolite
  • Dory Aoun
  • Nisar Loynab
  • Faris Benlamkadem
  • London Horn
  • Sean Yadimarco
  • Thiago Cesar
• Men's Super-Heavy
  • Thomas Bracher
  • Christiano Troisi
  • Elder Cruz
  • Rider Zuchi
  • Gabriel Oliveira
• Men's Ultra-Heavy
  • Breylor Grout
  • Otavio Nalati
  • Luis Cantereira

A smaller tournament than the gi here but there's a few really interesting names to watch that are not going to be in the gi. 2024 IBJJF World No-Gi Champ Faris Benlamkadem will be in at heavyweight, a very fun heavyweight division, and he is a chaotic force on and off the mats - enjoy the show. Vets like Gianni Grippo, Elder Cruz, and Clay Mayfield will also be in the field here.

• Women's Rooster
  • Mariana Rolszt
• Women's Light-Feather
  • Sophia Cassella
  • Ashlee Funegra
  • Mia Funegra
• Women's Feather
  • Lauren Sognefest
  • Mona Bailey
  • Vitória Assis
  • Maria Luiza
  • Tammi Musumeci
• Women's Light
  • Amanda Bruse
  • Jaine Fragoso
  • Beatrice Jin
  • Mo Black
• Women's Middle
  • Gabriele Schuck
• Women's Medium-Heavy
  • Denise Krahn
  • Aislinn O'Connell
• Women's Heavy
  • Maria Vicentini
  • Letícia Teixeira
  • Maria Ruffatto

I think there's a few fun really fun matches coming up here. World ranked Sophia Cassella is going to face at least one of the Funegras, potentially both, and that's a WNO-level matchup going down. Tami Musumeci makes an appearance here where she will take on Maria Luiza and Vitoria Assis, plus AOJ's rookie Lauren Sognefest is in. Women's light is a great one as well, with Amanda Bruse, Mo Black, and Jaine Fragoso all in the mix for gold.

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