The 2025 IBJJF No-Gi Pan Championship is set to showcase some of the most stacked divisions of the year, with black belts in the world converging to test their skills in one of the world's toughest no-gi tournaments. Every weight class brings its own dynamic - ranging from brackets packed with established talent to wide-open divisions where new contenders have a chance to make their names. We're going to go weight by weight through the black belt divisions, breaking down the key athletes and matchups fans should keep an eye on this weekend.

Men’s Rooster

• #2 Lucas Castro
• #3 Chris Tran
• #6 John Stapleton
• #8 Osamah Ali Almarwai
• #14 Denis Beenan

I'm most excited here to see if last year's world silver Lucas Castro can get over the hump and win gold to start off this season. In his way will be Chris Tran, who won this bracket last year and previous world champ Osamah Ali Almarwai.

Men’s Light-Feather

• #2 Junny Ocasio
• #11 Kevin Dantzler
• #13 Valor Boyer
• Vinicius Inacio
• Leo Martins
• Marcos Gomes

Junny Ocasio is the headliner here, having won the last two gold medals in this division, along with the worlds at light-feather. The New York-based creative black belt has been active on the Fury Grappling scene as well, defending his promotional title twice (including once over Kevin Dantzler). A potential rematch with Dantzler looms here, as does a match with Valor Boyer - who traded wins with Junny earlier this year at American Nationals. Also keep an eye on Atos's Vinny Inacio, who is a rookie black belt after winning IBJJF Worlds at brown belt.

Men’s Feather

• Zach Kaina
• Cleber Sousa
• Marco Mendes
• Ismael Santos
• Sebastian Serpa
• Kyvann Gonzalez
• Emilio Hernandez
• Cam Mellott
• Filipe Valentim

This is a pretty wide open division, with no world-ranked grapplers but a lot of depth. Zach Kaina leads the field as a previous IBJJF World No-Gi Champ, but he's going to be tested heavily by guys like Sebastian Serpa (who is usually a gi guy but knows the game well), Marco Mendes (who is right on the edge of breaking out and medaling at any major), and Cleber Sousa (strongest squeeze in the division). Darkhorses like Emilio Hernandez (scramble king), Kyvann Gonzalez, and Ismael Santos add depth here.

Men’s Light

• #13 Max Hanson
• Gianni Grippo
• João Assonitis
• Julián Espinosa
• Miguel Campos
• CJ Murdock
• Kevin Mahecha
• Jed Hue
• David Stoilescu

I really like this division. Max Hanson won this weight last year, but Gianni Grippo does his best work at IBJJF no-gi so a rematch may be in order there (after their controversial match at WNO, which Max won). Julián Espinosa moves up from feather, where he made the world finals last year, and is as dangerous in the leg locks and wrestling as they come. Submission artists Jed Hue, João Assonitis, and David Stoilescu are there as finishing threats to anyone here, CJ Murdock and Kevin Mahecha are honey badgers that attack all the time, and Miguel Campos is a sneaky elite athlete who can upset any top name here. Fun division.

Men’s Middle

• Natan Chueng
• Alehander Mariano
• Thiago Saboia
• Natan Sap
• Eduardo Avalar
• Saul Viayra
• Johnny Tama
• Matheus Moraes

This division took a hit when world-ranked Elijah Dorsey had to withdraw, but returning champion Natan Chueng is in to defend his title - and last year's medium-heavy champ Alehander Mariano is down at middle now. That's a great clash if it happens, last year Mariano was on fire at this tournament. Strong up-and-comers is the story of this division for me, with young black belts Natan Sap & Thiago Saboia both poised to go on a potential run. I'd also keep an eye on Saul Viayra, he holds the record for fastest submission in middleweight WNO history.

Men’s Medium-Heavy

• #9 Wallisson Oliveira
• #11 Jacob Couch
• Jon Blank
• David Garmo
• João Menezes
• Pawel Jaworski
• Logan Smith
• Maxim Cote
• Angelo Claiborne
• Felipe Cesar Silva
• Sebastian Rodriguez

I really like this division, one of the best at No-Gi Pans. Jacob Couch's return is a big story here, he was at CJI and has kept busy in smaller competition this year but largely Jacob has had a very understated year (by his standards). He can turn that around and step back into the spotlight with a big performance here. In his way will be some absolute killers though - including the 2024 No-Gi World Champ Wallisson. "Tarta" was on fire in that bracket and has stayed busy since, with wins on Main Character Jiu-Jitsu & Pit Fighting Championship (all on FloGrappling). That's a major matchup if they hit.

Also in the way will be ADCC European Trials Champion Pawel Jaworski, who just punched his ticket to the Worlds and has had a real breakout year. Jon Blank is back as well, and the ADCC medalist is a beast of a leg locker who has been one of 10th Planet's best black belts for a while now. He also has underrated wrestling, if it comes down to that. David Garmo is also a dark horse here, having won world silver before with his wrestling and physicality. David keeps it close with basically everyone, and on the right day he can navigate the field for gold.

Men’s Heavy

• #5 pound-for-pound Dante Leon
• Jose Jurema
• Sean Yadimarco
• Javier Barter

This isn't the deepest division but there's a big headliner - Dante Leon is in at heavyweight, as he prepares for the WNO 30 Open Weight GP he's involved in. His toughest test will likely be defending Pan No-Gi champ Jose Jurema, who had his best showing in this tournament last year. Also in the mix will be Panama's Javier Barter and New Jersey native Sean Yadimarco, fresh off a recent WNO performance.

Men’s Super-Heavy

• #8 Elder Cruz
• Vinicius Ferreira
• Patrick Gaudio
• Thomas Bracher

Elder won the open class at No-Gi Worlds in 2024 and now that he is settling in with the PSF crew in Toledo, my biggest question is if he's going to chase double gold here. I do favor Elder pretty heavily in this bracket. Even though Ferreira has his 2019 ADCC medal, it's been a while since he looked like that same guy. Patrick Gaudio is very tough but his recent retirement/return raises questions for me. Look for Elder to start off his new Pedigo section of his career in style.

Men’s Ultra-Heavy

• #8 Lucas Montalvão
• #9 Roosevelt Sousa
• #12 Devhonte Johnson
• Anderson Kauan
• Jose Inacio
• Mansur Makhmakhov
• Hudson Taylor

This is another stacked division, with three world ranked guys in the mix. We have the most recent world champions in the gi (Roosevelt) and no-gi (Lucas) and the returning Pan absolute champ (Devhonte). Any of the three have the capability of winning this bracket - and even potentially double gold. If you aren't familiar with Montalvão, he's got really slick wrestling and can move very well for an ultra-heavyweight. Also keep an eye out for leg locker Anderson Kauan of InFight, former Trials winners Jose Inacio & Mansur Makhmakhov, and NCAA All-American wrestler Hudson Taylor.

Women’s Rooster

• #2 Mariana Rolszt
• #3 Thaís Loureiro
• #7 Faye Cherrier
• #9 Mara Kelly

Four ranked grapplers here, all of whom could win it. These will all likely be close matches decided on sweeps and advantages. World finalist Mariana Rolszt will have the edge coming in, but once the matches start even the smallest errors could swing everything.

Women’s Light-Feather

• #2 Mayssa Bastos
• #12 Kathleen Egan
• Erika Machado

I have a pretty simple rule. If I see Mayssa Bastos in a bracket under 120lbs, I pick Mayssa Bastos to win that bracket. She's our sport's smallest juggernaut and (while she has taken some losses, including one earlier this year at gi Pans) I expect her to sail to another gold medal here.

Women’s Feather

• #12 Amanda Canuto
• #13 Ana Mayordomo
• Thaynara Victoria
• Natasha Druggan
• Emily Nicholson

This division is a really good one, and the most interesting name to me is Ana Mayordomo. Ana is on an incredible hot streak lately, capping that off with a win at the first ADCC Trials. Amanda Canuto won silver at Pans and Worlds last year, so she can finally collect that gold she's been after this weekend with a good performance. The major complicating factor between those two? They train together, so who knows what that means for a possible faceoff. Natasha Druggan won the brown belt open class here last year and has stayed active on stages like MCJJ. Thaynara Victoria is a big question mark here. She won Pans in the gi, beating Mayssa along the way, but then opted out of Worlds (for personal reasons). While she does her best work in the gi, she's got plenty of no-gi experience so this may just be her year at Pans.

Women’s Light

• #6 Amanda Bruse
• #7 Julia Maele
• #8 Jaine Fragoso
• #10 Fiona Martell
• #12 Beatrice Jin
• Maria Claudia
• Sabrina Gondim
• Caroline Brunacio

Amanda Bruse tends to do her best work at IBJJF no-gi competition, so she will lead the field but it's a deep division. Julia Maele had a lot of success in the IBJJF circuit last year and has had success across a lot of different rulesets, but did fall to Bruse at this tournament last year. Jaine Fragoso also will be a factor, but she lacks in the same elite experience as Amanda and Julia.

Women’s Middle

• #2 Sarah Galvão
• #8 Nadia Frankland
• #13 Gabriele Schuck
• #14 Sula-Mae Loewenthal
• #15 Julia Boscher
• Injana Goodman
• Rosa Walsh
• Gamila Kanew

Unfortunately, it looks like we will not be getting round four of Helena/Sarah this weekend as Crevar's name is no longer in registration. That to me makes this an opportunity for Sarah to earn her first major gold medal and establish her seeding for a potential run at No-Gi Worlds. There's some really tough women here but if the Sarah who just fought at CJI shows up, I think she's on top of the podium. Nadia Frankland is a very talented leg locker who won this division last year. ADCC Trials champion Sula-Mae Loewenthal beat Helena earlier this year in an unusual match, so watch out for her against anyone (including Sarah). The most recent Trials champion Injana Goodman is also here, I think this is our opportunity to see Goodman against more established, ranked names and understand where she stands in the grand scheme of things. A few big wins here could see her into the top-15.

Women’s Medium-Heavy

• #3 Salla Simola
• #11 Caitlin Huggins
• #13 Nia Blackman
• Fernanda Cristo

Salla and Caitlin are both here so we could see a rematch of the 2024 No-Gi World Finals. In that match, Caitlin was dq'ed after racking up stalling penalties from Salla's closed guard in a very frustrating match. Caitlin, a PSF rep, is a really aggressive grappler so that is one I'm sure she will be wanting back. Nia is also in the mix and her power and top pressure can be a differentiator in any match.

Women’s Heavy

• #7 Anabel Lopez
• #10 Maria Ruffatto
• #15 Maria Malyjasiak
• Erin Harpe
• Yara Soares
• Leticia Teixeira

Anabel Lopez is back after winning a no-gi world title in her first year at black belt. The UK-based athlete is still waiting to break out in a bigger way and now with more spotlight this season she has a great opportunity to do that here. Maria Ruffatto took double silver last year at No-Gi Pans and now looks to finally stamp her spot at the top of the podium this year. She's a really aggressive leg locker, has a good closed guard, and uses a lot of pressure and pace in her wrestling. Poland's Maria Malyjasiak is a really experienced black belt who has medaled just about everywhere. She's a tough test for anyone, but leg locks have been an issue in the past. Erin Harpe and Yara Soares are both interesting additions. Erin is a no-gi specialist who hasn't been around for a few years but brings physical power and aggression few can match. Yara is a gi specialist who has a long frame that she uses to sweep and submit, but I'm not sure how her game will translate. Atos is also very high on rookie black belt Leticia Teixeira, who won the brown belt open class in this stacked year.

Women’s Super-Heavy

• #1 Gabi Pessanha
• #8 Paige Ivette Clymer
• Maria Barboza

This is the last division on the list but one of the one's I am most excited for. Gabi Pessanha vs Paige Ivette Clymer is one of the matches I'm most excited to see at women's heavyweight, I think they match up great. Gabi is obviously an apex predator in this sport, with a nearly flawless record, but Paige has the tools to make this interesting. She's big and strong enough to handle Pessanha's physicality, she's got the leg locks to survive those threats from her, and she has an incredible team behind her. With her experience, I think there's real upset potential in New York.

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