The IBJJF Pan Championships are here, the second of IBJJF's majors and one of the biggest gi tournaments of the year. There are dozens of world ranked black belts all ready to face off in the highest level of jiu-jitsu on the planet. Every year we see incredible accomplishments, performances no one predicted, and matches that fans will remember for years to come.
The 2026 IBJJF Pan Championship begins March 25th, with black belts taking the mats March 28th. Every match will be streaming live exclusively on FloGrappling, with action in the juvenile, adult, and masters divisions.
Find brackets for IBJJF Pans HERE.
Ranking according to FloGrappling's official men's and women's world rankings.
Men's Rooster
- #1 Jalen Fonacier
- #2 Bebeto Oliveira
- #3 Thalison Soares
- #13 Lucas Castro
- #14 Everton Teixeira
- #15 Samuel Marquez
- #12 at light-feather Marcos Gomes
This is Jalen Fonacier's year to prove he's the man at rooster (especially if he ends up going the exclusive contract route which would preclude him from IBJJF). After a dominant all-subs run at Euros, he now faces one of the deepest rooster brackets in some years. Jalen, Bebeto, and Thalison are all world champions, plus no-gi World champion Everton. Add in light-feather Marcos Gomes of AOJ who is dropping down for this tournament and you have the recipe for great light weight entertainment. Marcos and Jalen face off first thing on Sunday morning (provided Gomes wins his R1 match) - got to be one to keep an eye on.
Men's Light-Feather
- #1 Diego Pato
- #3 Rerisson Gabriel
- #4 Gustavo Ogawa
- #5 Leonardo Mario
- #6 Malachi Edmond
- #7 Anderson Duarte
- #8 Shoya Ishiguro
- #9 Keven Carrasco
- #10 Cleber Sousa
- Rodnei Barbosa
We have NINE of the top ten here at Pans, which means this may end up being the deepest light-feather bracket of the year. Diego Pato has established himself as a strong number one with eight straight gold medals in IBJJF majors but with this kind of contendership field it's going to be tough. Think of it this way - his opponent from the Pans finals a few years ago (#6 Malachi) will be his quarterfinal here! Rerisson Gabriel is also back in the gi after winning this tournament in a surprise last year. He's back and he's got a bigger target on his back after beating Baby Shark in 2025. He has an early one against #4 Ogawa on Sunday.
Men's Feather
- #1 Kennedy Maciel
- #2 Cole Abate
- #3 João Mendes
- #7 Eduardo Granzotto
- #9 Samuel Nagai
- #10 Ademir Barreto
- #13 Israel Almeida
- #14 Jun Yong Cho
- #15 Gui Fernandes
- Daniel Sathler
- Ismael Lima
- Sebastian Serpa
IBJJF's most chaotic weight is promising even more craziness with these kind of entries - the top 3 in the world and 9 of the top-15! Kennedy, Cole, and Bisnaga all lead the field but no one has achieved separation here - and even the unranked guys like Lima, Sathler, Serpa will be difficult to deal with for anyone. Whoever wins this may end up as the top dog heading into Worlds, there's a lot of momentum at stake. Speaking of draws, Cole has Serpa and Bisnaga in his way - and Bisnaga has an early tough one against Granzotto worth watching out for on Saturday. Kennedy and Nagai anchor the other side, with Ademir and Gui Fernandes facing off early to determine who gets a chance at Kennedy. Going off our rankings, you would favor Maciel to get to the finals but even then only slightly given the talent in the bracket.
Men's Light
- #4 Jackson Nagai
- #5 Will Wilson
- #6 Mateo Cardona
- #13 at middle Mateus Moraes
- Tarcisio Santos
- Fabyury Khrysthyan
- Pablo Lavaselli
- Alef Brito
- Julio Arantes
- Danilo Moreira
- Kevin Mahecha
Will Wilson's unexpected Euros run was the talk of the pavilion in Lisbon and now he gets the chance to enter a bracket where he will be among the more notable names instead of a dark horse. In his way is the reigning Pan champion and a World Champion. He's over ten years older than many of the other contenders here though like Will, Mateo, and Tarcisio. Experience vs youth will be the story to watch there. Mateo was on the verge of his big black belt breakout before losing to Wilson and he could get that back here in his rookie season. Speaking of rookies, unranked Tarcisio is the guy no one wants to have to see early - after torching his way through colored belts Tarcisio has looked every bit the part of a contender in his months-long black belt career. His early ones against Miguel Campos and Pablo Lavaselli should be priority viewing.
Men's Middle
- #1 Tainan Dalpra
- #4 Elijah Dorsey
- #10 Pablo Oliveira
- #15 Matheus Luna
- #7 at light Leo Souza
- #15 at light Thiago Saboia
- Pedro Veras
- Gabriel Galvao
The Tainan show rolls on through another Pans, as he seeks to continue what would be his second IBJJF Grand Slam at black belt. The biggest threat to him will be Elijah Dorsey, as 'Big Breakfast' had one of the best IBJJF matches of the year last season when he faced off with Dalpra at Brasileiros. It was an aggressive match with both men able to secure significant offense - if Dorsey can navigate his way back to the finals (with Leo Souza as a huge road block) a rematch will be one of the bigger finals we get.
Men's Medium-Heavy
- #8 Gabriel Costa
- #9 Luiz Victor
- #10 Uanderson Ferreira
- #15 Paulo Merlin
- Danylo Wruck
- Wallisson Oliveira
- Matheus Spirandelli
- Enderson Dias
- Luccas Lira
- Tommy Langaker
Solid bracket here with a good mix of talent who are unranked but still very dangerous. World medalist Gabriel Costa is the one seed who could draw Luccas Lira first, which would be one to watch on Saturday. Whoever wins that is likely to face off with some combination of Langaker/Wruck/Wallisson, which is a crazy first few rounds. Someone with the ability to win it all here is Luiz Victor of MAJJ, he showed at Euros he is ready to contend by making the finals and beating Uanderson in a narrow one - they could rematch in the semifinals here.
Men's Heavy
- #7 Rider Zuchi
- #10 Mateus Rodrigues
- #12 Lucas Norat
- #14 Elder Cruz
- #9 at ultra-heavy Francisco Papasidero
- Alex Filho
Eight man bracket that is being anchored by Rider Zuchi, the powerful Brazilian veteran. Zuchi looks to have a really tough one in the semifinals with Fran Papasidero, who has been very active and had a great showing at The Crown. I would favor whoever takes that match to win gold. Lucas Norat and Elder Cruz draw each other round one on Saturday in a world ranked matchup.
Men's Super-Heavy
- #2 Nolan Stuart
- #4 Vinicius Liberati
- #7 Gabriel Riberio
- #12 Windson Torres
Only eight in this division but some really quality names regardless. Nolan Stuart was one of the breakouts from 2025's IBJJF season and won this tournament last year. Now he's back again, moving up after doing heavy at Euros. Nolan's best results seem to come at super-heavy, but this division also has Erich Munis in it which changes the calculations some too. Even though Erich isn't here, it's still a really solid bracket with Vinicius Liberati and Gabriel Ribeiro (both teammates of Munis) coming off really good Euros tournaments. Six Blades's best judoka Windson Torres is also back up to super-heavy and has the dynamism to shake up any match.
Men's Ultra-Heavy
- #5 Luis Cantereira
- #10 Seif-Eddine Houmine
- #12 Lucas Montalvão
- Anderson Kauan
Not the craziest division here with only seven entries. Luis Cantereira is the top-ranked grappler involved. Anderson Kauan and Lucas Montalvao have both had success and could make things interesting if they meet. World champion Seif is also in the bracket.
Women's Rooster
- #1 Thais Loureiro
- #3 Jessica Caroline
- #4 Mariana Rolszt
- #6 Ana Lima da Silva
- #9 Diana Teixeira
- #11 Mara Kelly
- #12 Gabi Eztel
Thaís established herself as the top rooster in the world with her gold medal at Euros. Now she gets the chance to defend that spot against a tough field with over half of the top-15 in the mix. She has a really solid draw, so there's a high confidence she will be in the finals. On the far side, Jessica Caroline - provided the weight cut isn't too severe - should be able to secure her own finals spot. Back to back finals wins against Mayssa and Jessica would be a big statement for Thais as she looks to make 2026 her year.
Women's Light-Feather
- #3 Mayssa Bastos
- #4 Ashlee Funegra
- #6 Andressa Giurau
- #9 Brenda Larissa
- Yasmyn Castro
Mayssa Bastos moves up from rooster to light-feather and looks to keep her momentum going after a tough ADCC Trials in no-gi. Also in the bracket is Ashlee Funegra, fresh off her Euros gold. How will AOJ handle this? Not just here, but at Worlds too, with Mia Funegra also in the mix. Maybe some people can change weights - like Mayssa can go down - but they all seem on the small side for feather. This may end up a close out, tho Ashlee will have the very tough Brenda Larissa in a likely semifinal and Mayssa will need to navigate past world finalist Andressa Giurau.
Women's Feather
- #2 Larissa Campos
- #4 Margot Ciccarelli
- #11 Maria Delahaye
- #13 Emilia Pakulski
Lari Campos looks to get back to her winning ways after a silver medal at Euros, with the 2025 World Champion ready to jump back into another major event. She's got a first round matchup likely against Maria Delahaye worth keeping an eye on but from there her side will open up. I'm really excited to see Margot Ciccarelli back in the gi, the World medalist is always technical and aggressive on the mats. A Campos/Ciccarelli final would be great.
Women's Light
- #1 Sarah Galvao
- #2 Janaina Lebre
- #14 Tamara Toros
- Sabrina Gondim
- Beatrice Jin
Sarah Galvão's golden year continues as the rookie Crown champion is back for another high stakes matchup with Janaina Lebre. Lebre won the Grand Slam last season but now it feels like she's having to prove herself all over again as the top dog now that Sarah is back. Whoever was able to get the best feel from their first match and how to adjust will have the edge - which is vague but with a close match like this it's the truth. Tamara Toros was able to make the finals in Euros before closing out. She could be Lebre's semifinal.
Women's Middle
- #2 Elizabeth Clay
- #5 Alexia Arantes
- #6 Gisele Menezes
- #9 Amanda Schurtz
- #10 Vitoria Gabriella
- #12 Lillian Marchand
- #15 at medium-heavy Fernanda Cristo
- Aghata Rabelo
In the deepest women's division there will be 7 ranked grapplers all vying for gold - along with a strong mix of unranked talent. Lis Clay is the one seed, but she suffered an upset loss here last year. She's been on a roll since moving to Six Blades Dallas, I expect that to continue here. Look out for a crazy tough match between defending Pan champ Gisele Menezes and Lillian Marchand in round one. Whoever wins that becomes the favorite to make the finals. Deep weight with a lot of fun matches on the way.
Women's Medium-Heavy
- #2 Denise Krahn
- #4 Lyz Mitrovic
- #5 Maria Vicentini
- #14 Kauane Ramos
Denise Krahn looked great at Euros, winning the medium heavy bracket with a very impressive open guard submission game. It's a small bracket, only six, so watch out for the round one match of Ramos and Mitrovic with the winner getting Krahn. Maca waits on the other side as the likely other finalist.
Women's Heavy
- #1 Larissa Dias
- #10 Karoline Caramori
- #12 Leticia Teixeira
- #11 at medium-heavy Maria Malyjasiak
Larissa Dias makes her way back to Pans. She's been very successful but we tend to only see her at a few major events a year so enjoy her run this weekend. I think whoever comes out of the other half of the bracket is the bigger question mark, with Caramori, Teixeira, and Malyjasiak all reasonable options based on past performance.
Women's Super-Heavy
- #1 Gabi Pessanha
- #7 Bridget Brumbaugh
- #8 Raniele Alencar
It's the Gabi show as she keeps building an era-defining legacy. If all her opponents show, it's likely she adds two more submission wins to her ledger.
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