By Hywel Teague

Entrants for this year’s IBJJF No-Gi PanAmerican Championships have been confirmed and although a few big names are absent this year's tournament still delivers a mix of up and coming talent with well-known names.

Twins Joao and Paulo Miyao will compete in the light feather and featherweight divisions respectfully as they look to continue to dominate the upper echelons of the IBJJF rankings. Relentless competitors in tournaments big and small, Paulo is #1 with an incredible 883.5 points while Joao sits at #3 with 741. To put that into perspective, Joao is 268.5 points ahead of 2014 double gold world champion Marcus ‘Buchecha’ at fifth place.

Joao should easily take gold in a sparse division while Paulo will get three matches en route to the finals. His strongest opponent is Gianni Grippo, and the brackets will likely see them tussle for gold.

Garry Tonon, fresh from his strong showing at Polaris Pro last month, will look to conquer the lightweight division (76.2kg / 168lbs). The lack of big names in his category is favorable for the New Jersey native, returning to IBJJF competition for the first time since this time last year, although how well he fares without his preferred leg attacks (heel hooks are out in IBJJF) remains to be seen.

The Dominican ultra heavyweight Abraham Marte will look to put memories of a disappointing ADCC behind him as he goes for IBJJF gold – forced to fight his teammate in the second round of the +99kg division in Sao Paulo in August, Marte is keen to prove his worth as a top international grappler and a PanAm gold will do much to restore his confidence.


** Marcelo Garcia’s Team Descend on No-Gi Pans **
Jiu-jitsu legend Marcelo Garcia has rallied his troops for war and is sending a huge team for this year’s tournament.

The New York-based Brazilian grappler’s school, the Marcelo Garcia Academy, in Manhattan, New York, is unusual in that they have an even split between gi and no-gi training. As such, Garcia always fields numerous competitors for no-gi comps and this year is no different.

At black belt look for MGA soldiers Gianni Grippo at featherweight - as mentioned above, he’s got his hands full with Paulo Miyao and this will definitely be a battle.

Jon Satava and Mansher Khera are in at middleweight, while Matheus Diniz and Marcos Tinoco will compete at middle heavy. All four are candidates for gold, and close-out finals in both divisions is therefore highly likely.

With many other reps at brown and purple belt, expect to see Alliance Marcelo Garcia perform well in the overall team championships.

Be sure to capture all the Pan No-Gi IBJJF Championship action LIVE on FloGrappling October 3, 2015. You can Join HERE for Instant Access.