2018 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship: Brown Belt Viewing Guide
2018 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship: Brown Belt Viewing Guide
Here's who to keep an eye on this Saturday in the men's brown belt divisions.
Much of last season's top athletes in the brown belt class have graduated to faixa preta, meaning the door is open for a new wave of talent to take a crack at gold.
Here's a list of competitors to keep an eye on in the men's brown belt divisions this Saturday at the 2018 IBJJF Pan Championship in Irvine, California.
Watch the 2018 IBJJF Pan Championship LIVE March 8-11 on FloGrappling
All Times Pacific
Brown / Adult / Male / Light Feather
Kennedy Maciel – Alliance
Kennedy Maciel is one of the most exciting prospects in the world, but his competitive career hasn't been without its ups and downs. Will 2018 be his year?
First-round opponent: Clayton Carpenter (Mat 1) Saturday, 9:30 AM
WATCH: Kennedy Drill With Cobrinha
Gabriel Sousa – ZR Team
Gabriel Sousa is one of the most active brown belts on the circuit. A Brazilian athlete representing ZR Team, Sousa has hit the podium in nearly every major IBJJF event in the past 12 months, including a gold medal at the 2018 European Championships. He also took gold at 2016 Worlds as a purple belt. Sousa sets a blistering pace from the bell and isn't afraid to let a flying attack rip.
First-round opponent: Andres Bonilla (Mat 1) Saturday, 9:20 AM
Malachi Edmond – TLI
Malachi Edmond is on the verge of a breakout year. The TLI athlete placed third last at 2017 Pans and took third at 2016 Worlds after losing a razor-thin match to Kennedy Maciel in the semifinals. Edmond has been grinding out wins on the regional circuit in the past 12 months. He is surrounded by some of the best jiu-jitsu athletes in the game, including Mahamed Aly, Tim Spriggs, DJ Jackson, and Shane Jamil-Hill Taylor. Edmond is definitely one to keep an eye on this Saturday.
First-round opponent: Felipe Rodrigues (Mat 1) Saturday, 9 AM
WATCH: Malachi Edmond vs Robert Hernandez – 2016 Worlds
Brown / Adult / Feather
Damion Oranday – Alliance
Damion Oranday is a Lucas Lepri brown belt. He's a Juvenile Pan and No-Gi World champion as well as a past F2W Pro purple belt featherweight champion. He’s yet to make a splash in the brown belt division but certainly has all the tools to do it. Oranday recently finished his Pans camp with lightweight GOAT Lucas Lepri and seems to be in fantastic shape.
First-round opponent: David Chau (Mat 3) Saturday, 9:10 AM
Matheus Gabriel – Checkmat
You’ve probably been hearing a lot about Matheus Gabriel lately, and with good reason — he’s a four-division Fight To Win Pro winner and absolute freaking monster.
Currently undefeated as a brown belt, Gabriel’s purple belt career is also outstanding: He had a total of 102 — 96 wins, including 76 by submission, and six losses (four of those in the absolute division). Gabriel is absolutely one to keep an eye on.
First-round opponent: Rodrigo Do (Mat 3) Saturday, 9:20 AM
Matheus Gabriel vs. Lous Miller – 2017 Worlds
Brown / Adult / Lightweight
Paulo Gabriel – Gracie Humaita
Paulo Gabriel is Gracie Humaita South Bay's killer lightweight and the 2017 Pan champion. Training under the legendary Leticia Ribeiro and Fabricio "Morango" Camoes, Gabriel has a tenacity matched by few and has honed an excellent half-guard game. Gabriel's certainly got a good chance of a repeat performance, but he isn't without stiff competition.
First-round opponent: Daniel Maira (Mat 6) Saturday, 9:34 AM
Levi Jones-Leary – Unity
The 2018 European lightweight champion is another one of Unity’s killer colored belts. Hailing originally from Australia, Jones-Leary possesses a distinctive pressure passing that seems like it should be a part of a much larger player's game.
First-round opponent: Robert Gooch (Mat 6) Saturday, 9:54 AM
Brown / Adult / Middle
Jeremy Jackson – Brasa CTA
Jeremy Jackson recently made the leap from Heros Martial Arts to Caio Terra’s academy in San Jose, CA, and the results speak for themselves. He's already the owner of some big superfight wins (including a toehold sub win that made our countdown of the top 10 submissions in February).
First-round opponent: Daniel Lee (Mat 7) Saturday, 11:10 AM
Brown / Adult / Medium-Heavy
Dominique Bell – Atos
Dominique Bell may be one of the best-known brown belts on the planet. A regular quadruple gold winner, Bell has been a dominant force at brown belt for the past two years. However, the medium-heavyweight division at Pans this year is absolutely stacked.
First-round opponent: Nathan Hagberg (Mat 10) Saturday, 9 AM.
Domique Bell vs. Stanislav Varshavskiy – 2018 Europeans
Jake Watson – Maracaba BJJ
Jake Watson is a human highlight reel. Securing triangles from anywhere and the owner of a devastating ankle lock, Watson is looking for one thing: a submission finish. Watson fights out of Mesa, AZ, representing Maracaba BJJ and medaled at both Worlds and Pans last year as a purple belt. The jump to faixa marrom will be a big test for Watson, and we're eager to see how he handles the pressure.
First-round opponent: Robert Dunn (Mat 9) Saturday, 9:30 AM
Kristof Szucs – Gracie Barra
Hailing from Hungary, Kristof is already a blue belt world and European champion. He took third at 2018 Europeans in the medium-heavyweight division and has made major changes head of Pans: He's switched teams to Gracie Barra Northridge (yes, Romulo's camp) and decided to drop down to middleweight instead of medium-heavy. We're very keen to see this young man's performance.
First-round opponent: Fabricio Machado (Mat 10) Saturday, 9:10 AM
Brown / Adult / Heavyweight
Kaynan Duarte – Atos
Another top prospect from Atos' powerhouse team, Kaynan Duarte is poised for great things this year at Pans. The 19-year-old took double gold as a purple belt last year at Pans and followed it up with with a first-place finish at Worlds just a few months later.
First-round opponent: Jeshua Avalos, (Mat 10) Saturday, 9:40 AM
Brown/ Adult / Super-Heavy
Devhonte Johnson – Unity
Devhonte Johnson was promoted to brown belt after a long, storied career at purple. He opened up the 2018 season with an impressive gold medal performance at the European Championships, using his powerful passing to force his opponents to give up their backs before submitting them. Though he's new to the division, Johnson is a strong contender for first place heading into the event.
First-round opponent: TBD (Mat 4) Saturday, 11:30 AM
Brown / Adult / Ultra-Heavy
Victor Hugo – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu
Victor Hugo moves far too quickly for a man of his size. He secured a sub-20-second flying-triangle armbar submission at Spyder Pro in Korea a few weeks ago that left us speechless, and that's just one accomplishment on a very long list of great performances. Hugo took gold both as a purple belt at Worlds in 2017 and in his first major event as a brown belt at the 2018 European Championships.
First-round opponent: Luis Lopes (Mat 2) Saturday, 11:10 AM
Victor Hugo vs. Donghwa Choi – 2018 Spyder Pro
The 2018 IBJJF Pan Championship takes place March 8-11 and is streaming LIVE or ON Demand only on FloGrappling.