We expect every single division to be hard-fought and competitive at the 2018 IBJJF World Championships, but with no defending champ one category is wide open for the taking. 

But as Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles– the insanely successful 2017 World, Pan, European, Brazilian National and ADCC champ– isn't competing this year, that means there is a huge opportunity for a  new champion to be crowned. 

Unstoppable in 2017, Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles

And it's about time we get a new featherweight champion, because just three men have claimed every World black belt featherweight gold medal since 2006, with Cobrinha taking titles in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2017, Rafael Mendes winning six gold medals between 2010 and 2016, with Augusto "Tanquinho" Mendes winning gold in 2013. 

The Class of 2018 

Scanning the results of the major IBJJF tournaments this year throws up a few familiar names: Marcio Andre (ranked no.3 in the FloGrappling rankings), Gianni Grippo (ranked no.6), Rafael Mansur (ranked no.5), Jamil Hill (ranked no.7), Isaac Doederlein (ranked no.7), Isaque Paiva (ranked no.9), Osvaldo "Queixinho" (ranked no.8)... The podiums have been populated by grapplers everybody knows. 

To make matters even more interesting, the featherweight results this year so far have been incredibly mixed, with no one grappler emerging dominant over the others. 

Every major tournament has presented a different champ: 

• Marcio Andre beat Gianni Grippo to win Europeans at the beginning of the year 

• Grippo rebounded with a win over Jamil Hill in the Pans final in March

• Rafael Mansur claimed the Brazilian National gold medal with a win over Grippo in May. 

2018 European Black Belt Featherweight Medalists 

1 - Marcio Andre - Nova Uniao

2 - Gianni Grippo - Alliance

3 - Isaac Doederlein - Alliance

3 - Isaque Paiva - Saikoo Jiu-Jitsu

2018 Pan Black Belt Featherweight Medalists 

1 - Gianni Grippo - Alliance

2 - Shane Jamil Hill-Taylor - Team Lloyd Irvin

3 - Gilson Nunes - CheckMat

3 - Osvaldo Moizinho - Ares BJJ

2018 Brazilian National Black Belt Featherweight Medalists 

1 - Rafael Mansur - Ns Brotherhood

2 - Gianni Grippo - Alliance

3 - Isaque Paiva - Saikoo Jiu-Jitsu

3 - Marcio Andre - Nova Uniao 

Three men appeared on all three of the above podiums: 

• Grippo is the only man to have made it into every final in the majors, but that's no guarantee of success when you look at who's signed up for 2018 Worlds

• Marcio Andre made the podium twice with one gold medal but his title run at Brasileiros was cut short due to cramps in his semifinal match

• Isaque Paiva collected two bronze medals, losing to Grippo in both semifinals. 

Standout competitors signed up for 2018 Worlds 

There are 23 registered black belts (at the time of publication of this article) 

Every podium finisher from the IBJJF majors in 2018 has signed up, but their route to the finals is going to be a tough one. 

A scan of the list of entrants presents a number of well-known names, who each provide a different challenge. 

Leo Saggioro, nicknamed "Cascao" (roughly meaning hard shell, meaning he is extremely tough)

Possibly the toughest name among them is 2017 silver medalist Leonardo Saggioro, a rock solid competitor who is notoriously difficult to score on. He's coming off a big win in Abu Dhabi, having won the inaugural King of Mats event where he beat Grippo in the final (albeit in a six minute match). He's a strong contender to make it to the final four. 

AJ Agazarm (ranked no.15) is back in at featherweight and ready to spoil some hopes and dreams. Featherweight is a division that suits Agazarm: he excels in managing his weight and so the cut doesn't hurt him too bad, and his pressure-passing game is well-suited to shutting down the typical intricate featherweight leg-fighting style. 

Though they're unlikely to make it to the later rounds we can expect the likes of Joao Neto (Alliance), Silvio Duran (Shaolin BJJ), Brandon Walensky (Clark Gracie), Kevin Mahecha (American Top Team) and Luciano Queiroz (Qatar BJJ) to make life difficult for anybody with hopes of winning a medal. 

A special mention has to go to Wellington "Megaton" Dias, who once again sets the record of most appearances at the World Championships, having first competed at Worlds in 1996 and appearing in every edition since – a total of 22 straight years! 

Scroll down for a list* of featherweights who will compete at the 2018 World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship 

*Please note the list is not final and athletes can change their weight classes until May 22. 

Join now to watch the 2018 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship live

May 30* to Jun 3 | Long Beach, CA