With the 2018 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship only days away we ranked the best brown belts in the world. 

The top brown belts of today are the black belt world champions of tomorrow. Though young in both age and their jiu-jitsu careers, many of them are close to being promoted to the highest rank in the sport. But for now, they have business to take care of and we see them fight like hell at every event as they compete for first place on the podium. 

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To decide the brown belt ranking we collated results from the major tournaments of the present season and cross-referenced these with match results in order to determine a fair analysis of the top performers. First off came major titles and how these were won. Following on– and especially important for certain athletes– we also considered absolute division results, as head-to-head results provide an accurate representation of who is best. 

Kaynan Duarte

Top of the brown belt ranking is Kaynan Duarte (Atos). The heavyweight prospect (European absolute champion, Pan heavyweight and absolute champion) sits at the top of the ranking. Though he lost to no.2-ranked Fabio Alano in the heavyweight final at Euros in January, Duarte's absolute conquests place him highest on the list.  

Fabio Alano

Fabio Alano (Alliance) is the only brown belt who could possibly win the IBJJF "grand slam" this year, as he has gold medals in the heavyweight division at Euros, Pans and the Brazilian Nationals. 

All of our top 15 pound-for-pound ranked male brown belt athletes are incredible competitors and rightly deserve their position on this list as the best brown belts in the world. Pay close attention to all of them as we head into the IBJJF 2018 Worlds on May 31. 

Watch the 2018 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship live

May 31 to June 3 | Long Beach, CA