With 308 male registered purple belts, the second day of the 2019 IBJJF European Championship blew up thanks to the non-stop action provided by the scrappy grapplers. 

Hailing from a total of 44 different countries, the competitors came from a wide variety of backgrounds and there were many new faces among the huge divisions. That said many– but not all– of the champions were familiar faces on the competition scene. There were plenty of upsets and wild matches. Here’s  quick rundown of a few standout names. 

1. Tainan Dalpra storms to purple gold

Submitting four out of five matches to become middleweight champion, AoJ rep Tainan didn’t concede a single point in his European campaign. Just last weekend he was in the UAE to compete at the ADGS Abu Dhabi where he also won gold, a hard habit for him to break. As usual, he looked practically flawless en route to gold. 

2. A big day for Gordo JJ

Eduardo Roque and Pedro Machado of Gordo Jiu-Jitsu in Rio de Janeiro both had incredibly successful days. Roque, who won gold here last year as a blue belt, came out on top of a huge 47-strong featherweight division. Machado had to battle through a 35-man medium-heavyweight division for gold. Both of these youngsters are frequent competitors with success at most major tournaments. Keep an eye out for them in 2019. 

Nicholas Werner gets the ref’s decision to win purple lightweight European gold! pic.twitter.com/KGnCQO1Wj6

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) January 16, 2019

3. Nicolas Werner wins third Euros in a row

White belt in 2017, blue belt in 2018, and now purple belt in 2019. Nicolas Werner of Spain was one of only two Europeans to win gold in the purple belt divisions. The talk is that Werner– who competes for Mathias Ribeiro Team– trains out of a garage! We'll being you more details on that as we can. If it's true, it makes the fact he beat the very capable Andy Murasaki in the final a even greater achievement. 

Erich, Alex and Anderson Munis

4. A good day for jiu-jitsu families 

From a new pair of Brazilian-Japanese twins to three brothers who all made their finals, the purple belt divisions delivered some heart-warming stories. Hit the links below for more. 

• Munis Brothers Erich, Alex and Anderson Medal at 2019 IBJJF Euros
• The Ueno Brothers: Brazilian-Japanese Twins Close Out 2019 IBJJF Europeans