More competitors and bigger divisions means the 2019 IBJJF World Championships promises to be maybe the best year ever for women's jiu-jitsu. 

It's no overstatement to say that these divisions are the biggest and most competitive we've seen in years. 

A few star names from recent years are absent: no Mackenzie Dern (pregnant), Michelle Nicolini (focussing on MMA), Gabi Garcia (unknown why she's not competing after promising she would) or Tayane Porfirio (suspended for four years following a doping violation). 

The growth of women's jiu-jitsu is reflected well in the numbers of women who will compete, and this will no doubt be bolstered by the brown belt class of 2019 who are poised to graduate to black belt next year – imagine Gabrielli Pessanha, Thamara Silva, Yara Soares and others mixing it up with the black belts! 

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Bastos and Wiggers to challenge Rikako 

Julianne Wiggers and Mayssa Bastos are two first year black belts who pose the greatest challenge to Rikako Yuasa, who hasn't lost at IBJJF Worlds for four year running. Reigning champ every year since 2015, it's been a long time since we've seen anybody even close to challenging "lady lasso" for gold, but the injection of fresh talent into the division (which currently has six people) will definitely make things more interesting. 

Three former light-featherweight champs return

Gezary Matuda (2013, 2014, 2016), Talita Alencar (2017) and Amanda Monteiro (2018) are three returning IBJJF World champions, and it's hard not to see this division as a three-way race. A shame Amal Amjahid will not be competing due to her father's ongoing visa issues preventing him from entering the USA– she won't travel without him. 

Ffion poised for Grand Slam triumph

British black belt Ffion Davies is by far the best chance of seeing a European win gold. After winning Europeans, Pans and Brazilian Nationals she is also on the cusp of winning the IBJJF "grand slam", and all this in her first year as a black belt. 

Looking at the featherweight division Davies can take comfort knowing she's beaten main contenders Bianca Barbosa Basilio, Karen Antunes, Ana Carolina Schmitt. 

Queen Bia 

Beatriz Mesquita is Gracie Humaita's most dependable competitor, but she's joined by teammates Gabi Mccomb and Amandine Layec, a sign that Leticia Ribeiro's hit squad of killer women continues to grow. 

The strongest challenges to the crown would be Catherine Fuhro Perret of Checkmat, who has looked in fine form on the Fight 2 Win stage of late, and ADCC Trials winner Jena Bishop, now fully settled into her new team of Alliance. 

"Baby" is back

Ana Carolina Vieira (aka "Baby" to one and all) has won gold two years in a row at Worlds since breaking onto the black belt scene. She's joined by the regular faces such as Raquel Canuto, Jessica Swanson, Samantha Cook etc. 

An interesting appearance is the veteran Hannette Staack, the 40-year-old who won five World Championship gold medals between 2002 and 2011. She's been training hard and is in great shape. Could her experience help her in a competitive youthful division? 

Monteiro favorite for Medium-Heavy

Over the last three years Luiza Monteiro has competed in various weight classes at Worlds – middle in 2016, light in 2017 and 2018. Now she's bumped all the way up to medium-heavyweight for 2019, but given she took the gold medal at Pans in March her choice seems to be paying off. 

Nathiely 

There is, not to sound rude, little in the way of competition for Nathiely Jesus. Two-time black belt World champion and a regular medalist in the absolute division, Nathiely stands head and shoulders above the opposition– sometimes literally. There are the veterans Talita Nogueira and Fernanda Mazzelli, and the lesser-known but capable Claire France-Thevenon and Izadora Silva too. But gold is almost certainly Nathiely's. 

Super-Heavy missing big names

No Gabi Garcia, no Tayane Porfirio, no Dominyka Obelenyte. That opens up super-heavyweight for a brand new champion. Since Garcia left the sport a few years back the super-heavyweight division was dominated briefly by Tayane, but her four-year suspension means 

Venla Orvokki Luukkonen of Finland took gold in 2014, Fernanda Mazzelli won in 2015, Dominyka Obelenyte in 2016 and Tayane Porfirio in 2017 (Tayane's gold in 2018 was awarded to Nathiely following a positive doping test). 

For an up to date list of confirmed names click here.