2021 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship

Everything You Need To Know Before Today's IBJJF World Championship Finals

Everything You Need To Know Before Today's IBJJF World Championship Finals

See the Worlds finals brackets here. Plus the team race standings, champions searching for another gold & divisions which guarantee a first time champion.

Dec 12, 2021 by Corey Stockton
Everything You Need To Know Before Today's IBJJF World Championship Finals

The 2021 IBJJF Worlds finals are set! The absolute divisions and the women’s divisions have been whittled down to a single remaining match to decide this year’s champions; and the male divisions have been narrowed to eight men each.

There’s a lot at stake for each of the 88 athletes remaining, and the teams which are still in the running for the Worlds team trophy. Find out who’s still in it, and what’s on the line below, and watch all the action live on FloGrappling.



Men’s absolute final

Nicholas Meregali of Dream Art will face Felipe Pena of Gracie Barra in a highly anticipated grudge match in the open class final. Meregali defeated Pena in their last encounter in 2018. They’ve been on the books for a rematch at several turns this year, but each of those fell through. Instead, that match will take place on the biggest stage in jiu-jitsu.

Whichever man is crowned will earn his first absolute world title. Both of them will be competing in an absolute final for the first time.

Women’s absolute final

Neither Gabi Pessanha or Yara Soares has competed in an IBJJF World Championship at black belt until now. Both of them, however, did the unthinkable yesterday, submitting Gabi Garcia at different points in the tournament. They’ve faced each other several times in their black belt career and Pessanha has the edge in that rivalry. But Soares is not forgetting that fact, and will be eager to overcome it when it matters.

Pessanha and Soares will also square off earlier in the day in the super heavyweight final.

Men’s brackets

Roosterweight | 12:30 p.m. ET

Jonas Andrade vs Tomoyuki Hahimoto

Mikey Musumeci vs Bebeto Oliveira

Bruno Malfacine vs Thalison Soares

Roiter Lima vs Rodnei Barbosa


Light Featherweight | 12:54 p.m. ET

Rene Lopez vs Ram Andana

Malachi Edmond vs Pedro Dias

Diego "Pato" Oliveira vs Yuta Shimada

Meyram Maquine vs Willis Nunes


Featherweight | 1:18 p.m. ET

Alexssandro Sodre vs Isaac Doederlein

Richar Nogueira vs Fabricio Andrey

Osvaldo Queixinho Moizinho vs Diego Sodre

Shane Jamil Hill-Taylor vs Kennedy Maciel


Lightweight | 1:42 p.m.

Michael Liera Jr. vs Matheus Gabriel

Marcio Andre vs Lucas Valente

Murilo Amaral vs Johnatha Alves

Renato Canuto vs Levi Jones-Leary


Middleweight | 2:54 p.m.

Isaque Bahiense vs Jackson Nagai

Jonnatas Gracie vs Leo Lara

Tommy Langaker vs Jaime Canuto

Ronaldo Junior vs Tainan Dalpra


Medium Heavyweight | 3:18 p.m. ET

Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa vs Fabio Alano

Andre Porfirio vs Murilo Santana

Gustavo Batista vs Ruan Oliveira

Otavio Sousa vs Leandro Lo


Heavyweight | 3:42 p.m. ET

Filipe Pinheiro vs Dimitrius Souza

Rider Zuchi vs Luan Azevedo

Helton Junior vs Kaynan Duarte

Gabriel Oliveira vs Matheus Godoy


Super Heavyweight | 4:06 p.m. ET

Marcelo Oliveira vs Fellipe Andrew

Devhonte Johnson vs Fellipe Trovo

Joshua Guerra vs Erich Munis

Felipe Pena vs Harryson Perreira


Ultra Heavyweight | 4:42 p.m. ET

Nicholas Meregali vs Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu

Victor Hugo vs Wallace Costa

Antonio Zuazo vs Igor Schneider

Luiz Panza vs Max Gimenis


Women’s finals

Roosterweight

Mayssa Bastos vs Jessica Dantas | 6:02 p.m. ET

Light Featherweight

Ana Rodrigues vs Tammi Musumeci | 6:14 p.m. ET

Featherweight

Gabi McComb vs Bianca Basilio | 6:26 p.m. ET

Lightweight

Beatriz Mesquita vs Luiza Monteiro | 6:38 p.m. ET

Middleweight

Thamara Ferreira vs Andressa Cintra | 6:50 p.m. ET

Medium Heavyweight

Elisabeth Clay vs Ana Carolina Vieira | 7:02 p.m. ET

Heavyweight

Izadora Cristina Silva vs Melissa Cueto | 7:14 p.m. ET

Super Heavyweight

Gabi Pessanha vs Yara Soares | 5:50 p.m. ET


The team race is still too close to call

The team race remains closely contested for the male team trophy. Alliance built a significant lead on the first day with their blue belt army, but that lead was overturned by Checkmat on the second day, as the purple and brown belts from Checkmat hit the podium time and time again. Checkmat is currently in the lead by eight points, meaning just one gold medal could be the difference for the team trophy.

Three more teams in the running: Unity, Gracie Barra, and Atos, who all have solid teams in the black belt divisions returning for the finals.

Here are the male team standings headed into the final day of Worlds.

Checkmat | 50 points

Alliance | 42 points

Unity | 25 points

Gracie Barra | 24 points

Atos | 24 points

Across all ten black belt male divisions, each of these teams have enough points left on the table to earn the team trophy. Atos and Alliance will each earn an additional point, as Atos’ Kaynan Duarte and Alliance’s Fellipe Andrew will take one point for bronze in the absolute division once the winner of that bracket has been decided. The rest of the available points will be decided on Sunday.

There are several teams outside of the top five who could steal those much desired points from the teams in the running for the trophy. But The top five teams will be looking to capitalize on their finalists. Here’s how many points each team can still earn given their remaining competitors in each division:

Checkmat | 39 points available | Athletes at rooster, light, middle, and ultra heavyweight

Alliance | 85 points available | Athletes at all categories except lightweight

Unity | 30 points available | Athletes at light, medium heavy, and super heavyweight

Gracie Barra | 57 points available | Athletes at rooster, light, medium heavy, heavy, super heavy and open weight (3 points guaranteed at open weight)

Atos | 41 points available | Athletes at light, middle, medium heavy, heavy and super heavyweight

Alliance has the best chance of winning the team title due to their proximity to the lead and the number of points they still have available to them. But Gracie Barra could also sneak into the lead if Fellipe Pena double golds, snagging 18 points for his team.

The female divisions have been narrowed down to the finalists, meaning the potential winning teams are easier to predict. In the female divisions, it’s a two team race for the trophy. Here are the current standings:

GF Team | 54 points

Dream Art | 31 points

Checkmat | 31 points

GF Team is currently ahead, but has only one athlete remaining in the final. Mayssa Bastos could take gold in the roosterweight division, securing nine points to bolster her team’s lead. But that may not be enough to fend off Dream Art, which has athletes in four division finals, with a potential value of 36 points in Dream Art’s best case scenario. Wins in all four divisions would give them 67 points, and guarantee the trophy.

Checkmat has three points coming for bronze medals at the feather, light and middleweight divisions (one point each), which could lock up a third place spot with 34 points. But Atos is creeping up behind them.

Atos currently has 12 points, and has 21 points left on the table across two divisions. Best case scenario for Atos, their female team could finish in second place. Atos is guaranteed 15 points even in their worst case, to finish with 27.

Whether Checkmat or Atos finishes in third will ultimately come down to a match between  Luiza Monteiro and Bia Mesquita. If Mesquita wins, Atos will earn the third place finish, pushing ahead of Checkmat.


Previous champions who made it the final rounds

Male Roosterweight

  • Mikey Musumeci

  • Bruno Malfacine

Male Light Featherweight

  • None, a first-time champion will be crowned in this division

Male Featherweight

  • Shane Jamil Hill-Taylor

Male Lightweight

  • Matheus Gabriel

Male Middleweight

  • Isaque Bahiense

Male Medium Heavyweight

  • Leandro Lo

  • Lucas Barbosa

  • Otavio Sousa

Male Heavyweight

  • None, a first-time champion will be crowned in this division

Male Super Heavyweight

  • Felipe Pena

Male Ultra Heavyweight

  • Nicholas Meregali

Female Roosterweight

  • Mayssa Bastos

Female Light Featherweight

  • None, a first-time champion will be crowned in this division

Female Featherweight

  • None, a first-time champion will be crowned in this division

Female Lightweight

  • Luiza Monteiro

  • Beatriz Mesquita

Female Middleweight

  • Andressa Cintra

Female Medium Heavyweight

  • Ana Carolina Vieira

Female Heavyweight

  • None, a first-time champion will be crowned in this division

Female Super Heavyweight

  • None, a first-time champion will be crowned in this division