As the first major no-gi event in the US in 2022, the Pan No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championships took place in Garland, Texas from October 14th through the 16th. 2021 Pan No-Gi adult male champions Pedigo Submission Fighting retuned to the event they won a year ago in search of their second straight team title, a feat they accomplished due to gold medal performances across various belt ranks. IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix competitors Anna Rodrigues and Manuel Ribamar also competed in the no-gi tournament just two weeks shy of the Grand Prix and looked to build momentum heading into their respective GP divisions. The following is a summary of some of the best action and results from the 2022 Pan No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championships.

Pedigo Submission Fighting Wins Adult Male Team Title For Second Straight Year

At the 2021 Pan No-Gi, the Pedigo Submission Fighting Team took home it’s first major team title. This year they came to Garland, Texas determined to win another team title and they did just that. Driven by gold medal performances from Jared Shafer (blue middle), Michael Pixley (blue super-heavy and open class), Brad Schneider (brown medium-heavy), and Jacob Couch (brown heavy and open class), Pedigo placed first at adult male. In addition to their adult male title, Pedigo also placed 9th in the master’s divisions.

Anna Rodrigues and Thalyta Silva Lead Dream Art To Female Team Title

On Friday October 28th, the first ever IBJJF Female Grand Prix will take place in Austin, Texas. Though the event will be in the gi, Dream Art leader and GP competitor Anna Rodrigues decided to test herself in a major no-gi event just weeks before the prestigious gi event. Despite not competing in an IBJJF no-gi event since Worlds No-Gi as a blue belt, Anna dove head first into the challenging lightweight bracket. She won three matches on Saturday October 15th to advance to the final, including a close semifinal victory over Jasmine Rocha. Her final was against Jiu-Jitsu CON No-Gi open class champion Claire North of TAC Team BJJ. Anna earned an advantage early in the match and then swept from single leg x a little over four minutes in. She swept Claire again with less than thirty seconds remaining in the match, securing the points victory and her first major no-gi title at black belt. The move to lightweight paid off as Anna not only won the division, but also gained valuable competition experience in the same weight class in which she’ll be competing in the Grand Prix.

At medium-heavy, 2022 Worlds silver medalist Thalyta Silva also took gold for Dream Art. Her path to the final included victories over Chloe McNally of Unity Jiu-Jitsu and Vedha Toscano of CheckMat. In the final, Thalyta faced Bridget Mceliece of Renzo Gracie Academy. Thalyta spent most of the match on top trying to pass Bridget’s flexible and active guard. The first points of the match came via a takedown by Thalyta, who scored after escaping Bridget’s kimura counter. The match would end 2-0 with Thalyta showing a strong top game and earning valuable points towards the Dream Art Female team title.

Manuel Ribamar Wins Medium-Heavy Gold Ahead Of Grand Prix

2019 No-Gi World Champion Manuel Ribamar competed in the medium-heavy division at this years Pan No-Gi in one of the toughest brackets of the entire event. After scoring big victories over Gabriel Arges and Sebastian Rodrigues, he advanced to the semifinal against Francisco Lo. Francisco had been on a tear in his earlier matches, getting big submission wins via flying armbar and kneebar before advancing to the semis. The semifinal was a close, strategic match, with Ribamar getting the win via points after taking Francisco down. The final was against Felipe Cesar Silva, a Unity Jiu-Jitsu black belt and 2019 Pan No-Gi open class silver medalist. Ribamar earned advantages for a near takedown, a near back, and a flat half guard position, ultimately earning him the Pan No-Gi title. His next challenge will be the IBJJF FloGrappling Medium-Heavy GP, a bracket that includes Isaque Bahiense, Andre Porfirio, and Ronaldo Junior. Ribamar was in tremendous form at the Pan No-Gi and will enter the Grand Prix event with plenty of momentum.

Elisabeth Clay And Henrique Ceconi Win Open Class Gold

For the second straight year, Elisabeth Clay left the Pan No-Gi with two gold medals. This year Elisabeth started her campaign in the middleweight division, where she won one match to advance to the final against Vannessa Griffin of Crazy 88. The middleweight final was a calculated match where Elisabeth tried to engage as Vannessa tried to pass from the outside. With about a minute and a half left in the match, Vannessa attempted to move around Elisabeths legs in one quick motion. Elisabeth defended the pass and went straight on the offensive, sweeping, passing to the mount, taking the back, and finishing with a rear naked choke. She also advanced to the open class final after securing victories over Emily Fernandez and Janine Mutton. She was slated to compete against Vedha Toscano for the open class title, but Vedha suffered an injury and was unable to compete. Elisabeth finished the event with two gold medals and a 100% submission rate, matching what she had accomplished at the 2021 Pan No-Gi.

The male open class champion was Henrique Ceconi of Ceconi KMKZ. Henrique advanced to the open class final via victories over Elder Cruz, Clay Mayfield, and Francisco Cuneo. He met Helton Junior of Unity Jiu-Jitsu in the final, where he won a close match by a single advantage. Henrique has had a tremendous year without the gi, winning gold at the Brasileiro Sea Kimono and the Floripa Winter Open prior to his Pan No-Gi open class title.

Corbe Brothers and My Bao Nguyen Take Gold For Standard Jiu-Jitsu

Gavin Corbe, Deandre Corbe, and My Bao Nguyen entered the Pan No-Gi seeking their first major IBJJF titles. Gavin, the younger of the two Corbe brothers, was in a featherweight bracket that included Gianni Grippo, Adam Benayoun, and Richar Nogueira. He met Adam Benayoun of Fifty/50 Jiu-Jitsu in the final, a tight battle where both Gavin and Adam relentlessly attempted to attack each others legs. Gavin earned an advantage for a heel hook attempt late in the match that was enough to get him the victory and the gold medal.

Gavin’s older brother Deandre competed one weight division up at lightweight. Wins over Daniel Davis, Rodrigo Franconi, and Danilo Moreiro put Deandre in the final against leg lock specialist Kieran Kichuk. Deandre scored first with an early sweep and managed to avoid the submission danger from Kieran throughout the remainder of the match.

In the adult female light-feather division, My Bao Nguyen advanced to the final to face Thamires Aquino of GF Team. Nguyen pulled guard and the two athletes exchanged sweeps. A pass attempt from half guard led Nguyen to the back where she locked up a match ending rear naked choke about six minutes in. The third gold medal in the adult black belt divisions for team Standard Jiu-Jitsu was the second most of any team, trailing slightly behind Atos who had four gold medals.

Brown Belt Standouts

Brown belts competed on Friday October 14th and there were many outstanding performances. Jacob Couch of Pedigo Submission Fighting competed in the brown belt heavyweight division, where he submitted all three of his opponents by way of heel hook. Jacob would go on to win another gold medal in the open class. Rosa Walsh, another Pedigo Submission Fighting athlete, won brown belt middleweight gold with two armbars and a heel hook.

Kirk Breneman of Movement Art was another brown belt athlete who submitted all of his opponents. He had four matches to take gold in the always tough lightweight division. Movement Art teammate Valor Boyer won light feather gold, finishing three rear naked chokes en route to the top of the podium. Pierre-Olivier Leclerc of Tri-Star Montreal won brown belt middleweight gold. His road to the title included four victories over tough opponents.

The following are the 2022 Pan No-Gi black belt champions:

Male

Rooster - Osamah Almarwai

Light Feather - Carlos “Bebeto” Oliveira

Feather - Gavin Corbe

Light - Deandre Corbe

Middle - Francisco Cuneo

Medium-Heavy - Manuel Ribamar

Heavy - Pedro Rocha

Super Heavy - Felipe Trovo

Ultra Heavy - Davi Cabral

Open Class - Henrique Ceconi

Female

Rooster - Jhenifer Gonzaga

Light Feather - My Bao Nguyen

Feather - Alexandria Enriquez

Light - Anna Rodrigues

Middle - Elisabeth Clay

Medium-Heavy - Thalyta Silva

Open Class - Elisabeth Clay

2022 Pan No-Gi adult male team results:

1. Pedigo Submission Fighting
2. GF Team
3. CheckMat

2022 Pan No-Gi adult female team results:

1. Dream Art
2. Atos Jiu Jitsu
3. Ares BJJ

2022 Pan No-Gi master team results:

1. BTT
2. Alliance
3. CheckMat