The first major tournament of 2023, the European Jiu-Jitsu Championships, were held for the first time in Paris, France from Monday January 23rd through Sunday January 29th. Highly ranked competitors such as Gabrieli Pessanha, Kaynan Duarte, Mayssa Bastos, Tainan Dalpra, Anna Rodrigues, Fabricio Andrey, and many other world class athletes made the trip to Europe to showcase their skills. Submissions were flying all throughout the event, where we saw a very high finish rate, particularly for a major championship. The following is a deep dive into the black belt submissions from the quarterfinals through the finals at the 2023 Europeans.

Athletes With 100% Submission Rates

Submitting every opponent in a major championship at the black belt level is no small feat, and the Europeans had seven athletes who were able to finish all of their opponents in their divisions. These seven athletes had a combined 21 submissions throughout the event. The following athletes had a 100% submission rate at the 2023 Europeans.

Kaynan Duarte - super heavy & open class, 7 submissions

Gabrieli Pessanha - super heavy & open class, 4 submissions

Tainan Dalpra - middleweight, 3 submissions

Thalison Soares - rooster weight, 2 submissions

Anna Rodrigues - featherweight, 2 submissions

Amanda Magda - heavy, 2 submissions

Maria Malyjasiak - medium-heavy, 1 submission

Black Belt Athletes Deliver 43.40% Submission Rate

The IBJJF major championships, which consist of the Europeans, the Pans, the Brasileiros, and the Worlds, are the highest level and most prestigious events in jiu-jitsu. Black belt champions from these events have to win multiple matches against elite opponents with different styles and strengths. This often makes submissions difficult to come by and makes it especially difficult for an athlete to submit all of his or her opponents in a given event. At the 2023 Europeans in Paris, France, we saw an aggressive style of jiu-jitsu and a very high rate of submissions. From the quarterfinals through the finals, there were 106 black belt adult matches and 46 submissions, a 43.40% submission rate. In the male black belt divisions there were 65 matches and 27 submissions (41.54%) and in the female black belt divisions there were 41 matches and 19 submissions (46.34%). 

Most Effective Submissions 

Throughout the 2023 Europeans, the most effective submission proved to be the choke from the back, including all of its variations. From the black belt quarterfinals through the finals, there were 23 chokes from the back, making up exactly 50% of the submissions from those matches. The armbar was the second most successful submission, making up about 13% of the total. Triangles and toe holds were also used effectively, accounting for 15% of the submissions collectively. Overall, there were 11 different submissions used in these matches as the black belts showed a well rounded submission game, attacking their opponents from every angle.

Other Findings

There were many other interesting findings when studying the submissions at the Europeans. In the adult black belt finals there was an even higher submission rate, as 10 out of 19 finals ended in submission for a rate of 52.63%. The fastest submission in the finals belonged to Tainan Dalpra, who capped off his perfect performance with a finals submission just one minute and forty five seconds into the match. The open class divisions had a submission rate of 64.30%, led primarily by Kaynan and Gabrieli, who had 7 submissions in the open between them. The female heavyweight division, which consisted of Elizabeth Mitrovic, Rana Qubbaj, Amanda Magda, and Leticia Cardozo, had a 100% submission rate. It was the only division in which all matches ended via submission.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the 2023 Europeans were a major championship with one of the highest submission rates. Between the dominant performances in the open class and aggressive, submission seeking jiu-jitsu in the weight divisions, the event set the bar high for the rest of 2023.

2023 European Submission Study Support

Adult Male Black Belt

Rooster - 4 Matches, 3 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Tadiyah Danforth def. Italo Frota via triangle choke

Semifinal - Thalison Soares def. Tadiyah Danforth via bow n’ arrow choke

Semifinal - Welerson Goncalves def. Frank Cespedes via points, 8-4

Final - Thalison submits Welerson Goncalves via lapel choke from side control, 8:35

Light Feather - 7 Matches, 1 Submission

Quarterfinal - Leonardo Mario def. Pablo Mantovani via ref’s decision, 6-6

Quarterfinal - Diego Pato def. Marko Oikarainen via bow n’ arrow choke

Quarterfinal - Tomoyuki Hashimoto def. Yuta Shimada via points, 4-4, 3-0 adv

Quarterfinal - Malachi Edmond def. Sebastian Serpa via ref’s decision, 0-0, 1-1 adv

Semifinal - Diego Pato def. Leonardo Mario via points, 3-0

Semifinal - Malachi Edmond def. Tomoyuki Hashimoto via ref’s decision, 4-4

Final - Malachi def. Diego Pato via points, 4-2

Feather - 7 Matches, 3 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Fabricio Andrey def. Israel Almeida via points, 2-0 

Quarterfinal - Lucas Rodrigues def. Wilhiam Mateus via Ezekiel choke from the back

Quarterfinal - Alex Sodre def. Matheus Lima via points, 2-0

Quarterfinal - Jun Yong Cho def. Keito Oyanagi via straight ankle lock

Semifinal - Fabricio Andrey def. Lucas Rodrigues via kneebar

Semifinal - Alex Sodre def. Jun Yong Cho via DQ for reap on straight ankle

Final - Fabricio Andrey def. Alex Sodre via points, 2-0

Light  - 7 Matches, 2 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Elijah Dorsey def. Max Lindblad via points, 0-0, 2-1 adv

Quarterfinal - Andy Murasaki def. Leon Larman via kata gatame

Quarterfinal - Natan Chueng def. Marcelo Fausto via points, 4-2 

Quarterfinal - Luiz Felipe def. Eduardo Roque via 0-0, 4-3 adv

Semifinal - Andy Murasaki def. Elijah Dorsey via kata gatame 

Semifinal - Natan Chueng def. Luiz Felipe via points, 0-0, 1-1 adv, 1-2 penalties

Final - Andy Murasaki def. Natan Chueng via points, 0-0, 2-0 adv

Middle - 6 Matches, 4 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Espen Mathiesen and Fausto Godoy double DQ 

Quarterfinal - Pavel Kalesnik def. Jakub Najdek via points, 8-6 

Quarterfinal - Tainan Dalpra def. Elder Junior via bow n’ arrow choke

Quarterfinal - Lucas Protasio def. Vinicius Martins via armbar

Semifinal - Tainan Dalpra def. Lucas Protasio via rear naked choke

Final - Tainan def. Pavel Kalesnik via bow n’ arrow choke, 1:45

Medium-Heavy - 7 Matches, 1 Submission

Quarterfinal - Jansen Gomes def. Matheus Spirandeli via points, 2-0

Quarterfinal - Wellington Luis def. Francisco Lo via points, 2-0

Quarterfinal - Pedro Machado def. Faris Benlamkadem via points, 2-2, 2-0 adv

Quarterfinal - Marcos Petcho def. Pedro Cadete via points, 4-2

Semifinal - Jansen Gomes def. Wellington Luis via collar choke from the back

Semifinal - Pedro Machado def. Marcos Petcho via points, 2-0

Final - Jansen Gomes def. Pedro Machado via DQ, loop choke out of bounds

Heavy - 7 Matches, 2 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Fellipe Andrew def. Leandro Santos via bow n’ arrow

Quarterfinal - Devhonte Johnson def. Bruno Lima via points, 2-0

Quarterfinal - Rider Zuchi def. Gabriel Oliveira via points, 3-0

Quarterfinal - Adam Wardzinski def. Filipe Pimentel via points, 11-0

Semifinal - Fellipe Andrew def. Devhonte Johnson via points, 9-0

Semifinal - Adam Wardzinski def. Rider Zuchi via Ezekiel from the back

Final - Fellipe Andrew def. Adam Wardzinski via points, 7-0

Super Heavy - 6 Matches, 4 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Kaynan Duarte def. Thomas Bracher via armbar from mount

Quarterfinal - Marcus Scooby def. Vinicius Liberati via bow n’ arrow

Quarterfinal - Luis Cantareira def. Eric Bergmann via points, 2-0

Semifinal - Kaynan Duarte def. Harryson Perreira via collar choke from the back

Semifinal - Luis Cantareira def. Marcus Scooby via points, 2-2, 5-0 adv

Final - Kaynan Duarte def. Luis Cantareira via armbar, 3:13

Ultra Heavy - 7 Matches, 3 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Mason Fowler def. Luiz Marcos via omoplata

Quarterfinal - Seifeddine Houmine def. Taco Carnneiro via DQ, going out of bounds during a choke

Quarterfinal - Cleyton Flores def. Wallace Costa via points, 2-0

Quarterfinal - Kjetil Lydvo def. Pedro Bisneto via points, 5-0

Semifinal - Mason Fowler def. Seifeddine Houmine via points, 4-3

Semifinal - Kjetil Lydvo def. Cleyton Flores via lapel choke from side control

Final - Mason Fowler def. Kjetil Lydvo via rear naked choke, 7:53

Open Class - 7 Matches, 4 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Kaynan Duarte def. Vinicius Liberati via rear naked choke

Quarterfinal - Mason Fowler def. Jansen Gomes via kneebar from over under

Quarterfinal - Rider Zuchi def. Seifeddine Houmine via points, 2-0

Quarterfinal - Bruno Lima def. Pedro Machado via points, 5-2

Semifinal - Kaynan Duarte def. Mason Fowler via rear naked choke

Semifinal - Rider Zuchi def. Bruno Lima via points, 4-2

Final - Kaynan Duarte def. Rider Zuchi via rear naked choke, 8:50

Adult Female Black Belt

Rooster - 5 Matches, 1 Submission

Quarterfinal - Jessa Khan def. Mara Kelly via points, 5-0

Quarterfinal - Jessica Caroline def. Julia Gomes via punch choke from triangle

Semifinal - Jessica Caroline def. Jessa Khan via points, 2-0

Semifinal - Thais Loureiro def. Vicky Hoang via points, 0-0, 1-0 adv

Final - Jessica Caroline def. Thais Loureiro via points, 0-0, 1-0 adv 

Light feather - 5 Matches, 2 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Naiomi Matthews def. Fiona Middleton via points, 0-0, 1-0 adv

Quarterfinal - Rose-Marie El Sharouni def. Raquel Ferreira via bow n’ arrow choke

Semifinal - Mayssa Bastos def. Naiomi Matthews via points, 18-0

Semifinal - Brenda Larissa def. Rose-Marie El Sharouni via collar choke from the back

Final - Mayssa Bastos def. Brenda Larissa via points, 11-4

Feather - 5 Matches, 2 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Ashley Bendle def. Rafaela Policarpo via points, 6-0

Quarterfinal - Zofia Szawernowska def. Morgan Huang via points, 3-2

Semifinal - Anna Rodrigues def. Zofia Szawernowska via bow n’ arrow choke 

Semifinal - Andreia Cavalcante def. Ashley Bendle via points, 2-0

Final - Anna Rodrigues def. Andreia Cavalcante via bow n’ arrow choke, 9:08

Light - 7 Matches, 3 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Nathalie Ribeiro def. Ludmila Fiori De Araujo via points, 6-0

Quarterfinal - Janine Mutton def. Luiara Rochael Macie via armbar

Quarterfinal - Luiza Monteiro def. Hope Douglass via armbar

Quarterfinal - Gabriela Andrelevicius Pereir def. Lauriane Christiane via armbar

Semifinal - Nathalie Ribeiro def. Janine Mutton via points, 6-2

Semifinal - Luiza Monteiro def. Gabriela Andrelevicius Pereir via points, 6-0

Final - Luiza Monteiro def. Nathalie Ribeiro via points, 11-4

Middle - 6 Matches, 1 Submission

Quarterfinal - Thalyta Silva def. Kira Sung via points, 2-2, 3-2 adv

Quarterfinal - Elisabeth Clay def. Beatrice Fraux via toe hold

Quarterfinal - Vanessa Griffin def. Ana Brandao via points, 2-0

Semifinal - Vanessa Griffin def. Elisabeth Clay via points, 8-6

Semifinal - Thalyta Silva def. Magdalena Loska via points, 0-0, 2-1 adv

Final - Thalyta Silva def. Vanessa Griffin via ref’s decision

Medium-Heavy - 2 Matches, 1 Submission

Semifinal - Sabatha Lais def. Gabriele Schuck via points, 8-0

Final - Maria Malyjasiak def. Sabatha Lais via collar choke from the back, 7:57

Heavy - 3 Matches, 3 Submissions

Semifinal - Elizabeth Mitrovic def. Rana Qubbaj via triangle

Semifinal - Amanda Magda def. Leticia Cardozo via kimura

Final - Amanda Magda def. Elizabeth Mitrovic via toe hold

Super Heavy - 1 Match, 1 Submission

Final - Gabrieli Pessanha def. Claire-France Thevenon via rear naked choke, 2:03

Open - 7 Matches, 5 Submissions

Quarterfinal - Gabrieli Pessanha def. Elisabeth Clay via collar choke from the back

Quarterfinal - Maria Malyjasiak def. Nathalie Ribeiro via americana

Quarterfinal - Thalyta Silva def. Leticia Cardozo via ref’s decision

Quarterfinal - Luiza Monteiro def. Sabatha Lais via points, 9-0

Semifinal - Gabrieli Pessanha def. Maria Malyjasiak via toe hold

Semifinal - Thalyta Silva def. Luiza Monteiro via bow n’ arrow choke

Final - Gabrieli Pessanha def. Thalyta Silva via triangle/teepee choke, 8:41