The 2023 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships took place from Thursday June 1st through Sunday June 4th and were full of action and amazing energy from the crowd at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California. Blue and brown belts kicked off the event on June 1st with black belts taking the mats on Saturday and Sunday. There were nineteen black belt finals, five of which ended in submission, including both open class finals. From dramatic come from behind victories, to new World Champions, to dominant performances, the 2023 Worlds had it all. The following are some of the many amazing storylines from this epic edition of the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships.

Jansen Gomes Defeats Middleweight King Tainan Dalpra

Coming into the 2023 Worlds, Tainan Dalpra was unstoppable in competition. He entered the event with a 57-0 record. Tainan started the event in tremendous fashion, submitting his first opponent with an armbar and his second with a choke from the back. Those wins put him in the middleweight semifinal against Rolando Samson, a rematch of the 2023 Pans middleweight semifinal. Tainan went on to win that match by points, moving his record to 60-0. Jansen Gomes was also having a tremendous campaign, submitting his first two opponents and defeating Tye Ruotolo of Atos Jiu-Jitsu in a thrilling match in the semifinal.

The final brought th crowd at the Pyramid to thei feet, with the pivotal moment of the match coming early on as Tainan attempted to sweep Jansen from single leg x. Jansen controlled Tainan’s bottom leg and attempted a back step, a move that created a scramble and allowed Jansen to transition to Tainan’s back. Though he wasn’t able to secure the back position, Jansen earned two advantages for his efforts. He stayed on top for the remainder of the match, showing amazing base and balance and defending Tainan’s sweep attempts throughout. The finals victory gav Jansen his first black belt World title and moved Tainan Dalpra’s black belt record to 60-1 in IBJJF competition.

Gabrieli Pessanha Submits All Her Opponents En Route To Double Gold

On Saturday June 3rd, Gabrieli Pessanaha was recognized for winning the double Grand Slam for the IBJJF’s official 2022/2023 season, a milestone she has now reached in consecutive seasons. She’s been extremely dominant since entering the black belt division, but her 2023 Worlds performance was arguably her best performance yet. Gabrieli had two fights at super heavy and three in the open class, defeating all of her opponents by submission. Her first finals submission came in th super havyweight final, where she won via rear naked choke. She then defeated 2X World Champion Melissa Stricker in the open class semifinal and got another finish against 5X World Champion Ana Vieira, the last person to defeat her, in the final. 

Six Blade’s Victor Hugo Wins Two Golds; Submits Both Opponents In Final Matches

In contrast to the female open class division, the 2023 male open class divisions at this year’s major tournaments had three different champions going into the Worlds. Kaynan Duarte, Nicholas Meregali, and Victor Hugo had all won major championship double gold this year. Kaynan, Victor Hugo, and Erich Munis were the top seeds in the 2023 Worlds opn class, but and it was Victor Hugo who came home with the gold. Victor’s first event of 2023 was the Brasileiros, where he put on a submission masterclass, winning seven fights with six coming by way of submission.

He carried the momentum from Brasileiros into the Worlds, kicking off his campaign in the open class division. He defeated his first opponent with a choke from the mount and then won via triangle in the quarterfinal to advance to the open class semis against Kaynan Duarte of Atos. This was a highly anticipated match as Kaynan moved up to super heavy this year and had a 100% submission rate at the Europeans, where he won double gold. It was a close match, but Victor was able to score an advantage for a near sweep about a minute and a half in. The remainder of the match saw both Kaynan and Victor play on top, but neither was able to sweep, pass, or submit. With the win Victor advanced to the ultra heavy final against Marcus “Scooby” Ribeiro. He found the finish in that match with a violin armlock after locking a triangle. Victor's next final was for 2023 Worlds absolut gold against 3X World Champion Erich Munis. Erich had used a very effective form of lapel guard to defeat previous opponents, and used it again against Victor to control and nearly sweep him. Victor was ready for it, however, as he collected both of Erich's legs and finished him with a kneebar. The submission win gave Victor his fourth World Championship gold medal.

AOJ Wins Four World Titles

The male semifinal and finals and the female finals took place on Sunday June 4th. Going into that day, Art of Jiu Jitsu had the opportunity to win six gold medals. Mayssa Bastos and Jessa Khan had qualified for the finals while Thalison Soares, Diego Pato, Johnatha Alves, and Tainan Dalpra were in the semis. At the end of the day four of these six athletes became 2023 World Champions, an incredible accomplishment for a single academy. The first title was captured by Mayssa Bastos, her fourth as a black belt. Jessa Khan followed up Mayssa’s performance with a gold medal of her own, winning the match in the dying seconds to earn her first black belt World title. Diego Pato, who recently joined the AOJ team, won the light-feather division to capture his second World title. The final black belt gold medalist from AOJ was Johnatha Alves,  who despite coming into the event with four Pan titles, had yet to win gold at the Worlds. 2023 was his year, however, and Johnatha won his first black belt World Championship gold medal.

Six Brand New World Champions Crowned

Every year we see new champions crowned at the Worlds and 2023 was no exception. This year there were six first time black belt gold medalists. In the male rooster weight division, Lucas Pinheiro of Atos Jiu-Jitsu took first. His final was against 2022 World Champion Thalison Soares, who he defeated via two advantages in a tight match that saw Lucas’ guard passing go head to head with Thalison’s guard. The next first time World Champion was featherweight Samuel Nagai of CheckMat. Samuel placed third at the 2022 Worlds, losing by submission to 2022 Champion Isaac Doederlein. This year the roles were reversed as Samuel submitted Isaac in the semifinal to advance to the final against Diego Sodre. In the final, Samuel timed an early guard pull with a takedown to go up 2-0 and maintained top position and the lead for the rest of the match to win his first World title.

Another new champion was crowned in the lightweight division as 4X Pan Champion Johnatha Alves took gold. He sustained an injury at Worlds in 2021 and then lost a close match to Ty Ruotolo in 2022. This year, however, Johnatha came out on top, defeating Pedro Maia in the lightweight final. Jansen Gomes was the final male first time gold medalist. In the female black belt light-feather division, 2022 Pan Champion Jessa Khan won her first Worlds gold medal on her third try at the event. Zenith BJJ’s Amy Campo took gold at medium-heavy. Amy took second at the 2022 Worlds, losing the open class final to Gabrieli Pessanha. With the win, Amy is now a gi and no-gi World Champion.

Adult Male Black Belt Worlds Champions

Rooster - Lucas Pinheiro

Light-Feather - Diego Pato Oliveira

Feather - Samuel Nagai

Light - Johnatha Alves

Middle - Jansen Gomes

Medium-Heavy - Gustavo Batista

Heavy - Fellipe Andrew

Super Heavy - Erich Munis

Ultra-Heavy - Victor Hugo

Open Class - Victor Hugo

Adult Female Black Belt World Champions

Rooster - Mayssa Bastos

Light-Feather - Jessa Khan

Feather - Bianca Basilio

Light - Ffion Davies

Middle - Andressa Cintra

Medium-Heavy - Amy Campo

Heavy - Melissa Stricker

Super Heavy - Gabrieli Pessanha

Open Class - Gabrieli Pessanha

2023 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship Team Results:

Male

1. Dream Art

2. Alliance

3. Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Female

1. Dream Art

2. GF Team

3. CheckMat

Juvenile

1. Atos Jiu-Jitsu

2. Art of Jiu-Jitsu

3. Nova Uniao