The 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships kicked off with the blue belt divisions on Wednesday March 22nd in Kissimmee, Florida. There were several athletes who put on stellar performances, but it was Eliza Nascimento who was hands down the most impressive competitor, submitting all nine of her opponents in the light and open class divisions. The following were some of the standout blue belt competitors from the 2023 Pans.

Eliza Nascimento, Lightweight & Open Class Champion - 9 fights, 9 submissions

Eliza Nascimento is off to quite the start in 2023. After winning double gold at the 2023 Europeans, she returned to the Pans aiming for more major championship gold medals. At lightweight, Eliza had five fights. She started the event utilizing her closed guard, getting cross choke and kimura finishes in her first two matches. In her next three fights she was able to showcase more of her top game, using a pressure-based approach to create submission opportunities. She finished an armbar from the back, another armbar from side control, and a cross choke from the mount in her next three fights to become the Pans lightweight champion.

After winning gold at lightweight, Eliza jumped into the open class. She fought opponents from the heavyweight, super heavyweight, light-feather, and medium-heavy divisions and scored four more submissions. Eliza submitted her open class opponents with three more armbars and a kimura.

Eduardo Alves, Middleweight & Open Class Champion - 8 fights, 4 submissions

Alliance lightweight Eduardo Alves is on a roll in 2023. At the Europeans Eduardo had ten fights and six submissions, taking gold in his weight class and silver in the absolute. He entered the Pans seeded first at lightweight, and collected more submissions throughout the major championship. With two straight ankle locks and two armbars, Eduardo found himself in the middleweight final against Joao Vitor of Dream Art. It was a tight match where Eduardo outscored Joao 4-2. In the open class Eduardo won three more matches, all via points. At 2023 major tournaments Eduardo has won three golds and one silver medal.

Joao “Bolinho” Victor, Ultra-Heavy Champion - 4 fights, 4 submissions

Dream Art’s Joao Victor was unstoppable at the Pans. The ultra-heavyweight showed a diverse skillset throughout his matches, taking his opponents down and hunting for submissions. In the final, Joao took his opponent down with a drop seoi nage takedown. He passed the guard twice and went to knee on belly to put the score at 10-0. Joao then got the back and locked in a bow n’ arrow choke to secure the Pans gold and a 100% submission rate.

Mateus “Gordao” Alexandrino, Lightweight Champion - 6 fights, 5 submissions

At lightweight, #1 seed Mateus “Gordao” Alexandrino had six fights to take gold. Mateus finished his first four opponents with an armbar from closed guard, a bow n’ arrow choke, a mounted armbar, and a cross choke from top half guard. His semifinal submission was his most impressive. Mateus jumped over his opponent’s open guard straight to the mount and followed up with a quick armbar finish. The final was his only points victory, where he got the win by one advantage.

Sabrina Lourenco, Featherweight Champion - 5 fights, 4 submissions

Sabrina Lourenco, yet another Dream Art representative, took gold in the featherweight division. In her run to the top of the podium, Sabrina won five fights, four of which she finished with a submission. All four of Sabrina’s submissions came from armbars, including a submission in the finals that she setup from her closed guard.