The IBJJF American Nationals go down at the Last Vegas Convention Center from Thursday June 30th to Saturday July 2nd. The event features gi divisions for adults, masters and kids and no-gi divisions for juveniles, adults, and masters competitors. In addition to hosting the IBJJF American Nationals, the Last Vegas Convention Center will also host a series of other events throughout the week, including the UFC X event that is part of the MMA promotion’s International Fight Week, culminating in UFC 276. The following is a complete guide to the IBJJF American Nationals, including dates, location, divisions to watch, and important storylines.

Date: Thursday June 30th - Saturday July 2nd

Location: Las Vegas Convention Center - Hall S2-C /S2-D

How to watch: FloGrappling.com

Gi Divisions to Watch

Adult Male Light

Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho, Michael Liera Jr., Israel Almeida, AJ Agazarm, and Pablo Lavaselli are just some of the thirteen elite competitors signed up in the lightweight division. Pablo Lavaselli has had the best year of the group, winning the Brazilian Nationals in early May. Queixinho has had the most success at American Nationals, winning the event on multiple occasions with and without the gi. Although we didn’t see Michael Liera Jr. compete in any of the major tournaments in 2022, he’s always a contender for the top spot on the podium any time he enters a tournament. The Pan and European Champion will once again look to put his elite guard skills to the test against some of the best lightweights in the world.

Adult Male Light-Feather

The adult male light-feather division includes Carlos “Bebeto” Oliveira, Lucas Pinheiro, and Keven Carrasco, among others. Bebeto is currently the 5th ranked light-featherweight in the World. His biggest competitive achievement in 2022 was a Pans gold medal, where he defeated current rooster weight World Champion Thalison Soares in the final. Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s Lucas Pinheiro is also a Pan champion, winning the event in 2020. He’s also won the American Nationals before and will look to add another gold to his collection this weekend. Keven Carrasco of Ares BJJ is another top contender in the light-feather division. His biggest achievement in 2022 was winning the Dallas Open, defeating both Bebeto and Lucas Pinheiro on his way to the top spot on the podium.

Adult Female Feather

2019 black belt World Champion Tammi Musumeci will compete at American Nationals straight off her silver medal at the 2022 Worlds. In her division are No-Gi World Champion Pati Fontes, Larissa Campos of Gracie Humaita, and Joelly Lobato of Nova Uniao. Whenever Tammi steps on the mat, you can expect to see her creative guard that focuses on back attacks leading to submission. She’ll have to win two matches to take gold in the gi.

Adult Male Feather

The featherweight division includes two athletes who have taken gold at American Nationals in years past. Kennedy Maciel won the division in 2019 and Josh Cisneros won in 2020. Kennedy’s best performance so far this year came in Sao Paulo at the Brazilian Nationals. He defeated Sam Nagai and Diego Sodre to advance to the final against Fabricio Andrey. Although Kennedy lost the match on points, the result was impressive due to the high level of his opponents. Josh Cisernos started his black belt career off with a bang, winning the 2020 Pans shortly after his promotion. After going 1-1 at the 2022 Worlds, Cisneros will be hungry for his second American Nationals title. Danilo Moreira, who recently took gold at the Denver Open with three submissions, is also slated to compete at featherweight.

Adult Female Middle

Raquel Canuto of CheckMat and Elisabeth Clay of Ares are registered in compete in the middleweight division. Raquel is a No-Gi World Champion and will look to add an American Nationals gold to her collection. Rounding out the division are Gloria Ruiz and Anna Kemper. In the gi Raquel has stood on the podium at the World Championships. Although she has yet to take gold at the event, she’s put on some great performances, proving that she’s capable of taking gold at any tournament. Elisabeth Clay won double gold at the 2021 American Nationals. After winning the medium-heavy division, she entered the open class, defeating Janaina Maia in the final.

Adult Male Middle

Marcio Andre, Manuel Ribamar, Alexandre Molinaro, and Thiago Macedo are all registered for middleweight at the 2022 American Nationals. While Ribamar and Molinaro are often competing at middle, Marcio and Thiago Macedo are more commonly found competing at featherweight and/or lightweight. Marcio has won more major titles than anyone in the division, including the No-Gi Worlds and the Europeans. He’ll look to add American Nationals gold to his long list of accomplishments. Manuel Ribamar has also won gold at No-Gi Worlds and Europeans. He won American Nationals in 2018, defeating Gabriel Rocha in the final.

Adult Male Medium-Heavy

Another division that includes multiple high ranked contenders is medium-heavy. Ronaldo Junior of Atos Jiu-Jitsu won American Nationals gold as a middleweight in 2020. He’ll be joined by Atos teammate Jonnatas Gracie, Gutheirry Barbosa of Carlson Gracie Team, and Mateus Rodrigues of AOJ. Ronaldo and Jonnatas both placed third at the 2022 World Championships, dropping matches to World Champions Tainan Dalpra and Mica Galvao, respectively.

No-Gi Divisions to Watch

Adult Male Medium-Heavy

The medium-heavy no gi division at American Nationals will be one filled with plenty of high pace action. 2019 No-Gi World Champion Dante Leon of Pedigo Submission Fighting will look for his second American National No-Gi title. Dante won the middleweight division in 2017. Another 2019 No-Gi World Champion in the division is Manuel Ribamar. He’ll look for his first American National No-Gi title. Detroit Jiu-Jitsu Syndicate’s David Garmo had one of the best performances of his career at the 2020 American Nationals No-Gi, making it to the final of the open class division. His second place finish included all submissions up until the final.

Adult Male Light-Feather

The no-gi light-feather division includes Lucas Pinheiro and Carlos “Bebeto” Oliveira, who are also competing in the light-feather gi division. Lucas is a No-Gi Pan and No-Gi American National Champion while Bebeto is a 2021 No-Gi World Champion, making these competitors the most accomplished in the division. One Jiu-Jitsu’s Richard Alarcon took second to Lucas Pinheiro at the 2019 No-Gi American Nationals, and will look to show the improvements he’s made in his game since then.

Adult Female Open Class

The adult female no-gi open class has the potential to be a highly contested division. Tammi Musumeci, Nicole Sullivan, Elisabeth Clay, Raquel Canuto, Amy Campo, and Mayara Custodio are all signed up for no-gi. Elisabeth Clay of Ares is a 2021 No-Gi World Champion and open class silver medalist, so she’ll be one of the front runners for open class gold. Amy Campo was promoted to black belt following a double gold medal performance at the 2021 Worlds as a brown belt. She competed at the 2022 Worlds as a black belt and had a great run in the open, ultimately losing to Gabrieli Pessanha in the final via decision. Raquel Canuto is a three-time No-Gi World Champion and, despite her size disadvantage, is definitely a top contender should she sign up for the open.

Adult Male Light

The no-gi lightweight division includes some competitors from the gi division and other notable contenders. Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho, Gabriel Silva, and AJ Agazarm will all be competing in the lightweight gi division the day before and will also compete without the gi. Zachary LeCates of Serra BJJ and Denadre Corbe of Standard Jiu-Jitsu also joined the division in search of no-gi gold.

CheckMat Aims for Repeat of 2021

At the 2021 American Nationals, CheckMat took home both gi and no-gi titles. In the gi, the team scored nearly double the points of Gracie Barra, who came in second. They’ll be bringing many black belts in both gi and no-gi, including Gabriel Silva, Pati Fontes, Lavinia Barbosa, Jackson Douglas, Mayara Custodio, Raquel Canuto, and Thamires Monteiro, among others. CheckMat placed fifth for adult males and sixth for adult females at the 2022 World Championships, rankings they’ll look to improve upon this weekend.

Returning American National Champions

Many of the competitors signed up for American Nationals are quite familiar with the event, having won gold medals in previous editions. Lightweight Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho has won American Nationals both with and without the gi on multiple occasions. Elisabeth Clay has won not only her weight class, but also the open class at the event. Other competitors who have won American Nationals in prior years include Fellipe Andrew, Haisam Rida, Carlos “Bebeto” Oliveira, Josh Cisneros, Kennedy Maciel, and Ronaldo Junior.

Colored Belts to Watch

In addition to the world class black belts that will be competing in Vegas, there will also be a number of highly talented colored belts looking to climb their way to the top of their respective divisions. Cole Abate (No-Gi, purple belt, lightweight), Carlos Henrique (Gi and No-Gi, brown belt, lightweight), Shelby Murphey (Gi, purple belt, light-feather), Mourece Ramirez (Gi and No-Gi, brown belt, featherweight), Steffen Banta (Gi and No-Gi, brown belt, super/ultra-heavy), Sophia Magana (Gi and No-Gi, purple belt, light-feather), Rui Alves (Gi and No-Gi, brown belt, medium-heavy), and Rerisson dos Santos Gabriel (Gi, purple belt, featherweight) will all be competing at American Nationals.