On Sunday, November 19th, the jiu-jitsu community witnessed a historic moment in the sport's history at the Pyramid in Long Beach, California. The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation hosted the inaugural edition of "The Crown," an event that was years in the making. Six champions were crowned in an event that featured world-class jiu-jitsu with amazing sweeps, guard passes, and submissions.

Luiza Monteiro Becomes First Ever Crown Champion

The women’s lightweight division at the Crown was one that was very hard to predict, as the majority of the athletes had both wins and losses over one another heading into the event. It was the experience, poise, and technique of Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s Luiza Monteiro, however, that prevailed. Her first match was against Brianna Ste-Marie, the only competitor that had beaten Luiza this year. It was a close match, but Luiza was able to utilize her sweeping game to defeat Brianna by a score of 6-2. On the other side of the bracket, Nathalie Ribeiro got the win over Janaina Lebre in one of the best matches of the night, earning her spot in the final. Luiza opened up her match with Natalie with a sweep. She defended Nathalie's submission and sweep attempts and took the back off of a near guard pass. Luiza would go on to turn the back position into the mount, building her lead to 12-0 after a late sweep and securing the Crown in the first final of the night.

Tainan Turns In Another Electrifying Performance At Middleweight

2X World Champion Tainan Dalpra put on one of the best performances of The Crown. In his semifinal match, Tainan faced Six Blade’s Pedro Maia for the fourth time in his black belt career. Pedro has always been one of Tainan’s toughest opponents, and proved once again that his jiu-jitsu is world-class. Tainan came away with the victory via a sweep, and although he wasn’t completely satisfied with the result, the win put him in The Crown middleweight final. Andy Murasaki won his semifinal match against Mauricio Oliveira on the other side of the bracket, setting up a rematch of the 2022 Worlds middleweight final. Tainan pulled guard and Andy initiated a long step over the de la riva side of Tainan’s guard, a move he’s executed many times successfully in competition. Tainan was prepared, however, and countered the pass attempt with a triangle, getting the submission in the final to climb atop the middleweight throne.

Sam Nagai Outpoints Two World Champions To Win The Crown

CheckMat’s Sam Nagai won his first major black belt title this year, and it came at the World Championships. He entered The Crown’s featherweight division as one of four World Champions and had a very difficult road to the title. His first match was against 2X World Champion Diego Pato, who moved up from his usual light featherweight division. Pato proved in this match why he has one of the best guards in the world, using his lasso to fend off the always dangerous guard passes of Nagai. Sam and Pato traded sweeps throughout the match, but it was two advantages from ankle lock attempts from Sam that ultimately broke the tie and propelled him to the final, where he met his biggest rival so far at black belt in Isaac Doederlein. The match against Isaac was razor close. After a double guard pull, Sam took the top position and earned an advantage. Isaac used a variety of positions from bottom to try to off balance and attack Sam, but Sam's base proved to be too strong. The match ended 2-2, 3-2 advantages in favor of Nagai, who's top game and defense made the difference in the match. 

Gabrieli Pessanha Continues To Make History

With a combined 11 black belt World titles between the athletes in the bracket, the women’s super heavyweight division at The Crown was absolutely stacked with incredible athletes. For the past two and a half years, Gabrieli Pessanha has dominated the competition, winning two consecutive double Grand Slams and asserting herself as one of the greatest competitors of all time. 2023 World Champion Amy Campo, 2X World Champion Melissa Stricker, and 2X World Champion Tayane Porfirio were well prepared coming into The Crown, but it was Gabrieli who reigned supreme once again. Her first match was a rematch of the 2022 Worlds absolute final against Amy Campo. Like their first match, Gabrieli pulled guard and played the bottom position. She utilized her closed guard to great effect throughout the match, using it to set up an early armlock attack that earned her an advantage, the only score of the match. Tayane Porfirio scored an impressive submission victory over Melissa Stricker on the other side of the bracket to meet Gabrieli in a much anticipated showdown, as Gabrieli and Tayane had yet to cross paths on the IBJJF mats heading into The Crown. Gabrieli pulled guard again in the final, but it was her takedown abilities just over six minutes into the match that led to her breakthrough. After disengaging and going back to the feet, Gabrieli used a collar drag to score two points, a lead she’d hold onto until the time expired.

Erich Munis Wins Technical Battle With Roosevelt to Win Ultra Heavyweight Crown

2023 was a big year for Erich Munis. He not only won his third World title back in June, he also joined a new team in Fratres Jiu-Jitsu. Erich’s career at black belt has been nothing short of astounding, and his performance at The Crown was yet another example of why he’s been so successful on the mats. His only match of the event was against Roosevelt Sousa, as both athletes on the other side of the bracket were disqualified. It was Erich’s third time meeting Roosevelt at black belt and it was the third time the match was decided on advantages. The 3X World Champion showed control and poise as he swept and attempted to pass Roosevelt’s dangerous guard. The final score was 2-2 with five advantages to none for Erich.

If you didn’t get a chance to watch this historic event, be sure to catch all the replays on FloGrappling.