Dive in the story of the two twin brothers who used to train in a makeshift academy and made it all the way to the top of the Jiu-Jitsu rankings. João and Paulo Miyao are the epitome of focus, hard work and barely no talking. They love what they do and they do it everyday. You will also learn four attacks they set up using the berimbolo.

Read an exclusive interview with UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm, as she reflects on the fight that changed her life and projects her future. And also: the 2016 European, nutrition facts, healthy recipes, judo lessons, Martin Rooney, the story of the 1996 Pan and our GMA members in action at the Pan Kids.

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Our cameras were there to register the thrilling action, so here are 104 instants of great Jiu-Jitsu being displayed.

Coverage brought to you by Gameness.

Andresa vs. Mackenzie

Felipe Pena and Andresa Correa are the 2016 European black belt open class champions.

Pena closed out the male division with his Professor Romulo Barral, after the two finished all their opponents this Saturday.

In the female division, Andresa Correa was successful in her strategy to shut down Mackenzie Dern’s fast-paced game to win 2-0 after a sweep early in the match.

Barral vs. Pena

The other black belt champions were:

Female

Mackenzie Dern finished Yasmine Wilson with a toe hold for the featherweight title.

Dern vs. Wilson

Andresa Correa completed her double-gold campaign with a leg lock on Karolina Zawodnik for the medium-heavy title.

Correa vs. Zawodnik

Ewelyn Arruda beat Venla Luukkonen 4-2 for the superheavy title.

Arruda vs. Luukkonen

Kristina Barlaan caught Ariadne Oliveira with a bow and arrow choke for the lightfeatherweight gold medal.

Barlaan vs. Oliveira

Jessica Cristina beat Laurence Cousin 3-2 on advantages on the lightweight final.

Jessica vs. Cousin

Luiza Monteiro caught Amanda Loewen with a leg lock for the middleweight title.

Monteiro vs. Loewen

Male

Caio terra beat Koji Shibamoto 4-3 on advantages for the roosterweight title.

Terra vs. Shibamoto

João Miyao took the lightfeather title after close out with teammate Hiago George.

Miyao vs. George

Marcio Andre beat Paulo Miyao by split refs decision after a 1-1 tie on advantages at the featherweight final.

Andre vs. Miyao

Yago de Souza is the middleweight champion after a 2-0 win over Alan Finfou.

Souza vs. Finfou

Gabriel Arges is the mediumheavy champion after a close out with Romulo Barral.

Barral vs. Arges

Jackson Sousa beat Felipe Bueno 10-0 for the heavyweight title.

Sousa vs. Bueno

Michael Liera beat Alex Cabanes 8-6 for the lightweight title.

Liera vs. Cabanes

Erberth Santos beat Lucio Lagarto 8-2 for the superheavy title.

Santos vs. Rodrigues

Pedro Moura beat Luke Costello 5-0 for the ultraheavy gold medal.

Moura vs. Costello

Also this Sunday, the brown belt division crowned its champions.

The two standouts were Tayane Porfirio and Nicholas Meregali.

Porfirio vs. Alencar

Tayane Porfirio won both the superheavy division and the open class.

In the absolute, she defeated Talita Alencar 5-0 for the gold medal.

in the male division, Meregali finished second in the heavyweight division and came back to win the open class.

Meregali vs. Junior

In the final, he beat Helton Junior by refs decision.

In the teams competition, Alliance won the adult division (male and female), Gracie Barra won the Masters and the Novice and Zenith BJJ won the juvenile division.

Click here for the complete results.

Felipe Pena vs. Erberth Santos

The finalists for the adult black belt open class division have been set after a day of thrills in Lisbon.

In the male open class, Romulo Barral and Felipe Pena will most probably close out the final.

Barral fought four times this Saturday and finished all his opponents with chokes.

The leader of Gracie Barra Northridge first choked Andreas Perales from the mount, then Daniel Cobb and Patrick Santos from the half guard.

In the semifinal, Rominho had a tough match against Jackson Sousa, but ended up choking the opponent from the back.

Rominho vs. Jackson Sousa

On the other side of the bracket, Pena started his run choking Josh Hinger from the back, then he did the same with Manuel Oliveira. The quartefinal match was against Alan Finfou, also choked from the back.

The semifinal against Erberth Santos was the most thrilling match of the day. Pena was able to resist a nasty armbar and then went on to get a bow and arrow choke in place with seconds left on the clock.

Mackenzie vs. Olga Lyashevska

In the female division, Mackenzie Dern had three matches and finished all her opponents.

She first caught Maria Dolores with a toe hold in 19s, then an omoplata on Venla Luukkonen in 56s and finally another toe hold on Olga Lyashevska in 1:32.

On the other side of the bracket, Andresa Correa was also merciless against her opponents. She first caught Paula Almeida with a leg lock, then beat Shanti Abelha 9-0 and finally caught Luiza Monteiro in another leg lock.

Andresa vs. Luiza Monteiro

The finals go down this Sunday, after all the black belt weight classes play out.

Coverage brought to you by Gameness.

Here are the best images of the open class division.

Day 3 of the 2016 European championship was all filled with the master blue and purple belt divisions.

For almost 12 hours, athletes over 30 years old gave their all on the mats to see who would come out on top.

At the end of the day, all champions were crowned in another awesome display of technique and love for the gentle art.

Click here for the partial results after three days of actions.

Day 4 kicks off this Saturday at 9AM and the highlight will be the male and female black belt open class divisions.

Both start at 2:30PM.

Follow the complete coverage at GRACIEMAG on Instagram.

Here is a photo gallery with some of the best images of this Friday in Lisbon.

Coverage brought to you by Gameness.

Day 1 of the 2016 European championship

The 2016 European championship opened this wednesday, Jan. 20, at the state-of-the-art Pavilhão Multiusos de Odivelas.

White belts and blue belts took to the 10 mats to display their skills and passion for Jiu-Jitsu.

As the newcomers gave their all, Professors like Braulio and Victor Estima, Roger Gracie, among others, coached from the black belt area.

Day 1 spammed for over 10 hours of Jiu-Jitsu before lights out.

Day 2 kicks off at 9AM (Lisbon time) this Thursday.

It will feature the remainder of the adult blue belt divisions and the purple belt division, including the male and female open classes for both belt colors.

For more info, go to ibjjf.org.

Coverage brought to you by Gameness.

Here is a quick photo gallery of day 1.

After the registration deadline, we can now take a look at the black belt divisions to see what great matches are in store for us.

Here are the highlights.

Roosterweight

Caio Terra vs. Koji Shibamoto: Terra is going for his third title in the black belt division in Lisbon. If they meet again, they will repeat the 2014 final, won by Caio. Shibamoto is also a European champion, as he won the roosterweight in 2012.

Featherweight

Paulo Miyao vs. Marcio Andre: Andre is the reigning champion, as he beat Gianni Grippo in 2015. Miyao moved up from the light-featherweight and if they meet should be a sight to see. The division also features newcomer to the black belt Isaac Doederlein and Brian Mahecha.

Lightweight

Michael Liera Jr. at the Atos JJ Camp

Edwin Najmi vs. Michael Liera vs. Mansher Khera: Yes, that’s right. All three names combined are a recipe for great thrills. They represent a talented new generation of black belts coming out of the USA and making waves in the competition circuit.

Middleweight

Lucas Barbosa

Lucas Barbosa vs. Alan do Nascimento: a generational clash between the Atos newcomer and the Checkmat experienced black belt. The division also has great names in Oliver Geddes, Darragh O’Çonaill and Charles Negromonte.

Medium-heavy 

Romulo Barral Photo: Ivan Trindade.

Romulo Barral vs. Patrick Gaudio: Barral is the clear favorite here, but Gaudio also has very good credentials coming in the division.

Heavyweight

PENA VS. SOUSA

Felipe Pena vs. Jackson Sousa: they just met at the heavyweight final of the Worlds No-Gi, when Pena came out on top. This time, with the gi, who knows what could happen.

Superheavy

Lucio Lagarto

Lucio Rodrigues vs. Erberth Santos: in another generational battle, Lagarto wants to keep his impressive record at the European. he is the only black belt to have won medals in all but three of the event’s editions, since 2004. If he wins again, this is going to be his 6th title in Lisbon.

Open Class

Romulo Barral vs. André Galvão: This should be the highlight of the highlights. A true all-time classic with two of the greatest competitors off all times. Galvão just beat Barral in a no-gi event in Russia, so Barral is looking for a payback. Let’s just hope the two sign up for the absolute.

Female

Middleweight

Luanna Alzuguir

Luanna Alzuguir vs. Luiza Monteiro: Traditional rivals, Luanna and Luiza should put a great show for the crowd. In fact, the middleweight division is the highlight of the female division (with the exception of the open class).

Open class

Mackenzie Dern

Mackenzie Dern vs. Andresa Correa: Maybe they will repeat the Worlds No-Gi final. Luanna, Luiza, Shanti Abelha, Sarah Black and Kristina Barlaan could also be in the mix.

Follow the complete coverage of the 2016 European on GRACIEMAG’s social media channels and right here at GRACIEMAG.com

Coverage brought to you by Gameness.

The growth of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu around the world is continuous and seemingly impossible to be stopped.

The IBJJF just confirmed the 2016 European championship as a five-day event, on January 20-24.

The pre-schedule was updated this Tuesday, after the closing of the registration period this Monday.

The event reached the impressive mark of 3,517 athletes registered.

If that number is confirmed, the 2016 European will become the biggest IBJJF event of all times.

if you are registered, check your name on the athletes list and know that if there’s any mistake, the registration check day in January 16.

Click here to know more.

Coverage brought to you by Gameness .

Here’s the pre-schedule.

Wednesday:
White adult
White master 1 and 2
Blue adult male – Rooster to Light

Thursday:
Blue adult male – Middle to Open Class
Blue adult female
Purple adult male
Purple adult female

Friday:
Blue master 1 to 6
Purple master 1 to 6

Saturday:
White juvenile
Blue juvenile
Purple juvenile
Black master 1 to 6
Black adult male open class
Black adult female open class
Brown master 1 to 6

Sunday:
Black adult male – Rooster to Ultra Heavy and Open Class Final
Black adult female – Rooster to Super Heavy and Open Class Final
Brown adult male
Brown adult female

The registration deadline for the 2016 European championship is this Monday, January 11.

As a matter of fact, it’s most likely that the full capacity will be reached before the clock strikes midnight, as we are over the 90% mark.

Click here to register now and compete on January 20*-24, in Lisbon, Portugal.

Here are seven things that make the annual stoppage at the beautiful city of Lisbon such a particular occasion in the Jiu-Jitsu calendar.

The coverage of the 2016 European is brought to you by Gameness. Click here for great offers.

1. The crowd

The bleachers in Lisbon are always full and the crowd is not shy in being a huge part of the show. They cheer, they boo and they applaud great moments on the mats. Gabi Garcia said last year that meeting the crowd in Lisbon is one of her favorite things in Jiu-Jitsu. André Galvão was cheered in every single match during last year’s edition.

2. Location, location, location

Lisbon has all the great things you would expect from a major European capital, but without having to pay for Paris or London prices. The food is amazing, it’s not that cold, the people is super friendly and there are a lot of great sights to be visited in your free time. Brazilians love it to go there because they speak the same language as the locals (well, almost), so everybody is happy.

3. History

Since 2004, the European championship has been the setting for some of the most touching moments in Jiu-Jitsu history. In 2005, it was in Lisbon that Roger Gracie and Ronaldo Jacaré met for the first time after the famous armbar final at the 2004 Worlds. In 2009, Kron Gracie fought and won the middleweight division hours after learning that his grandfather Helio Gracie had passed away in Brazil. Kron’s celebration after the final win was one of the most touching moments ever. In 2013, Alan “Finfou” Nascimento brought the entire venue to tears when he returned the black belt Fernando Tererê had once sold to him while battling drug addiction.

4. Annual reunion 

The European championship is the first event of the calendar and also the moment of reunion for the Jiu-Jitsu community after the holiday break. Other than that, it’s the largest gathering for the BJJ people in Europe and so they come from all over the continent and beyond to celebrate the art they all love.

5. Surprise!

The European championship has also been the stage for some of the most surprising moments in Jiu-Jitsu history. Featherweight Mario Reis won the open class division in 2006 and still is the lightest competitor to have that title. Alex Trans broke the Brazilian domination in 2014, when he became the first European-native to win the open class gold medal. In 2013, Keenan Cornelius had two thrilling battles with the Miyao brothers before winning the brown belt open class division. What thrills can we expect from 2016?

Nicolini vs. Dern at the 2015 European

If you are thinking of signing up for the 2016 European, know that you have only one more week to do it.

The final deadline is next Monday, January 11, and the IBJJF warns that full capacity may be reached before that date.

Don’t miss out on being part of the first major event of the 2016 calendar and register now.

The 2016 European takes place january 20-25, in Lisbon Portugal.

Click here for more info and to register now.

Watch the female featherweight final between Michelle Nicolini and Mackenzie Dern, in 2015.

In 2014, Danish Alex Trans did something no had ever done before (or since for all that matter).

He became the first European native to win the adult black belt open class division of the European Championship.

He did that after a tough final against Yuri Simões.

GRACIEMAG was matside and taped the whole match.

Click play and what how Trans achieved the most important title of his career so far.

Remember to register for the 2016 European, schedule once again in Lisbon, Portugal, on January 20-24.

The final deadline is January 11, but you have to hurry once it’s common for the event to fill up before the final date.

Click here to register now.

The 2016 European is right around the corner and should not wait too long to register for the event.

The final deadline for signing up is January 11 and the event is scheduled January 20*-24.

Remember that the European is one of the few 4-star events in the IBJJF calendar, which means you will add valorous points if you are a black belt competing in the adult division and needs 50 pts to qualify for the 2016 Worlds.

This year’s edition will be the first one in a long time at a new venue in the city of Lisbon, Portugal.

Click here for more info and to register right now.