The Long Beach Pyramid at the 2014 Worlds

The final deadline for the 2016 World Jiu-Jitsu came and went. The black belt division is one of the most stacked in recent years. Almost all the big names are there, both men and women, and the list also shows a few surprises.

This Wednesday, May 25, was the day athletes could change their divisions or request their removal from the list. This Thursday, May 26, will be the time for Team leaders to make changes.

The registration check day is May 28. The brackets are scheduled to come out May 31st.

Here are a few interesting numbers after the deadline.

There are 194 male black belts registered, against 52 female black belts, totaling 246. The most populated male black belt division is the middleweight, with 34 names. The least populated male black belt division is the roosterweight, with 14 athletes.

In terms of names, the black belt division will feature almost all of the greatest competitors currently active. Rodolfo Vieira, now devoting himself to MMA and training at ATT in Florida, is the most notable name not on the list. Alexandre Ribeiro, seven times world champion and heavyweight gold medalist in 2015, is also out.

Another name not on the list is Mario Reis, in what would be his first absence since 2000. Mario has placed at least in third place at the Worlds since 2003, as a black belt. In the female division, Luanna Alzuguir and Ana Laura Cordeiro are the two most notable names not on the list.

Other than that, everybody is in, making the 2016 Worlds one of the most talent-stacked of recent years.

Bernardo Faria at the 2015 Worlds

Rooster: Bruno Malfacine, Caio Terra and João Miyao (who just moved down from light-featherweight) lead the roosterweight pack, which also includes Koji Shibamoto, Ivaniel Cavalcanti, Washington Lima and Tiago Barros, among others.

Lightfeather: Paulo Miyao is after his second gold medal. Michael Musumeci, roosterweight champion at the 2016 Pan, decided to move up. Isaac Doederlein, Gabriel Moraes, Milton Bastos, Rafael Freitas and Hiago George are also in the mix. Gianni Grippo and Ary Farias moved down from featherweight to join the party. There’s nowhere to run.

Feather: Rafael Mendes and Rubens Cobrinha are once again the favorites in the featherweight division. It’s Rafa’s 8th appearance in the black belt division and he’ll be fighting for his 6th title. Cobrinha is in his 11th appearance and he’ll be trying to tie the title count with Rafa at 5. The problem for both is that the division also features Marcio Andre, Osvaldo Moizinho, Samir Chantre, Bruno Frazzatto and more.

Light: Friends and teammates Lucas Lepri and Michael Langhi will try once again close things out at the lightweight, but it won’t be easy. JT Torres has the company of Michael Liera, Mansher Khera, Kevin Mahecha, Roberto Satoshi, AJ Agazarm, Edwin Najmi, Rafael Barbosa to spoil Alliance’s plans.

Middle: Champion Claudio Calasans Jr has 33 hungry opponents looking for his place on the top of the podium. Otavio Sousa,Yago Souza, Jon Satava, Dillon Danis, Vitor Oliveira, Gabriel Arges, Vitor Estima are the usual suspects. The division also features two surprising names. Lucas Leite is back to the weight class where he won his only world title, in 2007. Now a MMA fighter and usually a lightweight, Celso Venícius decided to enroll as a middleweight after a few years away.

Mike Musumeci

Medium-heavy: In another incredibly stacked division, champion Leandro Lo will have to fight his heart out to keep the title. Romulo Barral is going for his 6th gold medal while Keenan is after his first. There’s also Tarsis Humphreys, Matheus Diniz, Guto Campos, Murilo Santana, Lucas Barbosa and Gregor Gracie, among others.

Heavy: Felipe Pena and Andre Galvão could repeat the 2014 final, but first they’ll have to pass by some serious competition. Erberth Santos, Tim Spriggs, Jackson Sousa, Cassio Francis, Lucas Rocha, among others, are in the mix for some pretty awesome action.

Superheavy: Bernardo Faria will also have to work hard to defend his gold medal from the competition. Teammate Leo Nogueira will be there to help and maybe get a close out, like they did in 2012. Luiz Panza, Lucio Lagarto, Igor Silva, Alex Ceconi, Guybson Sá and Rodrigo Cavaca will do their best to steal the spotlight.

Ultraheavy: Marcus Buchecha is back to reclaim his place at the top of the podium, which he kept from 2012 to 2014. Buchecha’s teammate Gabriel Lucas, last year’s champion, for sure will do his best to stay where he is. Alex Trans, Roberto Abreu, João Gabriel Rocha and Mahamed Aly, among others, make the 2016 ultraheavy one of the toughest of all times.

Female  

The women will for sure put on a great show once again. All the champions are back to defend their titles.

Rooster: Rikako Yuasa won the lightfeather last year and is now at the roosterweight. Fellow Japanese Kanako Inaba and Sofia Amarante are also in the mix.

Lightfeather: Gezary Matuda won at the Pan, but Kristina Barlaan won at the European. The rubber match could happen in Long Beach, but Ariadne Oliveira also wants a piece of the pie.

Feather: Mackenzie Dern wants her second gold medal, while Michelle Nicolini wants her 9th in her goodbye run at the Worlds. Tammi Musumeci is still after her first. The presence of the three, among others. makes the featherweight one of the strongest divisions.

Dominyka Obelenyte at the 2016 Pan

Light: Bia Mesquita is the favorite to win her 5th gold medal at the weight class (her 7th in total). Sarah Black has been having great performances in the IBJJF open circuit and could be a big hurdle for Bia.

Middle: Another very stacked division includes Luiza Monteiro, Monique Elias, Shanti Abelha, Megan Nevill, among others. Luiza wants her second gold medal in a row, while Monique is still after her first one as a black belt.

Medium-heavy: Andresa Correa wants the grand slam and the gold medal at the Worlds is the only one missing after wins at the European, Pan and Brazilian Nationals. Sijara Eubanks is back after dedicating more to MMA in recent years. Leanna Dittrich and Gretchen Zoeller could also represent danger for Andresa.

 Heavy: Fernanda Mazzelli wants her third gold medal, but Vanessa Oliveira, Samela Lopes and Alison Tremblay will do their best to prevent that from happening.

Superheavy: Dominyka Obelenyte wants another double gold campaign, just like last year. The division used to feature the biggest surprise in the list. After being away for two years, now MMA fighter Gabi Garcia was registered to compete, but her name came out this Wednesday, May 25. World champion Talita Nogueira is now the biggest opponent to Obelenyte.

Click here to see the full list.

The coverage of the 2016 Worlds is brought to you by GAMENESS.

Roger vs. Buchecha, in 2012

Marcus Buchecha released a pen letter this Tuesday informing the Jiu-Jitsu community that his announced rematch against Roger Gracie at Metamoris 7, on July 17, is off.

The three-time black belt open class champion, who is getting ready for the 2016 Worlds, sent the following message to the press (translated to English from Portuguese).

“Unfortunately, there will not be a rematch with Roger Gracie on Metamoris 7. Actually, I never officially announced this match. It was announced before an agreement was signed. 

I appreciate your support and apologize for all of those who are let down by this news. Believe me, I am as disappointed as you are. I can easily say that I wanted this match as much as you wanted. I wanted to give fans another chance to see that match. Maybe, in the future we could have another opportunity to fight. 

I am now focused and working hard to be at the Pyramid once again on June 4 and 5 in search of another dream: to be world champion once again. Thank you all to all of those who always supported me and have been by my side throughout all I have been through this past year. I can now say that I am back. 

I take this opportunity to congratulate Roger Gracie for his first MMA belt, as always showcasing the efficiency of our art in MMA.”

Roger Gracie confirmed to GRACIEMAG.com that with Buchecha off, he has no interest on fighting anyone else.

“I’m out! There’s nobody else for me to fight. i want to dedicate myself 100% to MMA now.”

Metamoris has yet to announce a new main event for the July 17 event, in Los Angeles.

Bernardo Faria at the 2015 Worlds

Bernardo Faria had a dream-like 2015 world championship, one year ago.

He submitted all but one of his opponents on his way to a double gold campaign and his first black belt open class title.

One year later, the champion is working hard to keep his place on top of the Jiu-Jitsu food chain with his teammates and students at Marcelo Garcia’s academy, in New York City.

He took some time to talk exclusively with the GRACIEMAG.com

GRACIEMAG.COM: Compared to the 2015 Worlds, how prepare are you to the 2016 Worlds? How are you going to arrive in Long Beach in terms of technique and physical conditioning?

Bernardo Faria: I tried to do practically the same thing I did before the 2015 Worlds. I have 10 training sessions per week, divided in seven Jiu-Jitsu sessions, two physical conditioning sessions and one wrestling session. I feel great. Ten days before the 2015 Pan, I injured one of my ribs and that’s why I competed only in the open class. Now, I am 100% recovered and feeling great. I am also very happy. The fact that I already won the open class once gives me a good baggage and add to my confidence going in. I feel less of a pressure that comes with never having won the open class. In fact I wanted the tournament to come sooner. There’s still two weeks to go and that’s when it gets dangerous, once you are already ready to go, but you cannot stop training and that’s when you can get hurt.

Bernardo Faria at the 2015 Worlds

GRACIEMAG.COM: For the first time in your career, you’ll compete at the Worlds as the reigning black belt open class champion. How is your mindset to compete in the pyramid?

I felt more pressure before I won last year. I don’t see the fact that I am the current champion as more pressure, but rather as a motivation. I feel more relaxed now. I’ll be there with the same desire to win I always have. I don’t know for how long I’ll be able to compete as I don’t know for how long I’ll be able to take this competitor’s life, but until I stop I will give my best. So that in the future, when I look back, I’ll be able to see that I gave my best to conquer all I could conquer. So it’s a motivation to win a second time. I may win and I may loose, so it’s all a big motivation for me.

GRACIEMAG.COM: The 2016 Worlds could be one of the most stacked of the recent times. The open class alone could gather names like yourself, Buchecha, Pena, Trans, Lo, Keenan, Erberth, Mahamed, Galvão, Barral, etc. How do you plan to beat all of those tough guys and keep your title?

Honestly, I don’t think a lot about the opponents. There are at least 15 very tough guys, but even if you go all the way to become the open class champion, you are not going to compete against all of them. You’ll fight three, four or five tops. So, at this moment I am thinking about myself, about my training and the techniques I still struggle with. Whenever I see someone doing a position I think I could have trouble with, I work on that. I’ll think about the opponents when the open class bracket comes out, and even then I’ll worry with one opponent at at time. I’ll take one step at a time. In every competition, my mindset is humble in a way that I know I could be finished in my first match, but confident in a way that I know I could win it all. I’m always humble and confident at the same time.

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 World championship.

The deadline is May 24.

Click here to sign up know.

Once again, Brazil’s Demian Maia came and went from the UFC octagon with a clean face.

Against Matt Brown, at UFC 198, this Saturday, in Curitiba, the black belt was able to take the fight to the ground and finish with an RNC.

Click play and watch it.

After the fight, Demian once again campaigned a title shot for the welterweight belt.

The IBJJF wrapped up the 2016 Miami International Open this Saturday, in Florida.

Roberto Cyborg and Melissa Bentley were the standouts double gold campaigns in the adult black belt division.

Cyborg won the ultraheavy division after a final against Jollyson da Silva and then closed out the open class with his student Ricardo Rezende.

In the female division, Melissa beat Marie Fanton in the lightweight final and then defeated Fiona Watson in the absolute.

Here are the full results for the adult black belt division.

BLACK / Adult / Male / Feather

First – Ary de Melo Farias – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Jose Gabriel Gallardo – Alliance Ecuador

Third – Christopher M. Kriebel – Nova União

Third – Rodrigo Batista de Lima – American Top Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light

First – Kevin Javier Mahecha – American Top Team

Second – Matias Simonelli – Alliance SP

Third – Victor Figueiredo Genovesi – Alliance RJ

Third – Gabriel Rodrigues A. Goulart – Alliance Los Angeles

BLACK / Adult / Male / Middle

First – Arthur Dominick Sousa III – GF Team

Second – Lucas Benévolo Valle – Infight Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Marcel Goulart Cubel Gonçalves – Fight Sports

Third – Jaime Soares Canuto – GF Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy

First – Jurandir Vieira da Conceição – G13 BJJ

Second – Ricardo de Souza de Rezende – Fight Sports

Third – Victor Silverio Santos – GF Team

Third – Gregor de Carvalho Rangel Gracie – Gracie Elite Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Heavy

First – Ruan Marques de Oliveira – Soul Fighters BJJ

Second – Vitor Fabio Martins Toledo – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Rayce Neidzwiecki – Balance

Third – Vitor Moscon Schlosser – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

BLACK / Adult / Male / Super Heavy

First – Rodrigo Martins Ribeiro da Silva – G13 BJJ

Second – Lincoln Jeferson Pereira – Gracie Elite Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy

First – Roberto de Abreu Filho – Fight Sports

Second – Jollyson Francino B. da Silva – Fabin Rosa Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Francisco Grisolia Santoro – GF Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Open Class

First – Roberto de Abreu Filho – Fight Sports

Second – Ricardo de Souza de Rezende – Fight Sports

Third – Victor Silverio Santos – GF Team

Third – Ruan Marques de Oliveira – Soul Fighters BJJ

BLACK / Adult / Female / Light Feather

First – Fiona M. Watson – Notorious Mixed Martial Arts

BLACK / Adult / Female / Light

First – Melissa Bentley – Carlson Gracie Team

Second – Marie Fanton – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Female / Open Class

First – Melissa Bentley – Carlson Gracie Team

Second – Fiona M. Watson – Notorious Mixed Martial Arts

In the teams’ competition, results were:

1 – Carlson Gracie Team – 376

2 – American Top Team – 269

3 – Fight Sports – 235

Click here for the full results.

In this technique he taught on GM 219, he does just that when he defends a guillotine and then goes for the back take.

Read all Tonon had to say on GM 230.

Get your copy or subscribe now at GRACIEMAGSHOP.com.

A video posted by GRACIEMAG | English Edition | (@graciemagazine) on May 13, 2016 at 6:31pm PDT

Mahamed Aly at the 2015 Worlds

Every year the black belt division gets a boost of talent as brown belts get promoted and add even more hardship to the game.

The 2016 world championship will be no exception, as a bunch of the best brown belts in 2015 will be registered for the black belt division.

We have highlighted 8 of these newcomers, but there are many more out there.

Here we go.

Michael Musumeci Jr. 

Mike Musumeci

The 2015 brown belt light-featherweight world champion has already debuted in the black belt division in great fashion. Looking incredibly thin, he signed up for the roosterweight division at the 2016 Pan and made it to the top of the podium. For the 2016 Worlds, Mikey and his sister Tammi have moved to California to train with Gui and Rafa Mendes at AOJ Academy, which should generate some great results. Mikey is signed up for the roosterweight once again, but maybe going up to light-feather is his best chance to win another gold medal for Team USA, which doesn’t happen in the male division since 2007.

Edwin Najmi

Edwin Najmi

Just like Musumeci, Najmi won his division (lightweight) at the 2015 Worlds. After getting his black belt, he struck gold for the first time at the 2016 Pan, with a beautiful Estima lock on Francisco Iturralde. The 2016 Worlds black belt lightweight division will be a true mine field, with Lucas Lepri, Michael Langhi, AJ Agazarm, JT Torres, etc. Najmi is another big talent to make things even more complicated.

Yago Souza

Yago Souza

Another PSLPB Cicero Costha talent, Yago Souza closed out the brown belt middleweight division in 2015 with his teammate Manuel Ribamar Filho. Then, he got his black belt and already did great at the 2016 European and the 2016 Pan, wining the middleweight division both in Lisbon and Irvine. It should interesting to see Yago going against the likes of Otavio Sousa, Claudio Calasans Jr, Victor Estima and Vitor Oliveira, just to name a few.

Guilherme Soares

Guilherme Soares

The 2015 brown belt open class runner-up also transitioned to the black belt and has already made his presence felt. He finished third in the heavyweight division at the 2016 Pan and won the same division at the recent 2016 Brazilian Nationals. The heavyweight division with the likes of Tim Spriggs, André Galvão, Erberth Santos, Jackson Souza, among others should be a great challenge for the newcomer.

Mahamed Aly

Mahamed Aly

The double gold campaign at the 2015 Worlds puts some pressure on Aly for his first Worlds as a black belt. Already registered in the ultra-heavy division, Mahamed should encounter some big competition, including Alex Trans, Marcus Buchecha, Gabriel Lucas, João Gabriel Rocha, among others.

Gabriel Arges

Gabriel Arges

Another talent coming out of Romulo Barral’s lineage, Arges finished third at the brown belt middleweight division of the 2015 Worlds. As a black belt, he did great at the 2015 Irvine Open and then travelled to Lisbon for another great showing at the 2016 European, closing out the medium-heavy division with his Professor Barral.

Mansher Khera

Mansher Khera

Fresh out of Marcelo Garcia’s talent factory, Khera (and his teammate Jon Satava) will be making his first appearance at the Worlds as a black belt. They could have done it last year, but they did not have time to add up the 50pts necessary to qualify after being promoted. Khera is signed up for the lightweight division while Satava is registered for the middleweight.

Lucas Barbosa

Lucas Barbosa at the 2015 Worlds NoGi

The Hulk won the brown belt medium-heavy division at the 2016 Worlds. After getting his black belt, he jumped right into the mix and managed some big results. most importantly the medium-heavy division at the 2015 Worlds No-Gi. Just recently, he won the medium-heavy division at the 2016 Las Vegas Open. Lucas should be another big hurdle at the medium-heavy in Long Beach.

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 world championship before May 24.

Click here to sign up now.

Roger Gracie. Photos: One FC

Roger Gracie won his first MMA belt this past weekend, when he finished Michal Pasternack for the One FC light-heavyweight title, in Singapore.

After returning to London to celebrate with friends and family, Roger took the time to talk exclusively with GRACIEMAG.com.

First he talked about the meaning of having won the belt.

“It’s right up there with my most important titles in Jiu-Jitsu. I was feeling very well prepared for this fight and I am really proud of how dominant I was able to be during the match,” said the Gracie about the katagatami finish that earned him the win.

Roger finishes Pasternack with a katagatami

Roger also spoke about how his skill set has changed since he started out his MMA career.

“At first, I didn’t feel comfortable at all with my striking, so my only option was to take the fight to the ground. Nowadays, specially on my last four fights, I’m much more comfortable with my striking skills, so I don’t feel obligated to take my fights to the ground.”

In closing, Roger told us what he wants for his future.

“The light-heavyweight is not my original division at One FC, but as they offered me a title fight, I accepted. After the fight, I challenged the middleweight champion,Vitaly Bigdash, for the middleweight belt. I believe my next fight will be against him.”

Four times world champion Rubens Cobrinha drops in once again to teach another crafty way to finish your opponent.

This time, he explains the workings of an armbar using the kimura grip.

Hit play and add this technique to your game.

Dominyka Obelenyte

In a sea of Brazilians, a little more than a handful of American black belts have written their names in world championship history. The competition was always very hard, but they have strived to be among the best. Here’s a brief reminder of how they got to the top.

BJ Penn

The Prodigy’s story at the Worlds started really in 1998, when a certain Jay Penn finished second in the blue belt featherweight division. As a matter of fact, that year, the spotlight was directed to BJ’s brother, Reagan, who won six matches and conquered the lightweight division of the blue belt. Two years later, already a black belt and now part of Nova União, BJ made history when he became the first American to win an adult male black belt division at the Worlds. in the final, he beat Edson Diniz 5-0 with a sweep and a guard pass. It would take five years for another American to repeat Penn’s accomplishment.

Robert Drysdale

Born in Provo, Utah, in 1981, Drysdale moved to his mother’s home country of Brazil when he was just six years old. It is true that Drysdale did all his training in Brazil since he was 17, but that does not erase the fact that he is a natural born American. In 2005, he became the second man born in the USA to win a gold medal at the adult black belt division of the Worlds. he won the heavyweight division after a final against Fernando Marques. Drysdale went on to have one of the most accomplished careers in history.

Rafael Lovato Jr.

Lovato became the third American man to win a black belt division at the Worlds when he beat Luiz Theodoro in the ultra-heavyweight final in 2007. A black belt under the Ribeiro brothers, Lovato is also a No-Gi world champion, among several other accolades. He is also the only male American to hold a gold medal in the black belt division of the Worlds after the championship moved to California.

Lana Stefanac

The first non-Brazilian athlete to win a gold medal in the adult black belt open class division of the Worlds was brown belt Lana Stefanac. In 2009, at 33 years old, she won both the heavyweight division and the absolute. On her way to the groundbreaking open class gold, she beat Gabi Garcia in the semifinal and then Kyra Gracie in the final. It would take another six years for a non-Brazilian to repeat Lana’s accomplishment.

Hillary Williams

Hillary went all in in her Jiu-Jitsu journey. Just to learn the techniques and become one of the best competitors of her generation was not enough. She decided to learn the language most Jiu-Jitsu practitioners speak, so she self taught herself to speak Portuguese. Then, she travelled to Brazil and trained at a bunch of different academies and competed in different events. She learned the rules so well, she became one of the first female referees in the IBJJF roster. In 2010, still a brown belt, she rose to the occasion and won the middleweight division at the Worlds, after a tought battle against Caroline De Lazzer. Soon after she got her black belt and then withdrew from competitions to go after a Medical Degree, which she got in 2015.

Keenan Cornelius

Keenan first made the headlines in 2013, when he won double gold at the Jiu-Jitsu grand slam (European, Pan, Brazilian Nationals and Worlds), conquering his weight division and the open class in all four events as a purple belt. Known for his highly inventive style, Cornelius kept rising to the status of superstar within the Jiu-Jitsu community with solid results all throughout the brown belt division, even after a tumultuous move from Team lloyd Irvin to Atos JJ. As a black belt, Keenan is still looking for his first gold medal at the Worlds, but he already has the title of first non-Brazilian ever to place in the open class podium, with a third place in 2014. Still young, at 24, who can say what he can achieve.

Mackenzie Dern

At first, she was the daughter of the famous Wellignton Megaton, the only black belt to compete in all editions of the Worlds. With time, her results shifted that title and today Megaton is widely know as the father of female superstar, Mackenzie Dern. A world champions in all belts since 2007, as a juvenile blue belt, Mackenzie won her first gold as a black belt in 2015 after choking Michelle Nicolini. It was exactly the year her father celebrated his 20th appearance at the Worlds. She still after the open class gold medal, a really tough mountain to climb as a featherweight, but there’s no doubt she will continue trying.

Dominyka Obelenyte

Ok, she was technically born in Lithuania, but came to America when she was only 6. Dominyka did all her training in the USA, so we’ll consider her an American talent in BJJ. Just like Mackenzie, she made her first podium appearance at the Worlds as a juvenile. As a matter of fact, they were in the same lightweight division in 2008, as blue belts, and mackenzie won that final. Then, in 2010, she won the blue belt lightweight divison and hasn’t stopped since. In 2011, she finished second in the middleweight and won the purple belt open class. Two years later, she was the brown belt medium-heavy champion. In 2014 she won the heavyweight division still as a brown belt and finished second to Monique Elias in the open class. The big moment came in 2015, at 19, Dominyka had an outstanding campaign to win double gold in the heavyweight and have her revenge against Monique in the open class.

Will Americans write another chapter of their story at the 2016 Worlds?

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 Worlds until May 24.

Click here to sign up now.

Gustavo Elias

The Jiu-Jitsu community gathered once again this Saturday in the Sin City for the 2016 Las vegas International Open.

Hundreds of athletes put on a great show at the Las Vegas Sports Center for a full day devoted to the gentle art.

Gustavo Dias Elias and Sarah Black were the standouts in the adult black belt division after they won the open class.

Gustavo had a double gold campaign with his win in the ultraheavy division as well.

He beat Carlos Farias in his weight divsion and then defeated Jaime Canuto in the absolute final.

Sarah Black

Sarah came back from a defeat to Tammi Musumeci in the lightweight division final to beat Leanna Dittrich in the open class.

Another highlight of the day was the presence of five-time black belt featherweight world champion Rafael Mendes.

He beat Samir Chantre in the final for the title in another pre-2016 Worlds appearance as he prepares to compete for his sixth world title.

In the teams’ competition, results were:

1 – Gracie Barra – 206

2 – CheckMat – 158

3 – Gracie Humaita – 141

Click here for the full results.

Buchecha vs. Rodolfo in 2013

It’s Saturday, a nice day to sit back, relax and watch some classic matches that the World championship offered us in the past 20 years.

We selected three matches that represent the passing of time at the most important event in the gentle art’s calendar.

First, in 1998, José Mario Sperry met Roberto Roleta in the open class final. Two of the most successful athletes of their time, they fought twice that year. Roleta beat Sperry in the first round of the super-heavy, putting an end to Sperry’s undefeated streak.

Then, Sperry got his revenge in the absolute final. Click play to see how it went.

Six years later, we make our second stop at the 2004 Worlds, for the fight that is probably the most famous Jiu-Jitsu match of all times.

Roger Gracie and Ronaldo Jacaré had the crowd standing for the whole duration of the match. The ending alone is worth of the best movie scripts ever put out there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYUeIBubHDM

Nine years later, in 2013, another big rivalry was rocking the Jiu-Jitsu community.

Marcus Buchecha and Rodolfo Vieira are the standouts of their generation and the 2013 black belt open class final was the occasion to untie the 1-1 score at the Worlds. Prior to the 2013 final, Rodolfo had won by submission in 2011 and Buchecha tied the score at the 2012 absolute final.

Click play to watch how things went.

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 World Jiu-Jitsu championship.

The final deadline is May 24.

Click here to sign up now.