From May 24th to 26th, 2024, the Mandela Forum in Florence will become pulsating heart of Italian Jiu-Jitsu, hosting the highly anticipated 2024 edition of the Italian BJJ Open and the Jiu Jitsu Expo. These events, capturing the essence of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, offer an unrivaled opportunity for athletes, enthusiasts, and brands connected to the sport.

Italian BJJ Open: a stage for excellence

This year’s Italian BJJ Open, managed by the UIJJ – Unione Italian Jiu-Jitsu, promises to be the climactic event of the sport season, marking the culmination of the UIJJ rankings and the awarding of prizes to the most deserving athletes. With over 2000 participants expected, including a growing number of international competitors, the event is confirmed to be one of the top three largest and best-organized tournaments in Europe.

Ten competition areas will be set up to host three days of intense challenges, including a division for children. This year, there’s a 30% increase in registrations, surpassing 400 young athletes. In 2023, the total number of black belts reached 100, a significant figure considering that just a few years ago, the numbers were much lower. Since 2023, this year also featured several matches in the adult women’s black belt category, highlighting the event’s importance and growth.

Jiu-Jitsu Expo: a meeting point for the BJJ community
Born in 2022 alongside the 10th edition of the Italian BJJ Open, the Jiu-Jitsu Expo has quickly established itself as a unique event in Italy. It’s where the BJJ community comes together to network and build relationships, promoting Italian Jiu-Jitsu culture and offering unprecedented commercial opportunities even for international brands.

The organization is under UIJJ, the entity that is behind also OCEAN, the new exciting NOGI pro championship running with Trials all over Italy , with Semi and Finals in Sardinia during the BJJ Summer Week.

The shops in the Expo will showcase services and products related to BJJ and martial arts. Many old and new brands will attend the event, among many: BJJ Summer Week (the biggest BJJ Camp in the world), Half Sumo, Adidas Combat Sports, Keiko, Kingz, Tatami Fightwear, Progress and many more.

The 2023 edition was explosive, with many new stands added compared to the previous year, and free seminars led by prominent figures such as Michelle Nicolini and Italian Olympic judo champion Fabio Basile.

The third edition will take place on 24, 25 and 26 May 2024, at the Mandela Forum in Florence.

We will see Professors such as Alessandro Borgonovo, Matteo Patrone, Melissa Benedini, Alberto Tesi, Fabrizio Screpante, Ilia Pachkowsky, Riccardo Mezzetti, Matteo Menna alternating on the mats set up for the seminars, and brands such as Revive Fightwear, Bud Power, Half Sumo just to name a few.

An opportunity not to be missed
The UIJJ ranking, valid only for registered athletes in Italy, offers cash prizes that this year have increased from €3000 in previous editions to €5000. This ranking also represents financial support for the annual competition-related expenses, and including prizes for other belt levels as a free registrations for the entire annual UIJJ calendar.

Registrations for Italian BJJ Open close on May 17th at midnight, and details for participation can be found on the uijj.org website under the competitions section.

If you are interested in promoting your team or brand inside the Jiu-Jitsu Expo, you can contact the organization at expo@uijj.org.

Do not miss this high-quality Jiu-Jitsu event in Florence, where sport, culture, and passion converge in an event that promises to be unforgettable.

Marking the tournament’s first foray into Italian lands, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour is deep into its preparations to break new ground and make its debut in the famous city of Rome. The event will take place at the Centro Olimpico Matteo Pellicone, from April 12th to 14th and will welcome Youths, Amateurs, Masters, and Professionals to one of the most influential territories in the history of sports.

With such a powerful setting, it stands to reason that the Roman Grand Slam will have an equally stunning line-up to make this debut an unforgettable one. While the event is still a few weeks away, dangerous rookies and battle-hardened veterans have already registered for the competition, with the Professional black belt category bringing some of the very best athletes in the organization to fight for the gold in Rome. Check out the male and female highlights registered for the tournament!

Men’s GI / Black

Starting on the men’s side, the 56kg division brings Kalel Santos and Welison Fernandes as the favorites for the podium, followed by Finland’s Marko Oikarainen and the Italian Andrea Verdemare.

In the 62kg division, Cicero Costha’s team comes strong to fight for the gold, with Leonardo Mario, Yuri Hendrex, and Jefferson Fagundes joining the fray. Flying a little under the radar, Wagner Chrispim is another strong athlete who’ll be vying for the title.

Meanwhile, the 69kg division is highlighted by Thiago Macedo and Matheus Onda, closely followed by the Bahraini athlete Ali Monfaradi and his strong Jiu-Jitsu. Another solid contender for the gold is the local Luca Caracciolo, who’ll be heading to Rome to represent his country.

Among the competitors featured in the 77kg division, the highlight is the ADWPJJC champion and AJP Global Ranking champion Lucas Protasio. Igor Feliz also comes to compete for the title and threatens Lucas’ momentum in the season.

One of the most populated categories in the tournament, the 88kg division features the likes of Uanderson Ferreira, Pedro Neto, and Luan Carvalho among the highlights. The experienced Luca Anacoreta, from Italy, and Pedro “Bolo” Silva, from DreamArt, could also make it big in Rome.

The highly decorated Jackson Sousa is one of the highlights registered in the 94kg division, with other well-known AJP names in the bracket, such as Marcos Carrozzino, Luiz Betta, and Roberto Dib Frias.

Among the heaviest warriors of the 120kg division, three athletes have great chances of conquering the gold medal: The current ADWPJJC Professional and Master champion Felipe Bezerra; Frates’ powerhouse Yatan Bueno with his takedowns and high levels of pressure from above; and Matheus “Tá Danado” Xavier, with his unpredictable game and dangerous submissions.

Women’s GI / Brown / Black

Moving on to the Women’s category, Italian athlete Serena Gabrielli highlights the 49kg division as she strives to show the strength of European Jiu-Jitsu in the lightest bracket of the tournament. Ready to thwart her efforts, Diana Teixeira and Brenda Larissa will also be fighting for the 49 kg division gold.

In the 55kg division, Anna Rodrigues and Alexa Yanes come as the favorites, with Larissa Paes and Beatriz Campos also eyeing the top of the podium.

Filled with challenging competitors, the 62kg division has the unstoppable Julia Alves as the favorite for the title, closely followed not only by the Italian Gabriella Ripepi but also by representatives of various nationalities competing at a high level, such as Spain, Poland, Greece, Norway, Ireland, Finland, France, and Switzerland.

Among the competitors of the 70kg division, DreamArt’s Ingridd Sousa and Izadora Silva have a great chance of reaching the podium, with Magdalena Loska, Nia Blackman, and Yara Kakish adding some spice to the bracket.

Finally, in the 94kg division, Yara Nascimento comes as a big name for the gold medal, followed by the likes of Maria Carolina Vicentini and Marcele Catanhede in the heaviest women’s bracket.

The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour Rome is scheduled to take place over the course of three days, with Amateurs fighting on April 12th, followed by Youths and Masters on the next day, and finally with Professionals showing their skills on April 14th. The registration window closes on April 8th, so don’t waste any more time and join AJP as the Grand Slam carves its name in the history of Rome!

Even Braulio Estima is a fan of Romulo Barral! Photo: Instagram

The 10th reason out of the 18 for following/participating in the 2013 World Championship involves the stardom and achievements of the top athletes. But this motivation is not for those athletes, but rather the fans like you who want to meet them.

Reason #10: Share the same space with your Jiu-Jitsu idols and get to know them at the Long Beach Pyramid.

The legends of Jiu-Jitsu, as the saying goes, are simply white belts who never gave up. With that, these champions have given us something to aim for, something to motivate us, learn from and appreciate for paving paths. Even though some are only in their early twenties, these are our idols and they have taught us a lot.

The 2013 World Championship is held each year at the Long Beach Walter Pyramid and while it is a rather large venue, you will surely run into your favorite Jiu-Jitsu stars. There is no VIP area. The bullpen you wait inside is the same bullpen the top black belts wait inside. You share the same refs, the same gi checkers, mat coordinators, same mats.

The ability to meet and talk to your favorite grapplers is not hard at all, just simply talk to them. Most are around days before they compete so they can coach students and scope out the landscape. The seats you sit in to watch the matches are the same ones shared with these athletes who are doing the same thing as you: Learning.

Being at the venue brings many chances to meet your idols so don’t be scared they’ll bite!

If you have yet to sign up to compete at the 2013 World Championship you can do so here: www.ibjjf.org