2026 IBJJF Pan Championship

Sarah Galvão delivered the standout performance of the women's division, capturing both the lightweight and absolute titles across March 28–29, 2026.

Lightweight Final

In the women's lightweight final, Sarah Galvão faced Janaina Lebre in a stylistically contrasting matchup. Lebre sought to control distance and disrupt rhythm using the lapel, while Sarah applied relentless top pressure and persistent passing attempts. Volume and positional aggression proved decisive, as Sarah earned the referee decision victory.

Earlier in the bracket, Sarah had demonstrated her finishing ability by submitting Larissa Oliveira via leglock — a sharp reminder of the attacking versatility that defined her run through the division.

Absolute Bracket and Final

The women's absolute unfolded across both competition days. In the semifinals, Sarah Galvão defeated Elisabeth Clay by referee decision after the match concluded in a 4–4 points tie. On the opposite side of the bracket, Gabrieli Pessanha submitted Beatrice Jin via Rear Naked Choke to secure her place in the final.

The absolute final on March 29 saw Sarah Galvão defeat Gabrieli Pessanha 6–0 in a commanding finish. Pessanha opened with top pressure and earned advantages through passing attempts, but the match shifted decisively in the final minute. Sarah attacked with a single-leg takedown, brought Pessanha to the mat, and transitioned to back control. Pessanha was penalized for going out of bounds following the back exposure, awarding Sarah two points; Sarah then added four more by maintaining back control before Pessanha escaped. A late north-south armlock attempt by Sarah drew a defensive response from Pessanha before the clock expired. The double gold — weight class and absolute — stood as the headline achievement of the women's division.

The men's absolute division produced a notable discrepancy between sources covering the event, and both versions are documented here.

FloGrappling live updates, last recorded at 8:41 PM on March 28, 2026, reported that Gabriel Veloso defeated a teammate identified as Gabriel Caboja 2–0 via sweep in an all-teammate final. However, a post-event recap published March 30, 2026 listed Gabriel Ribeiro as the absolute champion, with a podium of: 1) Gabriel Ribeiro; 2) Gabriel Galvão; 3) Harryson Pereira; 3) Luiz Felipe Santos.

Gabriel Ribeiro is confirmed to have competed in the absolute bracket, with the live source documenting victories over Francisco Papasidero via Rear Naked Choke and over Harryson Pereira by a score of 8–0. Luiz Felipe Assis also competed in the absolute bracket, defeating Lucas Norat 1–0 on advantages in a tightly contested match decided by a dangerous foot attack from guard. Elsewhere in the bracket, Luis Cantareira advanced over Miguel Costa Campos 2–1 on advantages, with a guard pass attempt and a takedown entry providing the decisive edge.

The discrepancy most likely reflects live coverage concluding before Sunday's absolute final, as adult black belt absolute divisions ran across both March 28 and March 29. The post-event recap result — Gabriel Ribeiro as champion — may represent the definitive outcome, though both versions are preserved pending further confirmation.

The men's weight-class finals on March 29 ranged from lopsided dominance to penalty-round drama, showcasing the full tactical spectrum of high-level gi competition.

Commanding Victories

Tainan Dalpra produced the most authoritative performance of the weekend, defeating Elijah Dorsey 9–0 in the middleweight final — one of the most decisive scorelines of the entire event.

Seif-Eddine Houmine claimed the ultra-heavyweight title by submitting Anderson Kauan via North South Choke, while Marcos Gomes won the roosterweight division by submitting Bebeto Oliveira via Foot Lock. In the super-heavyweight final, Nolan Stuart defeated Vinicius Liberati 6–4 in a competitive finish.

Closely Contested Finals

The medium-heavyweight final was decided by the narrowest of margins. Enderson Dias defeated Alex Munis 2–1 on advantages after the match ended level at 2–2 on points. Munis had reached the final with a strong 7–2 semifinal victory over Gabriel Costa 'Maranhão'.

The heavyweight final went to the absolute tiebreaker. Luiz Felipe Assis 'Felipinho' defeated Rider Zuchi on penalties after both competitors finished level on points and advantages — a fitting conclusion for a division that demanded tactical precision at every stage. Zuchi had advanced past Gabriel Almeida in the quarterfinals.

Lighter Divisions

Diego Oliveira 'Pato' won the light-featherweight final over Shoya Ishiguro 8–2, and Cole Abate captured the featherweight title with a 6–4 decision over Samuel Nagai. The lightweight final was settled on advantages, with Jackson Nagai defeating Will Wilson 4–1 on advantages after a 2–2 points tie.

Submission finishes appeared throughout the preliminary and championship rounds, underscoring the finishing depth across the field.

Men's Brackets

In the men's lightweight bracket, Kevin Mahecha submitted Trey Carter via Armbar in the preliminary round, then advanced past Vitor Sotini 1–0 on advantages after a 2–2 points tie — a sharp contrast in how the two matches concluded.

The men's light-featherweight bracket featured a shoulder lock finish: Cleber Fernandes submitted Welison Fernandes via Chave De Ombro. Welison Fernandes had reached that stage by defeating Matheus Vilaça 2–1 on advantages in a scoreless match decided by a single edge. Thiago Ortiz submitted Minho Yoon via Armbar in the men's featherweight (Pena) division preliminaries.

Women's Brackets

In the women's middleweight bracket, Elisabeth Clay submitted Gabriela Barreto via leglock in the preliminary round — a demonstration of the leg-lock threat that made her a dangerous competitor throughout the bracket. Clay ultimately fell to Lilian Marchand via Armbar in the middleweight final. In the women's super-heavyweight final, Gabrieli Pessanha claimed gold by finishing Raniele Alencar via a mounted smother choke.

Across the full event, submission techniques on display included the Armbar, leglock, leglock, North South Choke, Rear Naked Choke, Foot Lock, Chave De Ombro, and mounted smother choke — a breadth of finishing approaches that reflects the technical ambition of black belt competitors operating at the highest level of gi competition.

The women's black belt divisions produced results across nine weight classes and the absolute.

Lighter Divisions

In the roosterweight final, Ana Lima Da Silva defeated Mariana Rolszt 1–0 on advantages after a scoreless match. The light-featherweight bracket was closed out by teammates Mayssa Bastos and Ashlee Funegra of Art of Jiu-Jitsu; one source lists Bastos in first and Funegra in second, while the live source identified it as a closeout without designating a single gold medalist. Third-place finishers were Andressa Tolentino and Brenda Larissa.

Margot Ciccarelli won the featherweight division by defeating Larissa Campos via referee decision, with Eonju Im and Keanna Klay placing third. The lightweight and absolute titles were both claimed by Sarah Galvão, with Sabrina Gondim and Tamara Toros earning third in the lightweight division.

Heavier Divisions

Lilian Marchand won the middleweight title via Armbar over Elisabeth Clay, with Aghata Rabelo and Vitoria Nogueira in third. In the medium-heavyweight division, Elizabeth Mitrovic defeated Maria Carolina Vicentini 4–2 in the final. Mitrovic had also defeated Denise Krahn 6–2 in an earlier round; Krahn and Olivia Schauer took third.

Larissa Dias won the heavyweight final over Maria Malyjasiak 3–0, with Leticia Ribeiro and Simone Pinheiro finishing third. The super-heavyweight division saw Gabrieli Pessanha finish Raniele Alencar via mounted smother choke, with Bridgett Brumbaugh and Rosa Walsh in third. The women's absolute podium was completed by Beatrice Jin and Elisabeth Clay in third place.

The 2026 IBJJF Pan Championship ran for five days from March 25–29, 2026, at Kissimmee, Florida, USA. Operating entirely under IBJJF rules in the gi, the event spanned multiple belt levels and age divisions across the week, with adult black belt competition concentrated on March 28–29.

Both men's and women's divisions ran individual weight-class brackets in parallel with open-weight absolute divisions. Preliminary rounds on Saturday (March 28) fed directly into Sunday (March 29) finals, while the absolute brackets for both genders overlapped across the two days — a scheduling structure that produced the source discrepancy documented in the men's absolute section.

Victory methods across the black belt divisions encompassed the full range of IBJJF scoring outcomes: point differentials ranging from a single-advantage margin to a 9–0 shutout, advantage tiebreakers, penalty-round decisions, referee decisions in tied bouts, and submission finishes by varied techniques. The presence of every victory method in a single event reflects the tactical diversity that defines elite IBJJF gi competition.