Take a look at the complete card lineup and preview of the IBJJF Absolute No-Gi Grand Prix, set for Thursday, February 29.
This Thursday, February 29, the IBJJF will host an openweight eight-man no-gi match that includes a few of the planet’s prime BJJ opponents. The cardboard may also characteristic a number of world-class gi matches.
Take a look at the complete card lineup and first-round matchups beneath.
IBJJF Absolute No-Gi Grand Prix opponents
- Kaynan Duarte
- Haisam Rida
- Dante Leon
- Elder Cruz
- Giancarlo Bodoni
- Patrick Gaudio
- Roosevelt Sousa
- Pedro Rocha
Merely put, the bracket is filled with elite expertise.
Atos consultant Kaynan Duarte stands out as an early favourite. A two-time ADCC world champion, IBJJF No-Gi Pans double gold medalist, and up to date Polaris absolute grand prix champion, Duarte has the scale, physicality, and well-rounded, tactical recreation to take house the gold.
Within the first spherical, he’ll face the B-Staff’s Haisam Rida – an explosive athlete who could possibly be the bracket’s darkish horse. A proficient submission hunter with top-flight judo abilities, Rida misplaced to Duarte by submission again in 2019, however has since established himself as a world-class no-gi competitor, boasting wins over Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu and fellow grand prix participant Giancarlo Bodoni.
For his half, New Wave’s Bodoni is one other early favourite. Because the reigning ADCC 88kg world champion, Bodoni has confirmed to have the all-around recreation to be a risk towards any grappler on the planet. He’ll sq. off with veteran black belt Patrick Gaudio within the first spherical.
One other identify to observe is Dante Leon, Grappling Insider’s 2023 Male Grappler of the Yr. The Canadian turned heads final 12 months, profitable the IBJJF No-Gi Pans at tremendous heavyweight, in addition to the Who’s Quantity One (WNO) light-weight belt to safe his spot as one of many sport’s prime pound-for-pound opponents.
Leon’s first-round matchup towards Checkmat’s Elder Cruz has all of the makings of a barnburner. Cruz is a relentless takedown artist and aggressive guard passer who, after an unbelievable run by the coloured belts, appears to have discovered his stride at black belt after profitable gold on the 2023 IBJJF No-Gi Pans, American Nationals, and Worlds.
Rounding out the primary spherical can be an intriguing conflict between harmful heavyweight Roosevelt Sousa and achieved veteran Pedro Rocha. Whereas Sousa is more likely to be the bracket’s largest competitor, Rocha, along with his show-stopping guillotine choke, might play the a part of spoiler.
Superfights
Fundamental card
- Kade Ruotolo vs. Natan Chueng
- Tainan Dalpra vs. Mauricio Oliveira
- Andy Murasaki vs. Mathias Luna
- Jamil Hill-Taylor vs. Zach Kaina
- Jackson Nagai vs. Sandrey Silva
Preliminary card
- Sarah Galvao vs. Sabrina Lourenco
- Nata Tenca vs. Caleb Nascimento
- Mia Funegra vs. Isabella Agdeppa
- Steven Gomez vs. Lucas Oliveira
- Felipe Goulart vs. Graham Nascimento
- Max Schwartz vs. Jonathan Anderson
The right way to watch: The IBJJF Absolute No-Gi Grand Prix takes place on Thursday, February 29, and can air reside on FloGrappling (subscription required) starting at 8:00 PM EST.
