Marco Mendes Enters No-Gi Light at the 2026 Sacramento Fall Open: The Reigning No-Gi World Champion
The 2025 No-Gi world champion at feather won Sacramento’s no-gi middle title last year and is one of two black belts at no-gi light on Saturday.
Marco Mendes, the reigning No-Gi world champion at feather, is entered at light in the no-gi tournament at the Sacramento Fall International Open on Saturday. Lucas Lima is the only other black belt registered in his division.
Sacramento is familiar ground. Mendes won no-gi middle at this same Open last year, and he’s No. 17 in the no-gi ranking as of October 14.
Mendes against Gianni Grippo in the 2025 No-Gi World Championship feather final:
And FloGrappling’s look at his four submissions on the way to the 2025 Pan No-Gi title:
His titles
Mendes won the Pan No-Gi and the No-Gi Worlds at feather in the same season, after taking bronze at both in 2023 and at the No-Gi Worlds again in 2024.
| Year | Event | Division | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | No-Gi World Championship | Feather | Gold |
| 2025 | Pan No-Gi Championship | Feather | Gold |
| 2025 | Sacramento Fall Open No-Gi | Middle | Gold |
| 2025 | Pan Championship | Feather | Bronze |
| 2024 | No-Gi World Championship | Feather | Bronze |
| 2023 | No-Gi World Championship | Feather | Bronze |
| 2023 | Pan No-Gi Championship | Feather | Bronze |
| 2023 | American Nationals | Feather | Gold |
The no-gi light division
Two black belts are registered at no-gi light:
- Marco Mendes (Aspire To Inspire): No. 17 in the no-gi ranking.
- Lucas Lima (Alliance): also entered at light in the gi tournament.
Mendes is entered in no-gi only.
Brackets and where to watch
The IBJJF posts Sacramento’s brackets and schedule on Friday, and no stream has been announced. We’ll add the time to our Sacramento event page when it’s out. The rest of the weekend is in The Weekend Ahead and on the calendar.
All results, records and videos in this story come from official channels.
