Prospect of the Week | Thierry Felipe, Already in the Crown, Wins Open Class Gold in His Black Belt Debut
The 2025 world champion at purple belt and 2026 world silver medalist at brown made his first black belt appearance in Sacramento on Saturday, three weeks before the IBJJF Crown.
Prospect of the Week usually goes to a purple or brown belt on the rise. This week’s pick is a step ahead of that, a brand new black belt who was named to the IBJJF Crown before he’d competed at the rank.
Thierry Felipe won the open class at the Sacramento Fall International Open on Saturday in his first tournament as a black belt, and he beat Fran Papasidero in the final to do it.
That’s about as tough a final as a new black belt can draw at an Open. Papasidero is No. 3 in the gi ranking as of October 14, a world bronze medalist at heavy this year and, like Felipe, part of the ultra heavyweight field at next month’s IBJJF Crown.
Felipe’s day started with a loss. Nolan Stuart, the 2025 Crown heavyweight champion, beat him in the gi ultra heavy semifinal that morning and went on to win the division.
A few hours later, the Marcio Andre Jiu-Jitsu black belt beat Seungmoon Baek and Lucas Lima on his way to the open class final. He closed the afternoon with no-gi ultra heavy gold over Pietro Emanuel, the only other man in that division.
Felipe at the 2026 European Championship in January, where he won ultra heavy at brown belt:
Every black belt podium from Saturday is on our Sacramento event page.
A World Title at Purple, a World Final at Brown
Felipe has medaled at the Worlds four years in a row, at three different belts. It started with silver at ultra heavy as a blue belt in 2023 and bronze at purple in 2024.
In 2025 he won the European title in January, took silver at the Pans in March and then won the world title at purple. The IBJJF’s clip of his armbar finish at those Pans:
He didn’t stay at purple for long. Less than a month after the 2025 Worlds, he won ultra heavy at the American Nationals as a brown belt.
At brown, he took silver at the No-Gi Worlds in December and won the European title in January. He reached the world final in May, where he lost to Natã Tenca, now the Pan No-Gi champion at super heavy as a black belt.
He added open class gold at the American Nationals in June.
His medals at the majors and the American Nationals before black belt:
| Year | Event | Division | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | American Nationals | Brown, open class | Gold |
| 2026 | World Championship | Brown, ultra heavy | Silver |
| 2026 | European Championship | Brown, ultra heavy | Gold |
| 2025 | No-Gi World Championship | Brown, ultra heavy | Silver |
| 2025 | American Nationals | Brown, ultra heavy | Gold |
| 2025 | World Championship | Purple, ultra heavy | Gold |
| 2025 | Pan Championship | Purple, ultra heavy | Silver |
| 2025 | European Championship | Purple, ultra heavy | Gold |
| 2024 | World Championship | Purple, ultra heavy | Bronze |
| 2023 | World Championship | Blue, ultra heavy | Silver |
Every result since the 2025 European Championship lists Felipe with Marcio Andre Jiu-Jitsu. His 2023 and 2024 world medals came with Nova União.
Next Up: IBJJF OC Open, Then onto the Crown
Felipe is entered in the Crown’s ultra heavyweight field, one of six recent promotions among this year’s contenders. First, he’s registered at ultra heavy for the Orange County Fall Open in Costa Mesa this weekend.
The IBJJF Crown is November 8 in Long Beach, with eight athletes in each division and $20,000 to each champion. It streams on FloGrappling, and every upcoming event is on the calendar.
All results, records and videos in this story come from official channels, with match records cross-checked on JiuJitsu.net.
