Seven Defending Champions Return Among 170 Black Belts at the 2026 Pan No-Gi
Seven 2025 champions are registered to defend their titles in Secaucus, where five time world champion André Galvão is entered at super heavy, with Polaris 39, ONE Fight Night 48 and Fight to Win 327 also this weekend.
Pawel Jaworski arrives in Secaucus as the No. 1 in the IBJJF adult black belt no-gi ranking as of September 29 and the new ADCC 88kg champion, and three days of IBJJF competition in New Jersey anchor a weekend that also brings Polaris 39 to England, a submission grappling match to ONE Fight Night 48 in Bangkok and Fight to Win 327 to Pittsburgh.
The Headliner: IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship
Oct 2 to 4 · Secaucus, NJ · FloGrappling, 6:30 AM PT daily. Event hub · Official event page · Registrations · Watch on FloGrappling
According to IBJJF registrations, 170 adult black belts are entered across 17 divisions, 128 men and 42 women, at the Meadowlands Exposition Center. The name that stands out is André Galvão of Atos Jiu-Jitsu, registered in an 11 man super heavy division. Galvão won five IBJJF world titles in the gi between 2005 and 2017, according to IBJJF results, and at the ADCC World Championship he won 88kg and the absolute in 2011 before winning the main superfight at four straight editions, according to ADCC. There is more on his entry in our story on Galvão’s registration.
Seven of last year’s Pan No-Gi champions are registered to defend their titles, according to IBJJF results and this year’s registrations:
- Vinicius Inacio, men’s light feather
- Marcelo Fausto, men’s middle
- Pawel Jaworski, men’s medium heavy
- Mariana Rolszt, women’s rooster
- Carol Brunacio, women’s light
- Sarah Galvão, women’s middle
- Ana Lopez Beard, women’s heavy
Jaworski leads the IBJJF adult black belt no-gi ranking and won medium heavy at the 2025 No-Gi World and European Championships, and last month he won ADCC World Championship gold at 88kg in Kraków.
Men’s heavy is the deepest division, with seven ranked entrants among its 15, including Wallisson “Tarta” Oliveira (20th), who won medium heavy at the 2024 No-Gi World Championship. Middle is the biggest division with 23 entrants, among them Tarik Hopstock of Frontline Academy, ranked seventh, who won middle at both the 2025 No-Gi World and European Championships. Edwin “Junny” Ocasio, the 2023 No-Gi world champion at light feather, is one of 17 in Inacio’s division, and two men who have wrestled Mason Fowler for the UFC BJJ light heavyweight title are entered as well: David Garmo at medium heavy and Devhonte “Bones” Johnson at ultra heavy, where Bones won super heavy at the 2021 No-Gi World Championship.
On the women’s side, Lillian Marchand, the 2026 world and Pan champion at middle in the gi and the 2025 No-Gi world champion at light, is entered at light alongside Brunacio. Sabrina Gondim of Fight Sports, who won feather at the 2026 World Championship, is one of four at feather, and Helena Crevar, fourth in the women’s no-gi ranking and the 2025 No-Gi world champion at medium heavy, is entered at super heavy after winning the over 65kg division at the ADCC World Championship last month. Titles in this section are from IBJJF results unless another source is named.
Ranked black belts registered
| Rank | Athlete | Team | Division (entrants) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pawel Jaworski | Academia Gorila | Medium Heavy (14) |
| 7 | Tarik Hopstock | Frontline Academy | Middle (23) |
| 9 | Emilio Hernandez | Zenith BJJ | Feather (15) |
| 12 | London Horn | Soul Fighters BJJ Arizona | Heavy (15) |
| 13 | João Assonitis | Double Five | Light (16) |
| 17 | David Garmo | Detroit Jiu-Jitsu Syndicate | Medium Heavy (14) |
| 18 | Marcelo Fausto | CheckMat | Middle (23) |
| 20 | Wallisson “Tarta” Oliveira | Campeão United Jiu-Jitsu | Heavy (15) |
| 21 | Vinicius Inacio | Alliance | Light Feather (17) |
| 27 | Devhonte “Bones” Johnson | Unity Jiu-jitsu | Ultra Heavy (10) |
| 28 | Edwin “Junny” Ocasio | Unity Jiu-jitsu | Light Feather (17) |
| 28 | Eduardo “The Ice” Avelar | Molinaro Jiu-Jitsu | Middle (23) |
| W4 | Helena Crevar | Kingsway Jiu-Jitsu | Super Heavy (4) |
| W7 | Gabi Schuck | Double Five Highland Village | Medium Heavy (10) |
| W11 | Mariana Rolszt | Gracie Humaita | Rooster (2) |
| W12 | Ana Lopez Beard | CheckMat | Heavy (4) |
| W19 | Amanda Bruse | Corvus Grappling Collective | Light (9) |
| W27 | Amanda Schurtz | ECJJA | Middle (5) |
| W30 | Carol Brunacio | Pirâmide Grappling Association | Light (9) |
IBJJF adult black belt no-gi ranking as of Sept 29, 2026, top 30 shown. W marks the women’s ranking. Division entrants in parentheses. All 40 ranked entrants are on the event hub.
Several past major champions without current no-gi ranking points are also in the field, according to IBJJF results:
- Carlos “Bebeto” Oliveira (GF Team, light feather): 2021 No-Gi world champion at light feather and world silver medalist at rooster in 2022 and 2025.
- Cleber “Clandestino” Sousa (Alliance, feather): 2019 Pan champion at rooster.
- Elijah “Big Breakfast” Dorsey (Team Lloyd Irvin, middle): 2024 European champion at light.
- Julia Maele (OXY, middle): European No-Gi champion at middle in 2019 and 2022 and at light in 2024, entered in defending champion Sarah Galvão’s division.
Two men are registered at black belt while still ranked in the adult brown belt no-gi ranking: Luan Veras (16th at brown) at medium heavy and Luuk van Nieuwamerongen (21st at brown) at heavy.
The brackets are out, and the first adult black belt matches are scheduled for Saturday at 11:02 AM ET (8:02 AM PT), so Friday’s stream has no adult black belts, according to the IBJJF’s published brackets. Nine opening matches pair two athletes with medals from the majors, among them Julia Maele against defending champion Sarah Galvão at women’s middle and Carol Brunacio against Zara Di Tofano at women’s light. Our key first round matches story has all nine, and every opening match is on the event hub.
Pro Cards
- Fight to Win 327: Friday, 2:00 PM PT, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The card has not been announced.
- ONE Fight Night 48: Friday in U.S. primetime on Prime Video, from Lumpinee Stadium in Bangkok. The card’s one submission grappling match is Shoya Ishiguro vs. Ruan Alvarenga at featherweight, and our breakdown of the match has both athletes’ records.
- Polaris 39: Saturday, 6:30 AM PT, The Dome Leisure Centre, Doncaster, England. The card has not been announced.
Where to Watch
| Event | Day | PT / ET | Stream |
|---|---|---|---|
| IBJJF Pan No-Gi, Day 1 (no adult black belts) | Fri | 6:30 AM / 9:30 AM | FloGrappling |
| Fight to Win 327 | Fri | 2:00 PM / 5:00 PM | FloGrappling |
| ONE Fight Night 48 | Fri | U.S. primetime | Prime Video |
| IBJJF Pan No-Gi, Day 2 (black belts from 8:02 AM PT) | Sat | 6:30 AM / 9:30 AM | FloGrappling |
| Polaris 39 | Sat | 6:30 AM / 9:30 AM | FloGrappling |
| IBJJF Pan No-Gi, Day 3 | Sun | 6:30 AM / 9:30 AM | FloGrappling |
Prospect Watch: Madison Taggart
Madison Taggart of Texas Punishment Crew is third in the IBJJF women’s adult purple belt no-gi ranking with 352.5 points as of September 29, and she is registered at purple belt light in Secaucus, a 13 woman division. Ranking points only come from placing at IBJJF events, so a total that size reflects a steady run of podiums, and she is entered again at the Houston Fall Open a week later.
Weekend Results
Every event from this weekend is over. Pan No-Gi 2026 Results, ONE Fight Night 48 Results and Polaris 39 Results have every result, and the weekend roundup brings them together. Fight to Win 327 results go on the site once the promoter posts them.
Next Weekend
Five IBJJF Opens run October 9 to 11: the Lisbon International Open, the Charlotte Fall International Open, the Houston Fall International Open, the Toronto International Open and the Curitiba Spring International Open. Larissa Dias, world champion at heavy in 2022, 2025 and 2026 and second in the women’s gi ranking, is registered in Charlotte, while Jaworski and 2024 No-Gi world champion Marcos Carrozzino are both entered in Lisbon, according to IBJJF registrations and results. Every upcoming event is on the calendar.
