Pans Black Belt Absolute Brackets Released | See Who's In On Saturday
Pans Black Belt Absolute Brackets Released | See Who's In On Saturday
Meregali, Roberto, Uanderson and Johnatha Alves are among the top names registered for the male absolute; Pessanha, Ana Carolina, Clay & Ffion in at female.
Registration for the 2023 IBJJF Pans black belt open weight division has officially closed, meaning we now know which athletes will kick things off on Saturday morning in pursuit of the absolute title.
The brackets have just been released, see the highlights below:
Watch the black belt absolute bracket at Pans starting March 25 at 9:30 a.m. ET
Roberto Jimenez will face 2022 brown belt world absolute champion Caio BBG in the opening round. The winner is likely to face Nicholas Meregali in the quarterfinal on side one of the bracket.
Here are the 20 male athletes registered for the open class.
| Name | Team |
|---|---|
| Guilherme Augusto Soares Santos | Alliance |
| Dimitrius Soares Souza | Alliance |
| Italo Lima Costa | Ares BJJ |
| Johnatha Barbosa Alves | Art of Jiu Jitsu |
| Uanderson Ferreira de Oliveira | Carlson Gracie Team |
| Jose Mathias Macedo de Lira Luna | CheckMat |
| Diogo Sampaio Araujo | Double Five |
| Erich Munis dos Santos | DreamArt |
| Yatan Martins Bueno | DreamArt |
| Javier Arturo Barter | Fernando Moya Jiu-Jitsu Academy |
| Paulo Henrique Merlin | Gracie Barra |
| Caio Vinicius Lima Santos | Gracie Barra |
| Mair Ferro Amaral | Gracie Barra BJJ |
| Eduardo França Rodrigues | MJN Jiu-Jitsu |
| Joshua Dominic Guerra | Nova União |
| Clay Landon Mayfield | Pedigo Submission Fighting |
| Nicholas de Barcellos Meregali | Renzo Gracie |
| Marlon Kenjiro Tanaka Fagundes | Richardson BJJ |
| Roberto Francisco Jimenez | Studio76 Jiu-Jitsu Las Vegas |
| Pedro José Pessoa de Melo Bisneto | ZR Team Association |
Ffion Davies will face 2022 world champion Maria Claudia first. The winner will face five-time world champ Ana Carilina Vieira in the following round.
The female absolute division is set to feature 12 athletes, including reigning Pans absolute champ Gabi Pessanha.
| Name | Team |
|---|---|
| Maria Malyjasiak | Abmar Barbosa Association |
| Melissa Stricker Cueto | Alliance |
| Elizabeth Katherine Mitrovic | Alliance International |
| Elisabeth Ann Clay | Ares BJJ |
| Ffion Eira Davies | Atos Jiu-Jitsu |
| Ana Carolina Vieira Srour | Aviv Jiu-Jitsu |
| Ingridd Alves de Sousa | DreamArt |
| Tamiris Fernanda da Silva | DreamArt |
| Thalyta Stefhane Lima Silva | Fratres Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu |
| Gabrieli Pessanha de Souza Marinho | Infight JJ |
| Maria Cláudia Almeida Silva | Infight JJ |
| Vannessa Nancy Griffin | Team Lloyd Irvin |
This division is a who's who of contenders for Pessanha's crown, including the last person to defeat her in an IBJJF match, Ana Carolina Vieira.
Lightweight world champ Ffion Davies has also entered the fold, adding an exciting dynamic to the roster.