The 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds begin this week, with black belts taking the mats Friday & Saturday. On day one, it will be all the absolute up until the finals, the women's divisions up until the finals, and the men's up until the semifinals. Those matches will all then go down the next day on Saturday. Everything will be going down exclusively on FloGrappling.

• Subscribe To Watch The 2024 IBJJF World No-Gi Championships
  
• The Brackets Are Out For IBJJF No-Gi Worlds
• FloGrappling's Official No-Gi Rankings

With brackets this deep, there are tons of exciting matches happening early that fans should be keyed into. We picked one dozen of our favorites for you to watch out for on Friday:

Jalen Fonacier vs Everton Teixeira

• 1:35pm, Mat 9
• Jalen Fonacier is a tough rookie black belt who came up under Cobrinha and he finally had his big breakout at No-Gi Pans, medaling at roosterweight and beating several top-ten opponents. Now, if he wins his first round match against Italo Bonfim at Worlds he will have defending champion Everton Teixeira - who is one of the best unknown guys in the game today. This could be the clash of the division between two speedy, technical savages.

Junny Ocasio vs Valor Boyer

• 1:46pm, Mat 1
• Junny has been on one of the best runs of his career and last year finally broke through to win no-gi World gold. Since then he's won nearly match he's been in - nearly. He did split matches with Valor earlier this year at American Nationals. This quarterfinal is going to be a tense one for the champion's return campaign (if they both win in the first round).

Zack Kaina vs Isaac Cordova

• 2:23pm, Mat 10
• This one has scrap written all over it. 10P Finisher Cordova is fresh off of a great debut on WNO and a silver at No-Gi Pans and Kaina took silver at Worlds last year. With both men coming close, who will take that next step and keep up the push for the top of the podium? This one could go down second round.

Cole Abate vs Gabriel Sousa

• 2:47pm, Mat 9
• Fireworks all over this one. Cole won No-Gi Pans and has his sights set on his first black belt world championship. To get there, he's got an early one against the always-tough Gabriel Sousa early in the bracket. Sousa has had a rocky 2024 but he could put all of that in the rear view mirror with gold here. This might be the most anticipated Friday match at any weight class.

Alexandre Robinho vs Kade Anastasios

• 4:58pm, Mat 1
• Robinho came through again at ADCC Trials this year, showing off his great wrestling and tenacity on the way. For his efforts, he will get the one seed and a quarterfinal against VRMA's Kade Anastasios - who scorched Luiz Paulo with an early leg lock at Pans. Kade is gaining a reputation as one of the best leg lockers in the world and he gets another shot to prove it here.

Fabyury Khrysthyan vs Elijah Dorsey

• 4:59pm, Mat 9
• If you want one quarterfinal that could bring the house down, it is Elijah vs Fabyury. Both men have very tough opponents early, but the gi and no-gi European champions could square off in the quarters. Both have had breakout years and this is the right kind of match for fans to watch and get excited for. I'm expecting a lot of good takedown battles here.

Elder Cruz vs Adam Bradley

• 6:06pm, Mat 3
• What a first round match! Last year Elder came through with a world title at heavyweight, beating Adam Wardzinski and Roberto Jimenez, and now he bumps up to super-heavy. Maybe he's got double gold on his mind? Adam is such a great test early, with one of the best guards at super-heavy. Whoever wins this one will have a great path to the final.

Thaís Loureiro vs Shelby Murphey

• 12:22pm, Mat 8
• We're getting a top-ten battle right out of the gates! Thaís really broke through at No-Gi Pans with a gold medal run, using great overall game and a great pace, and now the Atos black belt will take on Shelby Murphey early on. Shelby has had a great year for a rookie black belt and hasn't lost an IBJJF divisional match yet (besides closing out). Whoever wins this is the favorite for the bracket.

Thamires Aquino vs Thaynara Victoria

• 1:42pm, Mat 3
• Early on, we will see a very fun veteran vs rookie matchup when 2024 gi World Champion Thamires welcomes Thaynara to the mats. Thaynara just won on WNO 25, pushing her record to 2-0, and she could take a huge leap here. It's a tough path regardless for the winner - Mayssa Bastos waits for the next round.

Tammi Musumeci vs Cassia Moura

• 2:18pm, Mat 8
• It's another veteran vs rookie matchup here, with Cassia being one of the sport's most interesting newcomers in some years. She went blue to black in 363 days but still needs that big marquee win to announce she is at the elite level. Tammi Musumeci, a multiple time champion at this event, could be just that - or she could turn away another young contender en route to the podium.

Mo Black vs Julia Maele

• 2:42pm, Mat 3
• We have two ADCC Trials champions facing off first round at lightweight, with both bringing very tough wrestling and an ability to take the fight anywhere. With two scrappy grapplers like Mo & Julia, it's a great way to kick off the bracket and set a tone for action.

Deise Leonanjo vs Nia Blackman

• 4:30pm, Mat 8
• Nia had a great breakout in 2024, winning ADCC Trials, but she has a really tough one first round here against Deise Leonanjo. Deise (pronounced like Daisy) brings some of the most vicious finishing to the women's divisions, especially early in the match. If Nia can weather that storm and get to her pressure, she can score a big win and advance at her first black belt Worlds.

Watch BJJ On FloGrappling 

FloGrappling is the streaming home to the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu events and news coverage. FloGrappling is the streaming home of: 

• IBJJF
• WNO
• Fight to Win
• And more!

Join The BJJ Conversation By Following 

• FloGrappling On Social Follow us on Twitter @flograppling
• Follow us on Instagram @flograppling
• Watch us on YouTube
• Like us on Facebook