In the short history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu World Championships only three Americans have stood atop the podium in the Adult Male Blackbelt category. BJ Penn did it his first year at black belt in 2000, Robert Drysdale followed in 2005 winning the 94kg category and finally the last American born black belt to win an IBJJF World title was Rafael Lovato Jr in the +100kg division. Do Americans have a chance at this year's tournament to wear gold?

Of course they do, but it won't be easy. Going into the 2016 World Championships the Americans haven't seen an outright champion in almost ten years. Brazilians of course dominate the medal stand having won close to 200 gold medals in the history of the Mundials. However, 2016 is arguably the most talent rich year in American Jiu-Jitsu history. The sport has exploded across the United States and in result has produced a large crop of young American black belts ready to seize their spot on top of the podium.

Here are the Top 5 American Black Belts seeking gold at the 21st 1BJJF World Championships:

Mikey Musumeci

At just 19 years of age AoJ's Mikey Musumeci might just have the best chance of all to end the American drought. Having burst onto the competitive seen and won World Championships from juvenile blue to brown all in succession, Mikey will look to complete the quest and achieve one more title. A black belt title. Last year Musumeci turned some heads after he outpointed Joao Miyao at American Nationals but earned the biggest win of his young black belt career at the 2016 IBJJF Pan Jiu Jitsu championships when he cut down to Roosterweight and took home the gold medal. For Worlds he'll be back at Light Featherweight where he'll have go through studs like Paulo Miyao, Gianni Grippo, & Milton Bastos.

Dillon Danis

With one of the most exciting styles at blackbelt, American Dillon Danis will look to rebound from his disappointing finish at this year's Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships. Since receiving his blackbelt from Marcelo Garcia in April of last year, Danis has been extremely active competing in Metamoris, Copa Podio, ADCC, and a number of IBJJF tournaments. The middleweight has quickly established himself as a contender in the black belt division after having some very entertaining matches with veterans like Leandro Lo, Patrick Gaudio, Garry Tonon, Diego Borges and Josh Hinger. Danis also trains with one of the best teams in the world and will undoubtedly be one of the most prepared competitors out there.

AJ Sousa

Florida based Aj Sousa competing now under the GF Team banner had a breakout performance at this year's Copa Podio Lightweight grand prix when he bested Lucas Lepri and Felipe Silva. Sousa also won the Miami Open, without a single point scored on him, just a few weeks ago. Coming into Worlds with more momentum than ever Sousa looks to make his mark as he'll compete for the first time at blackbelt in the middleweight division. With the American's tricky style of modern jiu-jitsu, it's no doubt he'll cause some problems within the bracket.

Edwin Najmi

This will be the first black belt World Championships for the Gracie Barra star Edwin Najmi. Albeit he had a slow start to the year, at Copa Podio and the European Championships, but the highlight machine put on a clinic at the Pan Jiu Jitsu Championships beating Michael Liera Jr and footlocking Francisco Iturralde in the Lightweight Finals. Najmi trains with arguably the best team in the sport right now including Romulo Barral, Felipe Pena, Octavio Sousa, Aj Agazarm and Gabriel Arges so he has no shortage of tutelage and wisdom to draw from. After his first major title at black belt it feels as if Najmi is ready to springboard his career to the next level. Will it all culminate with a World Championship?

Keenan Cornelius

Since being awarded his black belt in 2015 the Atos poster boy has achieved hot and cold success against the sports elite. He split matches at the World Championships last year with Tim Spriggs and had a lackluster performance just last month at the Abu Dhabi World Pro. But being ready at the right time is especially important for jiu-jitsu competitors who train year round and Keenan is a competitor who is always capable of climbing to the top of any bracket. Even in a stacked medium-heavyweight division you can't count Keenan Cornelius out!

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