There are many reasons why the IBJJF World Championship is considered the most important tournament of the season. For fans, it’s because it always provides some of the most dramatic moments of the year. 

Now that we’re just over a week out from 2018 Worlds—held at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, CA—it’s time to quickly recap the main storylines from the black belt divisions going into what promises to be one of the best years ever. 

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1. Bruno Malfacine Looking to Set an Unbeatable Record 

Can you believe that roosterweight king Bruno Malfacine is just days away from winning his tenth world title? Malfacine has won nine IBJJF world titles since 2007 and holds the record for most gold medals in a single weight class. Ten-time champs Roger Gracie and Buchecha won half of their medals in the absolute division, something the 125lb Malfacine had to avoid. 

The rematch we're all waiting for.

2. The Rematch of the Year: Leandro Lo vs. Nicholas Meregali 

Just one day after 2017 champ Nicholas Meregali’s name appeared in the list of super heavyweight competitors, so did Leandro Lo’s. They faced off in the heavyweight final in 2017, with Meregali narrowly winning via points. Word on the street is that Lo is hungry for the rematch and chose the heavier weight class purely because that’s where he could go against Meregali. Gangster. 

Buchecha will not be denied.

3. Buchecha Aiming to Make History 

With 10 world titles to his name, 28-year-old Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida isn’t stopping just yet. The ultra-heavyweight destroyer could feasibly add two gold medals to his collection at the 2018 Worlds should he win his weight division and the absolute. Considering he hasn’t lost at IBJJF Worlds since 2015, it’s a safe bet to say he’s going to make history on June 3. 

First-year black belt Gutemberg Pereira, absolute silver medalist at the 2018 Pans.

4. The Rise of a New Generation

We’ll post more about this in the coming days, but we’ve identified 20(!) athletes who are making their IBJJF World Championship black belt debuts. Ten male and 10 female competitors are in the mix, pointing to a much-needed injection of fresh talent that will help drive the sport forward. 

Andre Galvao will focus on coaching his athletes this year

5. A Changing of the Guard 

Fans have commented that many of their favorite names are not in attendance, and it’s fully understandable when you considered many of them are in their mid-30s and winding down their competitive careers. Andre Galvao, Romulo Barral, Cobrinha, Cyborg… The big names we used to expect are absent, replaced by a new wave of talent that could even overtake the previous generation in terms of accomplishments and legacy. 

6. Women’s jiu-jitsu is better than ever 

We posted about this just a few days ago, but there are a staggering amount of highly talented black belt women competing this year at Worlds—more than ever, in fact. Divisions which once consisted of maybe two entrants now boast six, such as the female roosterweight and super-heavyweight categories. 

JT Torres

7. We could see multiple non-Brazilian champions 

It’s very possible that we could see not just American but also potentially non-Brazilian champions crowned. Yes, the game will likely be dominated by Brazilians for some time to come, but there are a number of incredible international grapplers chipping away at that hegemony one gold medal at a time. Leading from the front are medal hopefuls JT Torres, Keenan Cornelius, and Gianni Grippo for the USA; Espen Mathiesen and Tommy Langaker of Norway; Adam Wardzinski of Poland; Dante Leon and Jake Mackenzie of Canada; and Tomoyuki Hashimoto, Koji Shibamoto and Masahiro Iwasaki of Japan... And that's just in the men's divisions! The women have their hopefuls too, as we'll examine in coming days. 

Watch the 2018 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship live

May 30* to June 3 | Long Beach, CA