Five weight categories for the black belts, and $17,500 in cash for the winners. Jiu-jitsu competitors have got the payday they’ve been asking for. 

The IBJJF Los Angeles BJJ Pro takes place on October 7 and– as you’d expect– has attracted some of the best local and national talent. For athletes who fight most weekends for free (not counting the titles and the glory) this is an opportunity to earn some hard cash for their efforts. 

IBJJF BJJ Pros run a little different to standard events; weight divisions are combined into feather (154.5lbs), middle (181.5lbs), heavy (208lbs) and ultra-heavy (no max weight). Cash prizes are offered with male gold medalists taking $4,000 and second place getting $1,000. A prize of $1,500 is on offer for the winner of the female black belt absolute. 

Let’s take a look at the divisions and see who’s likely to walk away with the cash. 

1. Favorite Sousa Faces Stiff Competition at Middleweight 

The middleweight bracket is headlined by two long time elite competitors in the division, Otavio Sousa (Gracie Barra) and Vitor Oliveira (GF Team), along with young guns Michael Liera (Atos) and Marcio Andre (Nova Uniao).

Sousa, a three-time World champion and seven-time World medalist, had possibly a down year for his standards in 2018. Despite taking third at Pans he shockingly went down in the first round at Worlds. Sousa and Oliveira have a long history together, with Sousa so far having the advantage of five wins to one loss in the series.

Oliveira recently won his third straight Master Worlds title but is still successful at the adult level as well. In 2018 Vitor competed down at lightweight and took third at both the Worlds and Pans.

Liera closed out Pans this year at lightweight with teammate JT Torres after defeating Oliveira by ref decision in the semifinal. Marcio Andre won Euros and took third at Worlds this year. 

2. Atos Loading The Brackets at Heavyweight 

The heavyweight division should also be severely affected by the bracketing at BJJ Pro events, as three out of six registered athletes are representing Atos. This will presumably lead to an all-Atos side of the bracket.

The Atos reps include Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa, Helton Jose Junior and Rafael Vasconcelos. Hulk had a breakout year in 2018 in which he was the only male black belt to achieve the IBJJF Grand Slam after winning Worlds, Pans, Euros and the Brasileiro. 

As closeouts are not allowed and only one athlete will make it into the final, it begs the questions of who goes through, and will they split the cash or does the winner take all? 

3. Ultra-Heavyweight: Small but Mighty 

The ultra-heavyweight division contains only four athletes but all of them have a great shot at the prize money. 

Two-time ADCC champ Yuri Simoes (Brasa CTA), two-time World champ Antonio Braga Neto (Babalu’s Iron Gym), 2018 European champ Ricardo Evangelista (GF Team) and up-and-coming Felipe Trovo (Gracie Barra) make for some exciting potential matchups in Los Angeles.

4. No Clear Frontrunner at Featherweight 

The featherweight division has the most competitors of any black belt weight at eight, and all of them should have a realistic shot at the prize money. Given the BJJ Pro rules of putting teammates on the same side of the bracket we will see the three Ares and two Cicero Costha representatives placed together. How the remaining three athletes get distributed in the bracket will be a big factor on how this division plays out.

Veteran Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho (Ares) is the favorite at this weight after taking third at both Pans and Worlds in 2018. As mentioned earlier he has two teammates in the bracket in Samir Chantre and Jonathan Van Buren. Most likely one of either Cole Franson, Thiago Macedo or Bruno Carvalho will be placed with the three Ares reps to make it an even four per side in the bracket.

Hiago George (Cicero Costha) has had a tremendous 2018 so far including winning both the Europeans and Brasileiro. These victories were however down a weight class at light-feather and he should be giving up some size to Queixinho, who recently fought as a lightweight at Master Worlds. The second Cicero Costha representative is Victor Moraes, who put in an impressive showing last week at the Los Angeles Grand Slam where he defeated Kennedy Maciel in the quarterfinals.

Thiago Macedo (Rodrigo Pinheiro) was the 2018 American National champ at this weight. Cole Franson (Tinguinha) is a recently promoted black belt but has been very active at the rank since his promotion, including winning the Asian Open. 

5. Women’s Absolute Nathiely’s to Lose

Five women are registered to compete for the prize money in the black belt division, including three World champions. Nathiely de Jesus (Unity) has won Worlds the last two years and is currently the third overall ranked woman. 

Luiza Monteiro (Atos) is also a two-time World champ after wins in 2015 and 2017, and is ranked seventh overall. 2011 World champ Talita Nogueira (NS Brotherhood) should also contend for the title. 

Watch the IBJJF Los Angeles BJJ Pro LIVE or On Demand ONLY on FloGrappling. Every mat and every match!