We analyzed every adult male black belt division at the 2019 IBJJF European Championships to determine which is the most difficult. 

To avoid any kind of personal opinion influencing how we ranked the divisions, we created a system which assigned a point value for past World, Pan, Brazilian National and European championship gold, silver and bronze medalists, plus other notable tournaments. By looking at the number of champions and successful athletes in each division, we offer an objective view of the current black belt competition landscape. 

The points values are as follows: 

• 5 for World Championship gold medal
• 4 for Pan gold medal 
• 3 for Brazilian Nationals and Euros gold medal 
• 2 for a silver medal at any of the above 
• 1 for a bronze medal at any of the above 
• 1 point for a significant Open (Asian Nationals, American Nationals)

Watch the 2019 IBJJF European Championships

Jan. 15-20 | Lisbon, Portugal

Read on for the list of divisions, ranked by difficulty: 

7. Heavy

• Gustavo Batista – 4
• Adam Wardzinski – 1
• Total: 5 

7. Super-Heavy 

• Helton Junior – 2 
• James Puopolo – 2
• Fellipe Andrew – 1 
• Total: 5 

With seven competitors in Heavy and 10 in Super-Heavy, the number of established champions is lower than other divisions. Only Gustavo Batista– who closed out Worlds and Pans with Lucas Barbosa but only officially appears on the record as a Pan champion–can claim a gold medal. it is worth mentioning that Heavy includes the surging Kaynan Duarte, Batista's Atos teammate, and NS Brotherhood's Pedro Henrique Elias. Jackson Sousa signed up to compete but will miss the tournament due to injury. 

Five of the 10 super-heavyweights hail from Europe, and none can claim to hold any major titles. The most successful on the world scene have scored silver medals at Worlds (Puopolo, 2016) and Euros (Helton Junior, 2018). 

6. Ultra-Heavy

• Victor Honorio – 3
• Tanner Rice – 2
• Igor Schneider – 2 
• Total: 7

With only eight competitors, the ultra-heavyweight division is small but mighty. Brazilian champion Victor Honorio is the most credentialed. Tanner Rice and Igor Schneider are both prominent competitors who have hit the podium in major tournaments such as Euros / Pans and, in Schneider's case, Brazilian Nationals. 

5. Light-Feather 

• Joao Miyao – 4
• Hiago George – 3 
• Cleber Sousa – 1
• Yuta Shimada – 1
• Total: 9

Joao Miyao leads the pack at light-feather. A total of 11 competitors make up the division, but it is important to note that Kennedy Maciel is among them, who has yet to win a tournament in the gi but recently was crowned No-Gi World champion. 

4. Rooster

• Tomoyuki Hashimoto - 4 
• Rodnei Barbosa – 3 
• Koji Shibamoto – 3 
• Nobuhiro Sawada – 1 
• Total: 11

Three of the four most credentialed athletes in the rooster weight division are Japanese, indicating their success at the lighter weights. Pan champ Tomoyuki Hashimoto is also a solid contender for gold in this division, which will see him compete against two of his countrymen should he wish to take gold. 

4. Feather

• Paulo Miyao – 5
• Leo Saggioro – 3 
• Isaac Doederlein – 1
• Gabriel Marangoni – 1
• Cole Franson – 1
• Total: 11 

Despite the many Opens they have won, nobody else in this group comes close to the achievements of Paulo Miyao and Leonardo Saggioro. A World and Brazilian Champion respectively, they contributed 8 of the 11 points for this division, which could have been higher ranked had Marcio Andre not withdrawn his name from the tournament. 

3. Middle

• Isaque Bahiense – 5
• Michael Liera Junior – 4 
• Tommy Langaker – 2
• Andris Brunovskis – 1
• Espen Mathiesen – 1
• Total: 13

A World champion, a Pan and European champion and a Worlds silver medalist, middleweight is among the most competitive of divisions at 2019 Euros, and also the largest with 18 competitors. Bahiense is the 2018 World champ but has never won Euros. Liera Jr won here in 2016, while Langaker is a World silver medalist and Pan absolute bronze medalist, but has yet to medal at Euros as a black belt. 

2. Light

• Lucas Lepri – 5
• Gianni Grippo – 4
• Yan Lucas – 3
• Masahiro Iwasaki – 2 
• Total: 14

Lepri leads the charge as World champion (five times, no less). 2018 Pan champion Grippo, 2018 Brazilian champion Yan Lucas and 2018 European silver medalist Masahiro Iwasaki add incredible depth to the lightweight division. The 18-man division is rounded out with a host of competitive up-and-comers including Levi Jones-Leary, Caio Caetano, Pedro Ramalho, Alexandre Molinaro, Kevin Mahecha and more. 

1. Medium-Heavy

• Claudio Calasans – 5
• Lucas Barbosa – 5
• Rudson Mateus – 3
• Horlando Monteiro – 3
• Total: 16 

Two World champions in Claudio Calasans (2015) and Lucas Barbosa (2018) instantly give this category a huge boost in the rankings. Rudson Mateus is 2018 Brazilian champ while Horlando was European champion in the same year. Not only do these four men carry the most weight in their titles, but Hulk, Rudson and Horlando were all extremely successful in 2018, making medium-heavyweight the most competitive division by far.