It's the eve of the IBJJF 2019 Pan Championships, and as per tradition, the event is set to run the adult purple belt divisions over the first two days of competition, bringing the sport's budding talents to the fore. 

The adult men's divisions will go down Thursday; women's brackets will run on Friday. Though medals are far from a guaranteed, we've selected some of the most exciting athletes from each division that you should keep an eye on.

(All times PT.)

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Isaias Higino - Alliance  - Roosterweight

First Match: Higino vs. TBD -  Thursday, Mat 2, 11:02 a.m.

Isaias Higino is a scrappy young fighter out of Brazil that currently made the jump to train at Isaque Bahiese’s Dream Project in Saulo Paulo. Already a Worlds, Pans and Rio Grand Slam gold medalist, Hiigno has a strong shot a taking home top honors at Pans again in 2019.

Higino (center) with Israel & Isaque Bahiense. 

Jessamin Khan- Atos - Roosterweight First Match: Khan vs. Ashleigh Dawn - Friday, Mat 5, 9:18 a.m. Jesamin "Jessa" Khan is undeniably one of the most exciting new purple belts to hit the adult scene in 2019. She owns basically everything at the juvenile level and repeated the success at the 2019 European Championships in her adult division debut. She posses a killer Berimbolo and has excellent competitive instincts for such a young athlete. Demian Balderrama - Atos - Light-Feather   First match: Balderama vs. TBD -  Thursday, Mat 5, 11:04 a.m. A Pan and World Champion in 2017, Demian Balderrama is another one of Atos' up-and-coming stars. While Balderrama possesses deceptively strong passing, he is also a master of the 50/50, Berimbolo back takes sequences.  Sarah Thackray - Alliance - Light-Feather  First Match: Thackray vs. Taylor Segovia - Friday, Mat 6, 9:27 a.m. Sarah Thackray had an incredible performance in 2018: she's the European champion, took first at Pan Championships, first again at Abu Dhabi World Pro, and again took gold at Worlds. She's a finely tuned finisher and is known to hit a variety of submissions.  Yaroslav Blazhko – ZR Team – Featherweight First Match: Blazhko vs. TBD - Thursday, Mat 8, 12:33 p.m. A European 2019 silver medalist, Yaroslav Blazhko is as crafty as they come. Hailing from Ukraine, Blazhko has made an impression on us over the years with his submission-hungry style and impressive guard. Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription! Sign Up Already a subscriber? Log In Andy Murasaki - Atos - Lightweight First Match: Murasaki vs. TBD - Thursday, Mat 4, 12:41 p.m. Andy Murasaki has been on our must-watch list since he was coming up through the juvenile blue belt ranks. A versatile athlete, Murasaki already excels in all areas of the game, including vicious takedowns, passing and submission attempts. He's been honing his skills under Andre Galvao since February 2018.   Unlock this video, live events, and more with a subscription! Sign Up Already a subscriber? Log In Jessica Buchman - Lightweight - Brasa CTA First Match: Buchman vs. Clara Chung - Friday, Mat 7, 9:36 a.m.  Jessica Buchman has quietly been building a reputation has one of the best women's competitors coming out of the midwest. A student of Comprido, she recently took home the bronze medal at the 2019 European Championships and is a previous juvenile 2 blue belt world champion.  Jansen Gomes - Checkmat - Middleweight First Match: Gomes vs. TBD – Thursday, Mat 8, 2:12 p.m. Gomes hails from the Cantagalo favela in Rio de Janeiro, the same location as Checkmat star Jackson Sousa. Jiu-jitsu runs in the family; his older brother is brown belt Jonata Gomes, and his father Antonio Carlos is a black belt instructor in the team.  Now based in Los Angeles, Gomes trains under the supervision of Checkmat founder Leo Vieira as part of the "Rising Stars" talent development program and is absolutely someone to keep an eye on in this division.

Jansen Gomes, Center. 

Nicole Evangelista - Brasa CTA - Middleweight

First Match: Evangelista vs. TBD - Friday, Mat 8, 10:03 a.m.

Nicole Evangelista is one of the most promising female jiu-jitsu athletes coming up through the ranks. She's been training for more than a decade, and in that time she medaled at all the majors coming through the ranks, including dual silver medals at the 2018 World & Pan Championships.  

Her guard is perhaps her most dangerous weapon: look out for triangle and armbar finishes. 

Mateus Rodrigues -  Atos - Medium-Heavy 

First match: Rodrigues vs. TBD - Thursday, Mat 9, 2:50 p.m.

One of AOJ's rising stars, Mateus Rodrigues is a sight to behold when he takes the mats. Proficient in all areas, Rodrigues seems to be able to finish a match when he decides it's over. The medium-heavyweight division is stacked with killers, but we fully expect Mateus to place near the top of the heap. 

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Elisabeth Clay - Ares - Medium-Heavy

First Match: Clay vs. Chloe McNally - Friday, Mat 3, 9:18 a.m. 

Elisabeth Clay possesses the kind of jiu-jitsu that strikes fear into the heart of her opponents. A brutal finisher, Clay has racked up medals across all organizations, including becoming the youngest women to ever qualify for ADCC (although, sadly, she was unable to attend the 2017 World Championships).  

With that been said, the medium-heavyweight division at Pans this year is stacked with Game competitors, and we're very curious to see how Chloe McNally from Unity has adjusted her game in her attempt to overcome her rival Clay. 

Erich Munis - Nova Uniao - Heavyweight 

First Match: Munis vs. TBD - Thursday, Mat 3, 2:01 p.m.

Erich Munis is one of the three brothers who have taken the jiu-jitsu competition scene by storm over the past two years. The 2019 European Absolute Champion, Munis' guard is among the very best of the heavier weight classes, making use of modern lapel variations and a tricky use of the lasso guard. 

He's a strong contender for double gold again this week. 

Erich, Alex & Anderson Munis at the 2019 European Championships.

Yara Soares - TLI - Super-Heavy

First Match: Soares v.s TBD - Friday, Mat 4, 9:43 a.m. 

Yara Soares had an outstanding double-gold performance at the 2019 European Championships, and it's unlikely the TLI / Guigo Jiu-Jitsu athlete has any intentions of slowing down now. Soares' game is cool and calculated, she'll likely pull guard and cautiously make her way to the sweep; and once she's on top, Soares has proven near impossible to sweep.