The brackets are out for the 2019 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship and as always the first thing we do is pour over them to identify the most promising first round matches scheduled to go down in the black belt divisions. 

There are nine guaranteed first round matches the stand out, all in the men's black belt divisions, and they range from rooster to heavyweight. Read on for the full rundown and don't forget you can watch them all live or on demand only on FloGrappling.com this weekend. 

Cleber Sousa

9. Cleber Sousa vs Carlos Alberto Oliveira 

Mat 5, Sun 9.00am – roosterweight 

Repping Atos / Almeida JJ, Cleber Sousa went out early at the recent ADGS London after suffering a bad weight cut. Sousa should never be counted out as he's responsible for a number of big upsets over the last couple of years: he beat Mikey Musumeci in 2017 (one of only two people to ever beat the two-time World champion at black belt) and submitted Kennedy Maciel at Euros last January. Carlos Alberto Oliveira– better known as "Bebeto"– is a relatively new black belt who has already shown considerable promise after competing in events such as the lightweight King of Mats. 

8. Lucas Pinheiro vs Alexssandro Sodre 

Mat 8, Sat 9.00am – light-featherweight

Both Pinheiro and Sodre are the kind of grapplers who show up to scrap. Though light-featherweights, they used to regularly compete in absolute divisions and while neither can claim any major titles to their name they're the kind of solid competitors who will make it at least a couple of matches deep into a bracket. Not so in this case, as it will be a short day for one of them. 

7. Samir Chantre vs Cole Franson 

Mat 6, Sat 9.48am – featherweight 

The first of a number of classic "veteran vs newcomer" matches we can see on this list. Chantre had medalled at pretty much every major jiu-jitsu tournament there is, while Franson was competing here last year as a brown belt. We love matches like these as they offer the chance to see if the new generation is ready to hang with the big boys. Let's see. 

6. Rodrigo Freitas vs Kevin Mahecha 

Mat 8, Sat 10.12am – lightweight

Mahecha has been competing more frequently lately and we've been impressed by what we've seen. He's technical, aggressive and eager to make his mark on the comp scene. What better test for him than the tough Rodrigo Freitas, a highly-respected veteran who's about as difficult a first match as you could hope for in a tournament like Pans. Get past him and it doesn't get any easier, but it would a big confidence boost. 

Bell (left) and Santana (right)

5. Murilo Santana vs Dominique Bell 

Mat 8, Sat 12.00pm – medium-heavyweight

Another first-year black belt in at the deep end; Dom Bell of Atos will have his hands full with the notorious and fearsome Murilo Santana. The Unity team leader is a perennial dark horse in any division he enters, and on the right day is capable of taking out literally anybody in front of him. Bell had better hope that it's his day and not Santana's as once the Brazilian picks up momentum he can be hard to stop. 

Gustavo Batista

4. Gustavo Batista vs Devhonte Johnson 

Mat 6, Sat 12.12pm – medium-heavyweight

Batista returns to action after his highly impressive absolute gold medal at the European Championships in January. He hasn't missed hitting the podium in any tournament he's entered since getting his black belt in 2017. Johnson is dropping down to medium-heavyweight after spending the latter part of his brown belt career as a super-heavyweight. he's struggled to maintain consistency as a black belt but has picked up a couple of significant wins over the likes of Arnaldo Maidana and Euro silver medalist Gabriel Almeida. Batista– who closed out Pans and Worlds last year– will be a huge test for Johnson and how this match plays out has the potential to shape the entire division. 

3. Adam Wardzinski vs Fellipe Trovo

Mat 5, Sun 12.36pm – heavyweight 

Can you believe that this is the first time Wardzinski will ever compete at Pans? He's traveled the world and competed in nearly every major tournament there is yet the Polish black belt has never stepped onto the mats at Pans. Awaiting him will be Fellipe Trovo of Gracie Barra, the lanky and unorthodox trickster training out of Romulo Barral's gym. This is going to be a crazy clash of styles and whoever wins this match will almost certainly face Leandro Lo next. 

Andris in action

2. Andris Brunovskis vs Lucas Rocha

Mat 6, Sat 10.00am – middleweight 

Anybody who watched Brunovskis's performance at Pans will know what the Atos technician is about– an incredibly sophisticated guard game that employs lassos, belt control, inversions and omoplata attacks to confuse and control opponents before sucking them into submission attacks. Fans of cutting-edge jiu-jitsu won't want to miss him in action against ZR Team scrapper Lucas Rocha as this match promises to be a battle of styles and wills. Rocha is not a big name but is as tough as they come– who can forget that he knocked Dillon Danis out of Pans in the first round back in 2017? 

1. Matheus Gabriel vs Kennedy Maciel

Mat 5, Sat 10.24am – featherweight

Lookout, we have a rematch! Rewind to No-Gi Worlds in December and you would have seen Matheus Gabriel and Kennedy Maciel facing off in the opening round of the featherweight division, just like they will hear at Pans. That match ended in dramatic fashion, with Maciel putting Gabriel to sleep via a rear naked choke. Since then Gabriel impressed us with a solid match vs Marcio Andre on Fight 2 Win, while Kennedy suffered a shock first-round submission loss at Euros. Their recent performances are by no means a guarantee of what to expect this coming weekend, but they do help paint a picture of what's on the line: Gabriel will be hungry for revenge, while Kennedy will want to wash the bad taste out of his mouth. Only one can pass, meaning this featherweight first round match is among the most crucial of the entire tournament. 

Watch the 2019 Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship LIVE or On Demand ONLY on FloGrappling from Mar 21-24.