It was a year of firsts at Pans. In total there were six rookie black belts who stood atop the podium at the 2019 IBJJF Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship, with three men and three women all taking gold in their first year competing alongside some of the biggest names of the sport. Before we say for sure that there is a changing of the guard underway it is worth pointing out many returning champions did not register for Pans this year. This left the door wide open for a new set of champions here, but it’s too soon to say if the entire sport is being overtaken by younger competitors. Four golds at Euros were won by rookies and now six at Pans– we’ll be keeping a close eye on this trend as Worlds approaches.

Below we profile the three rookie male black belt champions from Pans. Tomorrow: the women. 

Matheus Gabriel's Rough Road To The Top Results In Pan Gold

I think we can all agree that Matheus Gabriel is a black belt who has proved he cannot be overlooked. We've been following him since he was a colored belt and he built up a reputation as a submission machine with standout performances on Fight 2 Win. 

It hasn't all been easy him though, as the young Brazilian (who is based in Dallas, TX) has had his fair share of downs as well as ups. Rewind to 2018 Pans where he and his opponent were double DQ'd in the brown belt featherweight final. And who can forget what happened at the Word No-Gi just last December, one of his first major tournaments as a black belt. Choked unconscious in his first match by Kennedy Maciel, he rebounded by going toe-to-toe with Marcio Andre on the F2W stage in January and showed that it was just a bump in the road. 

Pans showed off just how dangerous Gabriel is. The sickening armbar that saw him take revenge over Kennedy Maciel in– once again– the first round match will not be soon forgotten. But it didn't stop there. 

Gabriel picked up momentum as he went on and faced off with 2019 World champ Jamil Hill-Taylor in the final. Yes the match was somewhat controversial– it wasn't the first time and won't be the last that there were doubts over the officiating– the final score was 4-4, 2-2 adv, 2-3 pen– but the result will stand. Gabriel became champ in his first year as a black belt, and that's something you can't take away from the kid.  

Two Down For Levi Jones-Leary, And He Promises More To Come 

For every person who was hailing Jones-Leary's gold medal at Euros as a triumph, there was another denouncing it as a fluke. It's hard not to admit that we were definitely on the Levi train after that performance, and we feel vindicated for believing in the Australian's potential now that he has won his second major gold medal of the season here at Pans.

Pan brown belt champ in 2018, and now back to become Pan black belt champ in 2019. It’s worth reminding people that he was brown belt World champ last year too– if he were to come out and win Worlds too it could be one of the most successful first year careers we’ve ever seen. 

Four matches for Levi, which included a 6-4 win over Renato Canuto in the final. Not many people can keep up with Renato's pace and the Brazilian seemed well-prepared for Levi's berimbolo attacks. But the will to win came through and Jones-Leary went after Canuto hard right to the end. 

Jones-Leary’s coach Murilo Santana tells me that he really is something special and that a big part of his success is his intelligence and self belief. Far from being cocky, the confidence just pours out of him and he already told us that he’s “winning it all” in 2019! 

Results Speak For Themselves For Kaynan Duarte 

If there is a contender for the most successful first year black belt ever then you mustn’t forget Kaynan Duarte. The kind of guy who prefers to let his jiu-jitsu do the talking, Duarte has won World No-Gi, European and Pan gold all in the last four months.

Duarte elected to sit out the absolute division at Pans to focus on his weight class– a smart move as he submitted two-time World silver medalist Patrick Gaudio with a nasty toehold and then defeated Adam Wardzinski (who had just come off choking Leandro Lo) by a single advantage in the final. Kaynan had ran over Adam in London just a few weeks ago, submitting him in a few minutes. Wardzinski looked much-improved but Duarte just managed to always stay ahead. 

Andre Galvao has always told us of Kaynan's potential, and if the Atos team leader believes he can go all the way then you better believe it's possible. As difficult a division as heavyweight is Kaynan takes every challenge in his stride and has been only looking better and better. The recent Pan gold is just one more step to an unforgettable career.