The PBJJF World Championship is almost here. On Saturday, October 24, the federation will hold its Jiu-Jitsu World Championship in Bel Air, Maryland, in the United States. The tournament brings together athletes of different ages, belts and divisions chasing a world title.
The schedule features gi and no-gi divisions, plus the Kids Worlds, which makes room for the next generation of Jiu-Jitsu. It promises to be a day packed with matches, challenges and opportunities for anyone looking to write another chapter in their journey in the sport.
BELT ON THE LINE: THE PBJJF WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP CROWNS AN OPEN CLASS CHAMPION
Beyond the medals in each division, the PBJJF World Championship has a special prize for whoever dominates the open class: a belt. In Jiu-Jitsu, the open class is considered the toughest test of any tournament. With no weight divisions, a lightweight can run into an ultra-heavyweight in the bracket. The title usually goes to whoever has the strategy and the gas tank to handle several matches in the same day.
GI AND NO-GI: A FULL SCHEDULE IN A SINGLE DAY
Matches follow the federation’s own rules, with specific features designed to keep the action dynamic. In the adult and masters brackets, it is single elimination: lose and you’re out. For the little ones at the Kids Worlds, the official listing indicates double elimination, which guarantees more mat time for those just getting started.
As is standard at major competitions, athletes are divided by belt, age and weight. In the adult divisions, brackets run from white belt to black belt. The masters divisions bring together competitors aged 30 and older, split into age groups, allowing veterans to test themselves against rivals from their own generation.
In the gi, grips set the pace and open the way to points or the submission. Without the gi, the game tends to be faster and more slippery, with more room for wrestling and for leg locks, which are allowed depending on the athlete’s belt and age.
THE WORLDS STAGE: BEL AIR, IN THE HEART OF MARYLAND
The venue will be the APGFCU Arena, the gym at Harford Community College in Bel Air. The town sits in Harford County, about 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Baltimore, Maryland’s largest city. The state is familiar ground for the federation: in June, the PBJJF held its 2026 Pan American Championship there, in Cooksville.
The championship’s official poster lists Brave, the immigration law firm Santos Lloyd and Flo, owner of the FloGrappling platform, which specializes in Jiu-Jitsu and grappling broadcasts, as partners. At the Pan American Championship in June, the matches were streamed live on the platform.
Registration, brackets and more information are available on the official PBJJF website.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
