The IBJJF No-Gi Europeans reach their 13th edition sold out, with the continent’s no-gi Jiu-Jitsu elite gathering in Rome, Italy. The championship runs from October 28 to November 1, and the federation closed registration once the event hit maximum capacity. In the adult black belt division, the official list has 153 men and 45 women, split across 15 weight classes.
The deadline to correct team, age and weight ends this Monday, the 19th, and coaches can adjust their academies’ lists on the 20th and 21st. After that, the brackets take shape, and the schedule has adult black belt action on Saturday and Sunday. Admission is free for spectators. Under IBJJF rules, weigh-ins take place minutes before each athlete’s first match, and the championship’s official page lists FloGrappling among the event’s partners.
NO-GI EUROPEANS: PAWEL JAWORSKI RETURNS TO ROME TO DEFEND THE DOUBLE GOLD HE WON IN 2025
The biggest name on the men’s list is Pawel Kacper Jaworski. At last year’s edition, he left Rome with double gold: he beat Shane Fishman in the medium-heavyweight final and then knocked off Jean Luca Maltese in the open class final. Jaworski is back, registered at medium-heavyweight in a 16-athlete bracket. Maltese also returns, now at super-heavyweight, as one of the contenders to meet the champion again in the open class.
The middleweight bracket added a familiar name who just shone in Brazil. Darlan Casaca, the division champion at last weekend’s Rio Spring Open no-gi, is registered in Rome, but one step down, at middleweight. He shares the path with Tarik Hopstock, the 2025 middleweight champion, and Kieran Kichuk, the runner-up in that final. The middleweight bracket is the most crowded in the elite division, with 35 athletes.
2025 CHAMPIONS AND RIO SPRING STANDOUTS FILL OUT THE HEAVYWEIGHT BRACKETS
Former heavyweight champion Faris Dean Benlamkadem also changed divisions and appears at super-heavyweight. There, besides Maltese, he faces 2025 bronze medalists Adam Nabawy and Moritz Koellensperger. The same bracket includes Steffano Augusto Cavalcante Santos, the no-gi super-heavyweight runner-up at Rio Spring. Karol Kania, last edition’s heavyweight silver medalist, returns to that division, which has 16 entrants and will not have last year’s champion defending the title.
At ultra-heavyweight, Alexander Sak is looking to turn his 2025 silver into gold. João Vieira Ricardo arrives in Rome after taking silver in the division at Rio Spring no-gi last weekend. In the lighter weights, José Julián Espinosa defends his lightweight title in a 30-athlete bracket, and Shay Montague, the 2025 roosterweight champion, returns as the favorite in a division with only three entrants.
Lightfeatherweight promises to be one of the most evenly matched divisions of the championship. Edwin Ocasio, the 2025 runner-up, and Daniël de Groot, last year’s bronze medalist, are among the 11 entrants. At featherweight, Noah Gutierrez is looking to move up a step after his 2025 silver, in a 19-athlete bracket, the third largest on the men’s side.
ON THE WOMEN’S SIDE, INJANA GOODMAN AND SALLA SIMOLA RETURN TO DEFEND THE TITLES THEY WON LAST YEAR
Among the women, the most notable absence is Gabi Pessanha. The 2025 No-Gi Europeans double gold medalist, with the super-heavyweight and open class titles, the Rio native does not appear on this edition’s entry list. In 2026, she already reached a historic mark in the gi, winning her twelfth IBJJF world title at the Worlds held at the Pyramid in California.
With Gabi out, Injana Goodman emerges as one of the names to beat. The 2025 middleweight champion and open class runner-up returns to the division, which has six entrants, among them Rosary Walsh, last year’s bronze medalist. At medium-heavyweight, Salla Simola defends her title in a ten-athlete bracket that includes Jessika Torttila, a 2025 bronze medalist. Thaís Loureiro, the roosterweight champion in Rome, moves up to lightfeatherweight, a division with five entrants, while Josefine Modig, the 2025 lightfeatherweight bronze medalist, now appears at featherweight.
Women’s lightweight is the most crowded division, with 12 athletes. It includes Amanda Bruse, the 2025 silver medalist, and Carol Brunacio, the division champion at Rio Spring no-gi, a tournament that also saw Diogo ‘Baby Shark’ Reis submit every opponent on his way to featherweight gold. At heavyweight, Nia Blackman, last year’s medium-heavyweight bronze medalist, moves up a division and faces four other athletes.
EUROPEANS SCHEDULE: ADULT BLACK BELTS COMPETE ON SATURDAY AND SUNDAY, WITH FREE ADMISSION FOR SPECTATORS
According to the preliminary schedule released by the IBJJF, Wednesday is reserved for adult blue belts. The master 1 and 2 black belt divisions take the mats on Friday, and the adults compete on Saturday. On the men’s side, the brackets start on Saturday, with quarterfinals, semifinals and finals on Sunday. On the women’s side, matches run through the semifinals on Saturday, and the finals take place on Sunday, the last day of the championship.
The No-Gi Europeans cap a busy week on the coast of Rome. On October 27, Lido di Ostia hosts the Rome International Open, and the IBJJF offered combined registration for both events. On the horizon for many athletes is the No-Gi Worlds, set for December 10 to 12 in Las Vegas, where rankings matter: the federation requires 30 points in the no-gi rankings to register for the adult black belt division. Full information is on the championship’s official page.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
