This season’s Pans, held in Kissimmee, Florida, from March 25 to 29, showed that gi Jiu-Jitsu can still move fans with the purest essence of the Gentle Art. At this tournament, it happened in a women’s matchup, in a rivalry born at the Pavilhão de Odivelas in Lisbon during the Europeans, the first IBJJF Grand Slam event of 2026. Sarah Galvão and Gabi Pessanha, champions in their respective divisions, would once again meet face to face in a battle for open class gold.
In their first meeting, Gabi Pessanha won in Portugal, coming out ahead on a narrow scoreboard that showed a win by a single advantage. The rematch at the Pans started with the same emotional charge as the Europeans. Gabi Pessanha isn’t more imposing than Sarah only physically. At the black belt Worlds alone, Gabi has thirteen titles between weight-class and open class wins, while Sarah is still chasing her first gold. André Galvão’s daughter received her black belt on the podium last year, after the Worlds in California, where she won at brown belt.
Facing a determined Sarah in the open class final, the last match of the event, Gabi kept applying pressure to rack up advantages. The strategy seemed to be working until the closing stretch, when the referee stopped the match and restarted both athletes in the center. Sarah didn’t think twice while everyone believed the champion was already decided, including Gabi herself, who watched her lead collapse in an instant. The lighter athlete shot a single-leg, and the favorite tried to break free, but the attack turned into a sequence that ended with Sarah on Gabi’s back, both hooks properly in. The scoreboard then read 6-0 for the less experienced athlete, and there was no time left to change the new chapter written into the history of competitive Jiu-Jitsu. Sarah Galvão, simply exceptional, took double gold at the Pans, quite a stretch in her season.
Two Soldiers athletes returned to the open class final at the Pans, repeating what happened at the Europeans, where Erich Munis and Gabriel Veloso were the finalists. This time, Gabriel Galvão took Munis’s place in the deciding match of the open class. Going against the trend of teammates closing out finals, the Soldiers duo chose to fight it out and crown a champion without any deals. Gabriel Veloso came out on top, on points. With the result, it’s his second open class medal of the season. At the Europeans, he closed out the final with his coach, Erich Munis.
IN AN IMPRESSIVE RUN, MARCOS GOMES SHUTS DOWN THREE WORLD CHAMPIONS TO TAKE THE ROOSTERWEIGHT TITLE
A no-gi world champion in December, Marcos Gomes needed just three months to land another title at one of the IBJJF’s top competitions. The skill level in the roosterweight bracket, where Gomes competed at the Pans, was off the charts. Jalen Fonacier, Everton Teixeira and Bebeto Oliveira, in the quarterfinals, semifinals and final, respectively. In other words, the best in the world showed up in the division. The final was insane: a quick foot lock submission over a world champion. Marcos Gomes is established this season with a clear danger warning stamped on the division.
As the men’s competition went on, another AOJ athlete was crowned. Diego ‘Pato’ reinforced his status as a gi powerhouse by winning his fourth Pans title. In the division final, the black belt from Manaus beat Japan’s Shoya Ishiguro, who had eliminated reigning Pans champion Rerisson Gabriel in the semifinals. On social media, ‘Pato’ celebrated his strong performance in his return to light featherweight, after competing at featherweight last year. He said he is happy with his guard passing, something he has been sharpening in recent training.
Cole Abate, cooler than ever, knew how to map out the strategy to claim the top of the podium at featherweight. The American, a big name at AOJ, reached the final by submitting world champion João ‘Bisnaga’ Mendes with a kneebar. In the gold medal match, Samuel Nagai, another world champion, gave Cole a war. With the win on points over the Brazilian, the ice-cold black belt made up for his setback at the Europeans, where he lost the division final to Kennedy Maciel, who finished third this time.
A veteran took the top of the lightweight podium. Jackson Nagai, an athlete from the masters ranks, competed among the adults right after his brother Samuel and chased his second elite Pans title. In the final, Nagai beat Will Wilson on points. Wilson is a much younger competitor riding an inspired stretch, with a recent title at the IBJJF Europeans.
FIVE-TIME PANS CHAMPION: TAINAN DALPRA SHUTS DOWN ELIJAH DORSEY’S STRATEGY WITH A GALA PERFORMANCE IN THE MIDDLEWEIGHT FINAL
Tainan Dalpra knows, like few others, how to turn Jiu-Jitsu into a visual spectacle. When he competes, the crowd freezes to watch, follows in silence and reacts with applause at the end. That’s what happened at the Pans, on the last day of the tournament. Tainan was the most feared athlete at middleweight, familiar territory for him. In the final, the AOJ black belt faced Elijah Dorsey, stuck to his own game plan and shut down any danger. Elijah is tough and tried to take the lead, but Tainan got there first. He swept, mounted and pulled away on the scoreboard. A five-time Pans champion with the class of an idol.
Enderson Dias fought hard for his first Pans title. The Rio de Janeiro native, who now lives in Florida and represents Elementum Jiu-Jitsu, showed technical polish on his way to the final. In the semis, he stopped the talented Luiz Maxnuk, and in the final he managed the match well against Alex Munis, taking the title by one advantage.
Alliance’s Felipinho is officially on top. After being eliminated in the quarterfinals of the Pans last year, the Rio de Janeiro competitor came back strong in his hunt for gold this season. During his run in Kissimmee, Luiz Felipe also finished third in the open class. In the heavyweight final, the ‘Black Cat’ faced Rider Zuchi in a close battle and secured the win on points.
NOLAN STUART REMAINS DOMINANT AT THE BIG EVENTS; IN THE SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT FINAL, HE SET AN OFFENSIVE PACE OVER VINICIUS LIBERATI
An omoplata specialist, a key weapon in his run to the super heavyweight final, Nolan Stuart showed more volume against Brazil’s Vinicius Liberati of Soldiers. The reigning heavyweight king of The Crown, after an impressive win over Adam Wardzinski with another lethal omoplata, Nolan became a two-time Pans champion by beating Liberati on points.
Big man Seif-Eddine Houmine spoiled Anderson Kauan’s plans in the ultra-heavyweight final at the Pans. Early in the match, Márcio de Deus’s student tried to stay on his feet and break down Seif’s base with leg kicks. One takedown attack by Seif was enough for him to apply pressure, smother and finish with a choke.
Ana Lima, a Roberto ‘Cyborg’ black belt, took home her second Pans title on the last day of competition in Florida. In the women’s roosterweight final, Ana got the better of Gracie Humaitá’s Mariana Rolszt on points. The next match did not take place. In the light featherweight final, Mayssa Bastos took the gold after closing out the final with Ashlee Funegra, her AOJ training partner. Mayssa is a multiple-time IBJJF champion and is now a five-time Pans champion.
At women’s featherweight, AOJ added another gold, this time thanks to Margot Ciccarelli’s skills. In the final, she faced Larissa Campos and won a close, tied match that was decided by the referees. It is Margot’s second elite-level IBJJF Grand Slam title. In 2024, she won the Europeans.
Before beating Gabi Pessanha in the open class, Sarah Galvão imposed her game on the dangerous Janaina Lebre, an experienced black belt and world champion. The lightweight final at the Pans wasn’t a first-time matchup, since Sarah faced and beat Lebre in The Crown final. In the rematch, the black belt rookie confirmed her excellent form and had her hand raised once again. The result came by decision.
INSPIRED FORM: CANADA’S LILLIAN MARCHAND SHOWS SHE BELONGS AMONG THE BEST AND SUBMITS ELISABETH CLAY IN THE PANS FINAL
Lillian Marchand arrived at the Pans facing a huge challenge. The Atos black belt was seeded 17th at middleweight, but she wasn’t intimidated and went unscathed through everyone in her path. Along the way, she submitted Aghata Fernandes in the semis and Elisabeth Clay in the final, a result that takes talent. Lillian is already an IBJJF no-gi world champion, a title she won last December. At the Pyramid, for the gi Worlds in California, she promises to make life hard for anyone chasing the top spot.
Elizabeth Mitrovic’s first major result in the gi came at this season’s Pans. An IBJJF No Gi world champion in 2023, Lyzz still had unfinished business when it came to IBJJF Grand Slam titles. At the competition in Florida, she faced Maca Vicentini in the medium heavyweight final, set the pace and won the match on points.
A two-time world champion and now a three-time Pans gold medalist, Larissa Dias raised her profile at the elite level by topping the heavyweight division. In the bracket’s final match, the Brazilian was the sharper athlete against Maria Malyjasiak, winning on points. On the day reserved for the adult black belt finals, it was a Dias family party at the arena in Kissimmee. Siblings Enderson and Larissa left the venue with gold medals around their necks.
Gabi Pessanha’s opponent in the super heavyweight final was Raniele Alencar, an Atos black belt who won the Worlds at the Pyramid last year in her final tournament as a brown belt. With the win over the Atos athlete, the Márcio de Deus black belt reached another historic milestone in her career: she now has ten elite titles at the Pans alone. Gabi was superior in the match and, applying heavy top pressure, found the submission with a move that smothered her opponent, with shoulder pressure on the face and a lapel adjustment.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
