IBJJF Worlds 2026 Day-by-Day Recap: How Every Day Unfolded
A day-by-day recap of IBJJF Worlds 2026 in Long Beach (May 28–31) — from Omar Nada's brown belt double gold on Day 1 to the black belt finals, open class, and Diego Pato's retirement on the final day.
The 30-second version
The 2026 IBJJF World Championship ran four days at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach (May 28–31) — the 30th edition of the Mundials. Thursday belonged to the brown and blue belts, headlined by Omar Nada's double gold. Friday ran the adult male purple belts, adult female brown belts, and juveniles. Saturday opened the adult black belt brackets, setting up every women's final and the men's semifinals. Sunday delivered all the black belt finals and the open class — and a fourth career title for Tainan Dalpra, a record-breaking retirement for Diego "Pato" Batista, and a 12th world title for Gabi Pessanha. Here's how each day played out.
Day 1 — Thursday, May 28: brown and blue belts open the Pyramid
The tournament opened with the adult male brown and blue belts plus the adult female blue belts, and the brown belt division immediately produced a star turn. Omar Tariq Nada (Unity Jiu-Jitsu) won double gold at super-heavy and absolute, going six matches across the two brackets with the kind of relentless top pressure that drew comparisons to his New York coach Murilo Santana (FloGrappling Day 1 recap).
He wasn't the only brown belt who looked ready for the next level:
- Felipe Goulart (AOJ) won light-feather gold after a war with João Vitor Alves, pulling ahead on the strength of several vicious ankle locks.
- Natã Tença (Atos) won ultra-heavy as the only adult male brown belt to take his title entirely by submission — foot locks in every match.
- The Qazaqstan Top Team announced itself with Alinur Kuatuly (feather) and Seiilkhan Bolatbek (light) both winning gold in two of the deepest brackets of the day, plus a light-feather bronze from Batyr Tenizbay.
The day closed with the adult blue belts, where Helena Ferreira (Vision) took double gold (light + open) and Matheus Lima (CheckMat) won the blue belt absolute, bouncing back from a super-heavy semifinal loss to finish the open-class final by submission.
Team points after Day 1: Alliance led the men (54), while Gracie Barra topped an early, tightly-packed women's race (21).
Day 2 — Friday, May 29: purple belts and women's brown belts
Friday handed the mats to the adult male purple belts, the adult female brown belts, and the full slate of juvenile divisions. The purple belt brackets are always a preview of the next black belt generation, and a few names stood out on the podium (FloGrappling results):
- Lincoln Santos (Alliance) at super-heavy and Rodrigo Dantas (Vision) at ultra-heavy anchored the heavier purple divisions.
- Kaike Kelmer (Alliance) and Dione Munis (Soldiers) took medium-heavy and heavy.
- In the women's brown belts, Emily Leyva (Atos), India Risby (Atos) and Nikolett Kis (Sigma) were among the division winners, while Onjeong Ye (Seorae Jiu-Jitsu) took super-heavy.
The juvenile divisions also crowned their champions, with Start Doing building a lead in the juvenile team race that would hold through the weekend.
Day 3 — Saturday, May 30: the black belts arrive
Saturday is when Worlds turns into Worlds. The adult black belts took the mats for the first time, running the women's divisions through to their finals and the men's through their semifinals — and the day delivered what FloGrappling called one of the most action-packed days in Worlds history (Yahoo/FloSports Day 3 recap).
The favorites mostly held serve. Tainan Dalpra, Diego Pato, and Jansen Gomes all cruised through their sides of the bracket. But the upsets came thick and fast:
- #1-ranked Rerisson Gabriel was beaten by UAE Jiu-Jitsu Team's Khaled Mohammad Alshehhi.
- Tarcisio Santos, ranked #13 and a black belt for only six months, edged #2 Andy Murasaki to reach the medal rounds.
- Windson Torres took a decision over 2025 super-heavy silver medalist Nolan Stuart to reach his first black belt podium.
- A surprise disqualification at medium-heavy ended Gustavo Batista's run, erasing a potential trilogy match with Jansen Gomes.
By the end of the day, every women's black belt final and both open-class finals were set: Erich Munis vs. Marcus "Scooby" Ribeiro for the men's absolute, and Gabi Pessanha vs. Tayane Porfírio for the women's. The adult female purple belts also competed, with Raika dos Santos Castro winning double gold at heavy and open.
Team points after Day 3: Alliance had pulled into the lead in both the adult male (85) and adult female (36) races, with only the black belt points left to award.
Day 4 — Sunday, May 31: finals day
The final day ran the men's black belt semifinals followed by every black belt weight-class final and the open class. It produced the weekend's defining moments.
Diego "Pato" Batista's record — and retirement
Diego "Pato" Batista won light-feather for his fifth IBJJF gi world title, breaking the all-time record at the weight previously held by his own coach, Guilherme Mendes. Then he took off his black belt and left it on the mat — the traditional retirement gesture — writing simply, "My soul is satisfied" (Yahoo/SB Nation).
Tainan Dalpra and Gabi Pessanha cap their Grand Slams
Tainan Dalpra made his fourth middleweight world title look routine, completing the 2026 IBJJF Grand Slam. Gabi Pessanha beat Tayane Porfírio in both the super-heavy and absolute finals for her sixth straight double gold, pushing her to 12 world titles and tying Buchecha's record of six World absolute championships. They were the only two grapplers to complete the official IBJJF Grand Slam in 2026.
The rest of the golds
- Jalen Fonacier (rooster) and Jansen Gomes (medium-heavy) became two-time world champions.
- Cole Abate won featherweight for his first gi world title, beating a bracket stacked with former champions.
- Matheus Gabriel (light), Rider Zuchi (heavy), and Seif-Eddine Houmine (ultra-heavy) rounded out the men's weight-class champions.
- At super-heavy, Vinicius Liberati upset his Soldiers teammate Erich Munis — who responded by winning the men's open class, his third absolute title in a row.
- On the women's side, Mayssa Bastos (rooster), Ashlee Funegra (light-feather), Sabrina Gondim (feather), Janaina Lebre (light, over Sarah Galvão), Lillian Marchand (middle), Thamara Ferreira (medium-heavy), and Larissa Dias (heavy) all took gold.
For the complete medal table including every silver and bronze, see our full results and champions post.
Common questions
How many days is IBJJF Worlds?
Four. Worlds 2026 ran Thursday, May 28 through Sunday, May 31. Colored belts (blue, purple, brown) compete Thursday and Friday; the adult black belts run Saturday (early rounds) and Sunday (semifinals, finals, and open class).
When did the black belts compete at Worlds 2026?
Adult black belt early rounds began Saturday, May 30. The men's semifinals, all weight-class finals, and both open-class finals were held Sunday, May 31.
Who had the best single day at Worlds 2026?
Sunday belonged to AOJ — Tainan Dalpra, Diego Pato, Cole Abate and Ashlee Funegra all won titles for the team. Across the whole weekend, Gabi Pessanha's super-heavy + absolute double gold and Omar Nada's brown belt double gold were the standout individual performances.
Where can I watch the matches back?
Full replays are on FloGrappling for subscribers, and select finals clips appear on the IBJJF and FloGrappling social channels. Our how-to-watch guide covers replay access.
Track your own tournament week
A Worlds run looks effortless on the broadcast, but every one of those four days sits on top of a training block measured in months. If watching made you want to chase your own podium — at an Open, at Master Worlds, or at a future Mundial — the first step is keeping an honest record of the work.
Rollbook is built exactly for that: Quick Log captures a session in five seconds, the Training Heatmap turns your consistency into something you can see, and Technique Chains map the setups and finishes you're sharpening. Start logging before your next prep cycle.
Sources
- IBJJF Worlds 2026 Day 1 recap — FloGrappling
- IBJJF Worlds 2026 Day 3 recap and team standings — Yahoo Sports / FloSports
- Every-division results — FloGrappling
- Finals-day report — Yahoo Sports / SB Nation
- Complete medalist list — MMA Mania
