IBJJF Worlds 2026 Results: Every Black Belt Champion in Long Beach
Complete IBJJF Worlds 2026 results — every Adult Black Belt world champion, both genders, plus the open-class winners, the biggest upsets, and the team race from Long Beach (May 28–31).
The 30-second version
The 2026 IBJJF World Championship wrapped up Sunday, May 31 at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California, closing out four days and the 30th edition of the sport's biggest gi tournament. Tainan Dalpra (middleweight, his 4th title), Gabi Pessanha (super-heavy + absolute double gold, her 12th title), Erich Munis (men's open class), Mayssa Bastos, Jalen Fonacier and Jansen Gomes all left as champions. The weekend's biggest headline: Diego "Pato" Batista won a record fifth light-feather world title and then retired on the mat. Below is every Adult Black Belt world champion, both genders, plus the open-class results and the team race (FloGrappling results).
Men's Adult Black Belt champions
All nine weight-class finals ran Sunday, May 31. Here is the full set of gold and silver medalists (FloGrappling, MMA Mania medalist list):
| Division | Champion (Team) | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Rooster | Jalen Fonacier (Alliance) | Thalison Soares |
| Light-Feather | Diego "Pato" Batista (AOJ) | Khaled Alshehhi |
| Feather | Cole Abate (AOJ) | Samuel Nagai |
| Light | Matheus Gabriel (CheckMat) | Jackson Nagai |
| Middle | Tainan Dalpra (AOJ) | Natan Chueng |
| Medium-Heavy | Jansen Gomes (CheckMat) | Enderson Dias |
| Heavy | Rider Zuchi (Team 6 BJJ) | Nicholas Maglicic |
| Super-Heavy | Vinicius Liberati (Soldiers) | Erich Munis |
| Ultra-Heavy | Seif-Eddine Houmine (GF Team) | Gutemberg Pereira |
| Open Class | Erich Munis (Soldiers) | Marcus "Scooby" Ribeiro |
Three of those names — Jalen Fonacier at rooster and Jansen Gomes at medium-heavy — became two-time world champions, while Tainan Dalpra collected his fourth. The super-heavy final produced the day's biggest divisional surprise: Vinicius Liberati beat his own Soldiers teammate Erich Munis, the reigning super-heavyweight and absolute world champion, to take gold. Munis answered by winning the open class — his seventh gi world title and third straight absolute crown.
Women's Adult Black Belt champions
The women's finals also ran Sunday after their semifinals on Saturday (MMA Mania medalist list):
| Division | Champion (Team) | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|
| Rooster | Mayssa Bastos (AOJ) | Jessica Caroline |
| Light-Feather | Ashlee Funegra (AOJ) | Vitória Assis |
| Feather | Sabrina Gondim (Fight Sports) | Gabrielle McComb |
| Light | Janaina Lebre (Alliance) | Sarah Galvão |
| Middle | Lillian Marchand (Atos) | Elisabeth Clay |
| Medium-Heavy | Thamara Ferreira (UAE) | Ingridd Alves |
| Heavy | Larissa Dias (Elementum) | Maria Alencar |
| Super-Heavy | Gabi Pessanha (Infight) | Tayane Porfírio |
| Open Class | Gabi Pessanha (Infight) | Tayane Porfírio |
Mayssa Bastos won her seventh gi world title at rooster, rebounding from a 2026 season in which she'd been beaten at the Europeans. Janaina Lebre pulled off a close decision upset over the in-form Sarah Galvão at light. And Gabi Pessanha did what she has now done six years running — won both super-heavy and the absolute for double gold.
The open-class champions
The absolute divisions are the marquee of any Worlds, and both belonged to athletes who had already done damage in their weight classes:
- Men's Open Class — Erich Munis (Soldiers Jiu-Jitsu). After taking silver to teammate Liberati at super-heavy, Munis won the open class for the third year in a row, beating Marcus "Scooby" Ribeiro in the final. It was his seventh IBJJF gi world title.
- Women's Open Class — Gabi Pessanha (Infight Jiu-Jitsu). Pessanha beat Tayane Porfírio in both the super-heavy final and the absolute final, completing her sixth consecutive super-heavy + absolute double. The win pushed her to 12 world titles and tied Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida's record of six World absolute championships (Yahoo/FloSports Day 3 recap).
The headline stories
Diego "Pato" Batista wins a record fifth title — then retires
The most emotional moment of the weekend belonged to Diego "Pato" Batista. The AOJ light-feather won his fifth IBJJF gi world title, breaking the all-time light-featherweight record previously held by his own coach, four-time world champion Guilherme Mendes. Moments after the final, Pato took off his black belt and left it on the mat — the traditional signal of retirement — writing, "My soul is satisfied" (Yahoo/SB Nation). He is only 27, with five gi and two no-gi world titles to his name, so whether the retirement extends beyond the IBJJF gi circuit remains an open question.
Dalpra and Pessanha complete the IBJJF Grand Slam
Tainan Dalpra and Gabi Pessanha were the only two grapplers to complete the official 2026 IBJJF Grand Slam — winning the Europeans, Pans, Brasileiros, and now Worlds. Both could chase an even rarer "Super Grand Slam" — adding an ADCC title — at the 2026 ADCC World Championship in September, an achievement Mica Galvão pulled off in 2024 (Yahoo/SB Nation).
First-time world champions
Two athletes won their first-ever IBJJF gi world title, and both were among the most-discussed stories of the event:
- Cole Abate (AOJ) took featherweight gold in one of the three deepest brackets of the tournament, beating multiple former champions. Already a two-time no-gi world champion, this was his first in the gi.
- Ashlee Funegra (AOJ), a teenage prodigy, won women's light-feather to join teammates Abate, Dalpra and Pato on the AOJ winners' podium.
- Sabrina Gondim (Fight Sports), a UFC BJJ veteran, captured women's featherweight for her first world title.
How our predictions held up
In our Worlds 2026 preview and predictions, we picked a favorite, challenger, and dark horse in every division. The favorites who delivered: Fonacier, Pato, Dalpra, Houmine, Bastos, Ashlee Funegra, Larissa Dias, and Pessanha (in both her divisions). The picks that the bracket flipped:
- Men's feather — our favorite Kennedy Maciel withdrew; challenger Cole Abate won.
- Men's light — we tabbed Will Wilson, but dark horse Matheus Gabriel took gold.
- Men's medium-heavy — dark horse Jansen Gomes beat our favorite to the title.
- Men's super-heavy — we favored Munis; his teammate Liberati got the upset.
- Women's light — our favorite Sarah Galvão was edged by Janaina Lebre.
- Women's medium-heavy — dark horse Thamara Ferreira took it.
As we noted going in, black belt brackets are noisy — withdrawals and single-advantage finals decide more golds than any prediction can.
Brown and colored belt champions worth knowing
The colored belt divisions ran Thursday through Saturday and produced two athletes who could be black belt forces soon:
- Omar Tariq Nada (Unity Jiu-Jitsu) won brown belt double gold at super-heavy and absolute, racking up six wins on the day with the kind of pressure-passing that travels straight to black belt.
- Hazel Butcher-Salazar (Alliance) won brown belt double gold at heavy and absolute — going six-for-six with all submissions, then being promoted to black belt on the podium afterward (MMA Mania).
The team race
Heading into Sunday's black belt finals, Alliance led both the adult male and adult female team races (Yahoo/FloSports Day 3 recap). Standings after Saturday:
| Adult Male | Adult Female | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alliance — 85 | Alliance — 36 |
| 2 | DreamArt — 54 | DreamArt — 29 |
| 3 | CheckMat — 36 | Atos — 28 |
| 4 | Atos — 25 | Gracie Barra — 28 |
| 5 | AOJ — 23 | AOJ — 22 |
The black belt golds — spread across AOJ, CheckMat, Soldiers, Atos, Alliance and more — shifted those totals on the final day; check the official IBJJF results portal for the certified final team standings.
Common questions
Who won IBJJF Worlds 2026?
There is no single overall winner — IBJJF Worlds crowns a champion in every weight class and an open-class (absolute) champion per belt and gender. The marquee Adult Black Belt open-class champions were Erich Munis (men) and Gabi Pessanha (women). The most-decorated weekends belonged to Pessanha (double gold, 12th title) and Tainan Dalpra (4th title, Grand Slam).
Who is the 2026 Worlds absolute champion?
Erich Munis (Soldiers Jiu-Jitsu) in the men's Adult Black Belt absolute and Gabi Pessanha (Infight Jiu-Jitsu) in the women's. It was Munis's third straight men's open-class title and Pessanha's sixth straight women's absolute.
Did Diego Pato really retire?
Yes — after winning his fifth light-feather world title, Diego "Pato" Batista left his black belt on the mat, the traditional retirement gesture, and posted "My soul is satisfied." At 27 with five gi and two no-gi world titles, he may continue in no-gi or professional events, but he signaled the end of his IBJJF gi run (Yahoo/SB Nation).
How many world titles does Gabi Pessanha have now?
Twelve. Her 2026 double gold (super-heavy + absolute) was her sixth consecutive year winning both, and her six World absolute titles tie Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida's all-time record.
Where can I see the full 2026 Worlds results?
The complete medalist list, including all bronze medalists and colored belt divisions, is on FloGrappling and the IBJJF database. Our day-by-day recap walks through how each day unfolded.
Turn watching into doing
Watching the best in the world win a Worlds title is the easy part to enjoy — the hard part is the years of logged mat time behind every one of those golds. If Long Beach lit a fire to compete yourself, the move is to start tracking now: what you drilled, how often you rolled, which positions you actually worked across a training block.
Rollbook makes that nearly frictionless. Quick Log captures a session in five seconds, the Training Heatmap shows your consistency at a glance, and Technique Chains let you map the setups and finishes you're building toward. Start your own competition trail before the next tournament cycle.
Sources
- IBJJF Worlds 2026 every-division results — FloGrappling
- Complete medalist list, Day 1–4 — MMA Mania
- "Pato retires; Dalpra, Gomes, Pessanha win big" — Yahoo Sports / SB Nation
- Day 3 recap and team standings — Yahoo Sports / FloSports
- Official results and rankings — IBJJF database, IBJJF rankings
