The black belts stepped on the mats this Saturday, October 3, at the 2026 IBJJF Pan No-Gi Championship in Secaucus, New Jersey, and day one already put Sarah Galvão and Pawel Jaworski in the open class finals. The open class, also called the absolute, is the division with no weight limit. Both came into the tournament off strong runs at ADCC, won every match they had and return on Sunday, October 4, to fight for gold.
Sarah Galvão wins three and faces Ruffatto-Gilpin in the final
Galvão opened the black belt day with a submission, got another one in her second match and then beat Nadia Frankland in the semifinal, one of the most praised matches of the day. Her opponent in the final will be Maria Vitória Ruffatto-Gilpin, of Canby Jiu-Jitsu, who also earned her spot on Saturday. An ADCC silver medalist, the Atos athlete is also registered in the middleweight division.
Jaworski gets a submission and reaches the men’s final
The 2026 ADCC champion, Poland’s Pawel Jaworski, went through a men’s open class with 20 athletes and secured his place in the final. He ended his second match of the day with a heel hook. He still has the medium-heavyweight division to fight, so he can leave New Jersey with two gold medals. Also in the open class, Wallisson Oliveira stood out with an armbar from the mount.
Helena Crevar and three more finalists in the women’s divisions
In the women’s weight classes, Helena Crevar advanced to the super-heavyweight final. Martyna Kapuscinska, of Academia Gorila, is in the medium-heavyweight final and also reached the open class semifinal with a heel hook. Jenna Adrienne Garcia, of 10th Planet Sacramento, got a submission in the lightweight semifinal, and Emily Leyva, of Atos, booked her spot in the light-featherweight final with a foot lock.
André Galvão advances at super-heavyweight
On the men’s side, the weight classes had their opening rounds. André Galvão, of Atos, won and is in the quarterfinals of the super-heavyweight division, a bracket with 11 athletes. At middleweight, Tarik Hopstock and Elijah Dorsey, who picked up a submission on the way, are also through to the quarterfinals. Junny Ocasio and Lukas Freitas advanced at light-featherweight, and Andres Lenin reached the featherweight quarterfinals with a submission.
What comes on Sunday
The last day of the Pan No-Gi has the men’s quarterfinals, semifinals and finals, the women’s finals and both open class finals. The event streams on FloGrappling.
Will Sarah Galvão and Pawel Jaworski leave New Jersey with double gold? Tell us your pick in the comments.
