Ademir Barreto returns to the Crown and joins the featherweight division in 2026
A 2024 Worlds finalist, the GFTeam athlete is one of seven names confirmed in the division, which also has the 2023 champion, Sam Nagai
Ademir Barreto is back at the Crown. The IBJJF confirmed the GFTeam athlete in the featherweight division of the 2026 edition. The event takes place on November 8 at the Pyramid in Long Beach, California. He has competed at the Crown before, and he returns to a division that the federation itself describes as one of the hardest in the tournament.
A Worlds finalist
Ademir reached the final of the IBJJF World Championship in 2024 and knows the federation’s biggest stages. In its announcement, the IBJJF points to his outside guard passing and his guard game as his main weapons for the division. The guard is the position where an athlete fights from the bottom, using the legs to control the opponent.
Who is in the featherweight division
Seven of the eight featherweight names are already known:
- Ademir Barreto
- Sam Nagai, who won this division in 2023
- João “Bisnaga” Mendes
- Will Wilson
- Keven Carrasco
- Mateo Cardona
- Jun Yong Cho
How the Crown works
The Crown is an invitation-only tournament run by the IBJJF, the sport’s main federation, and fought in the gi, the traditional uniform. This is its fourth edition. It has 48 invited athletes in six brackets of eight, and all the matches happen in one night. Each champion takes home US$ 20,000. The event is streamed on FloGrappling.
Read more: Sam Nagai returns to the Crown to try to become the first two-time featherweight champion
Can Ademir Barreto fight for the featherweight title in Long Beach? Leave your opinion in the comments.
