Andy Murasaki wins double gold in Houston ahead of The Crown
The two-time Crown champion moved up in weight, won medium-heavyweight and the open class, and heads back to Long Beach with three other returning champions
Andy Murasaki left Houston, Texas, with two gold medals. On Sunday, October 11, the AOJ black belt won the medium-heavyweight division and the open class at the IBJJF Houston Fall Open, competing well above the weight he usually fights at in the big events.
The result comes a little over three weeks before The Crown 2026, set for November 8 in Long Beach, California, where Andy goes for a third straight middleweight title.
Up in weight and open class champion
Andy usually competes at lightweight (167.5 lb) at Worlds and the Brazilian Nationals, and moves up to middleweight for the Pans, the Europeans and The Crown. In Houston he went even further and entered medium-heavyweight, up to 195 lb. He beat João Pedro Menezes de Barros of Dream Art in the final, while Marlon Kenjiro Tanaka Fagundes of Inicio Jiu-Jitsu took bronze.
The open class was a bigger test. In the final, Andy got past Kalum John Klausner of Six Blades, who had won the super-heavyweight division that same day. João Pedro and Gracie Barra’s Leonardo Lemos de Andrade, the ultra-heavyweight champion, shared bronze.
The double gold caps a season of change. Andy left Atos for AOJ early in 2026, won the Brazilian Nationals at lightweight in May and, at Worlds, lost in the round of 16 to Tarcisio Santos, one of the men waiting for him in Long Beach.
The toughest middleweight bracket yet
Andy was the last name announced at middleweight, a bracket the IBJJF calls the strongest the division has had since the first Crown. Along with him and Tarcisio, the field includes Mica Galvão, Jackson Nagai, Leonardo “Leleo” Souza, José Steve, Uanderson Ferreira and Rafael Gamba. Jackson was Andy’s opponent in last year’s final.
The format is simple: eight athletes per division, three matches to the title and a $20,000 prize for each champion.
Champions back to defend their crowns
Three other champions are also heading back to Long Beach. This week the IBJJF confirmed Gabi Pessanha as the eighth and final name in the women’s super-heavyweight bracket. She has won every edition of The Crown in her division and now goes for four in a row.
Sarah Galvão defends the women’s lightweight title she won in 2025 in her first appearance at the event, and Nolan Stuart tries to become the first man to win the heavyweight division twice. On Thursday, Rerisson Gabriel completed the featherweight bracket. As of publication, only one ultra-heavyweight spot was still to be announced.
Read more: Andy Murasaki confirmed for The Crown 2026, Sarah Galvão returns to defend her Crown lightweight title and Nolan Stuart returns to The Crown to defend his title.
Can Andy Murasaki make it three in a row at The Crown? Tell us in the comments.
