Jiu-Jitsu world champions: who holds the title in every weight class
The full list of adult black belt champions from the 2026 IBJJF World Championship, men and women, including the heavyweight title that changed hands after the podium review
Jiu-Jitsu has 18 current world champions at adult black belt. There are ten men and eight women, and together they hold the 19 titles decided at the 2026 IBJJF World Championship, held May 28 to 31 in Long Beach, California. The numbers work because Gabi Pessanha won two, super-heavyweight and the open class.
The list below stands until the next Worlds, and it already includes the change the IBJJF made in September, when the men’s heavyweight title changed hands.
Men’s world champions
| Division | Champion | Team | Titles | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster | Jalen Fonacier | Alliance | 2 | Thalison Soares |
| Light-feather | Diego “Pato” Oliveira | AOJ | 5 | Khaled Alshehhi |
| Feather | Cole Abate | AOJ | 1 | Samuel Nagai |
| Light | Matheus Gabriel | Checkmat | 3 | Jackson Nagai |
| Middle | Tainan Dalpra | AOJ | 4 | Natan Chueng |
| Medium-heavy | Jansen Gomes | Checkmat | 3 | Enderson Dias |
| Heavy | Nicholas Maglicic | Atos | 1 | Leonardo “Leo” Ferreira |
| Super-heavy | Vinicius Liberati | Soldiers | 1 | Erich Munis |
| Ultra-heavy | Seif-Eddine Houmine | GFTeam | 2 | Gutemberg Pereira |
| Open class | Erich Munis | Soldiers | 7 | Marcus “Scooby” Ribeiro |
The titles column adds up each athlete’s black belt wins at Worlds, in their weight class and in the open class, including 2026.
Diego “Pato” Oliveira reached five light-feather titles, a record for the division, and left his belt on the mat after the final. Tainan Dalpra won middleweight for the fourth time and finished the season with all four Grand Slam tournaments. Erich Munis took the open class for the third year in a row and now has seven world titles, counting his super-heavyweight wins. In 2026 he took silver in that division behind Vinicius Liberati, his Soldiers teammate.
At rooster, American Jalen Fonacier became a two-time champion at age 20. Cole Abate, Liberati and Nicholas Maglicic won their first black belt world title in the gi.
Why the heavyweight champion changed
Rider Zuchi won the heavyweight final on the mat, 4-0 over Maglicic. On September 21, USADA announced that Zuchi accepted a three-year suspension after testing positive in a sample collected on the day of the final, and his results were erased.
Four days later, the IBJJF published the revised podium. Maglicic, from Australia, got the gold, Leonardo “Leo” Ferreira moved up to silver, and Francisco Papasidero and Luiz Felipe Assis took bronze.
Women’s world champions
| Division | Champion | Team | Titles | Runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster | Mayssa Bastos | AOJ | 7 | Jessica Caroline |
| Light-feather | Ashlee Funegra | AOJ | 1 | Vitória Assis |
| Feather | Sabrina Gondim | Fight Sports | 1 | Gabi McComb |
| Light | Janaína Lebre | Alliance | 2 | Sarah Galvão |
| Middle | Lillian Marchand | Atos | 1 | Elisabeth Clay |
| Medium-heavy | Thamara Ferreira | UAE Jiu-Jitsu Team | 3 | Ingridd Alves |
| Heavy | Larissa Dias | Elementum | 3 | Maria Alencar |
| Super-heavy | Gabi Pessanha | InFight | 12 | Luane Carvalho |
| Open class | Gabi Pessanha | InFight | 12 | Sarah Galvão |
Gabi Pessanha has won more than any other current champion. Her double gold in 2026 was her sixth in a row and took her to 12 world titles, six of them in the open class. Mayssa Bastos won rooster for the seventh time.
Thamara Ferreira won medium-heavy for the third straight year, Larissa Dias reached three titles at heavyweight, and Janaína Lebre repeated her 2025 win at lightweight. Ashlee Funegra, Sabrina Gondim and Lillian Marchand became champions for the first time. Marchand, a 19-year-old Canadian, is the youngest on the list.
The women’s podium was reviewed too. Tayane Porfírio, a finalist at super-heavyweight and in the open class, lost both results when she accepted a three-month suspension. Luane Carvalho moved up to silver at super-heavyweight and Sarah Galvão did the same in the open class. Pessanha’s titles did not change.
The current champions in numbers
- Gabi Pessanha has 12 black belt world titles, the most on the list.
- AOJ has the most champions of any team: Diego “Pato” Oliveira, Cole Abate, Tainan Dalpra, Mayssa Bastos and Ashlee Funegra.
- Six athletes won Worlds at black belt for the first time: Abate, Maglicic, Liberati, Funegra, Gondim and Marchand.
- Tainan Dalpra and Gabi Pessanha were the only ones to win the European, Pan, Brazilian Nationals and Worlds in the same season.
- Besides Brazil, the champions were born in the United States, Australia, Morocco and Canada.
When the titles are on the line again
All 19 titles are up for grabs again at the 2027 World Championship. This page will be updated as soon as the new champions are decided. Until then, the season dates are in the Jiu-Jitsu calendar and the year’s race is in the VF Comunica Ranking.
Who is the favorite to keep the title in 2027? Leave your opinion in the comments.
