Max Gimenis: “I know the athlete’s pain”
A UFC heavyweight and the organizer of Brave Challenge II, the black belt says the tournament that mixes gi and no-gi was created by someone who still competes
Max Gimenis runs a tournament thinking about what he would like to find as a fighter. Four days before Brave Challenge II, the black belt explained why he believes the event can fill an empty space in the Jiu-Jitsu calendar.
“It is an innovative event. We have nothing like this on the market, mixing gi and no-gi. I am a UFC athlete and I am still active today, so I know the athlete’s pain,” he said.
From the mat to the cage
This sentence sums up a career split between two sports. Max was born in Rio de Janeiro on April 14, 1993. He received his black belt on June 2, 2016, on the podium of the IBJJF World Championship, right after winning the brown belt title. The IBJJF is the sport’s main federation. He was promoted by Master Júlio César Pereira, from GF Team. As a black belt, he won the Pan Championship in 2020 and was a world runner-up in 2021, in the super-heavyweight division.
He had his first professional MMA fight in 2022. In September 2025, news came out that he had signed with the UFC, the biggest MMA organization in the world. He joined the heavyweight division and had his first fight there in November of the same year. Even with a fighter’s schedule, Max stayed close to Jiu-Jitsu, now also as an event organizer.
A wheel decides the uniform
Brave Challenge II takes place this Saturday, October 10, in Gaithersburg, Maryland, in the United States. The new idea is the format. Before each match, a wheel is spun to decide if the fight will be in the gi, the traditional uniform, or no-gi, without it. Matches last six minutes, and athletes need to be ready for both.
The event has two Grand Prix tournaments, one for men and one for women. Each champion wins US$ 1,000, the same prize for men and women. The card also has ten superfights, which are single matches outside the tournaments.
Where to watch
VF Comunica will stream Brave Challenge II live on its YouTube channel. The article about the broadcast has more details about the tournament and the athletes.
And you, would you step on the mat without knowing if the match would be gi or no-gi?
