Nolan Stuart returns to The Crown to defend his title and completes the heavyweight bracket
The 2025 champion, who submitted Adam Wardzinski with an omoplata, fills the last of eight spots and could meet Vinicius Liberati again after they split two matches this season
Nolan Stuart is coming back to The Crown. The 2025 heavyweight champion from Brea Jiu-Jitsu was confirmed on Tuesday, October 13, taking the last spot in the division for IBJJF’s invitation-only tournament on November 8 at the Pyramid in Long Beach, California.
With Stuart in, the heavyweight bracket is complete: Fellipe Andrew, Leonardo “Leo” Ferreira, Vinicius Liberati, Windson Torres, Omar Nada, Davi Vetoraci, Nicholas Maglicic and Stuart himself. The division has crowned a different champion in each of its three editions, and Stuart is the only one of the eight walking in as the defending champion.
The omoplata that won the crown
A year ago, Stuart was far from the favorite. He beat Robson Chaves 8-2 in the quarterfinals and got past Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa by referee decision in the semifinals. In the final he faced Adam Wardzinski, a two-time heavyweight world champion and the 2024 Crown winner. Stuart finished him with an omoplata, his signature submission, and took home the $20,000 prize. It was the biggest surprise of the night.
That title capped a season in which he had already won the Pans and taken silver at the Worlds and the Brazilian Nationals, all at super-heavyweight. Now fighting close to home, since Brea Jiu-Jitsu is based in Southern California, Stuart has a shot at becoming the first two-time heavyweight champion in the event’s history.
One win each against Liberati
In 2026, Stuart took bronze at the Europeans at heavyweight, then went back up to super-heavyweight and won his second straight Pans title in March, beating Vinicius Liberati 6-4 in the final.
Liberati, who trains at Soldiers Jiu-Jitsu in São Paulo, got his revenge in May in the Brazilian Nationals semifinals and went on to win the Brazilian and World titles at super-heavyweight, adding to his European gold. Both men are dropping to heavyweight for The Crown with one win apiece this year. The bracket draw has not been released yet, so a third match could come in the first round or wait until the final.
Who stands in his way
Liberati is far from the only threat. Fellipe Andrew was the division’s first Crown champion, back in 2023, and is the other former winner in the bracket. Leo Ferreira won the 2026 Europeans and Brazilian Nationals at heavyweight. Nicholas Maglicic of Atos is the reigning world champion in the division, a title he inherited in September when IBJJF revised the podium after Rider Zuchi was disqualified.
The rest of the field is Davi Vetoraci, the 2025 European champion at medium-heavyweight, Windson Torres, a World bronze medalist at super-heavyweight this year, and 21-year-old Omar Nada, who makes his IBJJF black belt debut after winning brown belt World gold.
The Crown is held in a single night, with six divisions and eight athletes per bracket. Each division champion earns $20,000, and the 2026 edition, the fourth in the event’s history, will stream on FloGrappling.
VF Comunica’s coverage of The Crown is presented by Kingz.
Can Nolan Stuart become the first two-time heavyweight champion at The Crown? Let us know in the comments.
