Thierry Felipe moves up black belt debut, draws Papasidero
The new Marcio Andre black belt is registered for Saturday’s IBJJF Open in Sacramento, in a four-man bracket with Papasidero, his rival at The Crown, and Nolan Stuart.
Thierry Felipe and Francisco Papasidero are registered in the same adult black belt ultra-heavy bracket at the IBJJF Sacramento Fall International Open, set for this Saturday (Oct. 17) at the SAFE Credit Union Convention Center in Sacramento, California. A possible matchup would come three weeks before The Crown, where the two also share a division.
The bracket has only four athletes. Along with Thierry, registered with Marcio Andre Jiu-Jitsu, and Papasidero, it includes Nolan Stuart and Pietro Emanuel do Amaral Leal of DreamArt. According to the IBJJF list, Papasidero and Nolan are both registered with the same team, Brea Jiu-Jitsu.
An early debut for Thierry
Thierry, from Salvador in the Brazilian state of Bahia, got his black belt from Marcio Andre in September, at 22. Until now, his first match at the new rank was expected to be at The Crown, as he told VF Comunica in an exclusive interview. If he competes in Sacramento, he will arrive in Long Beach with black belt matches already on his record.
He is also registered for the no-gi tournament that same weekend, in the black belt ultra-heavy division, in a two-man bracket with Pietro Emanuel do Amaral Leal.
Papasidero knows the road
Papasidero, from Mar del Plata, Argentina, got his black belt from Guilherme Mendes in November 2024 and spent his first season at the rank competing in IBJJF Opens back to back. At The Crown in 2025 he finished third at ultra-heavy: he submitted Pedro Lucas, lost the semifinal to Gustavo Batista 6-4 and won the bronze medal match.
Sacramento also holds a recent meeting with Nolan. In February, at the Sacramento Winter Open, Nolan beat Papasidero 8-2 in the super-heavy final.
A preview of The Crown
Thierry and Papasidero are both confirmed for the ultra-heavy division at The Crown, the IBJJF invitational set for November 8 at the Pyramid in Long Beach. Nolan will be at the event too, but in a different division: he returns to defend his heavyweight title.
If Thierry and Papasidero meet in Sacramento, the match will work as a preview of what could happen in California next month.
Who wins if Thierry Felipe and Papasidero meet in Sacramento? Let us know in the comments.
Read more
- Thierry Felipe on his black belt debut at The Crown
- Nolan Stuart returns to defend his Crown heavyweight title
