7 athletes to watch at the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds
The 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds take place on December 12-14 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The final major event of the IBJJF calendar year is set to go down this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada. As usual, the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds will attract many of the sport’s top no-gi competitors.
Black belts are set to compete on Friday and Saturday. View the full event schedule and brackets here, courtesy of the IBJJF.
Before the action gets underway, we take a look at seven competitors – from talented up-and-comers to established veterans – who stand to make waves at Worlds.
1 – Cassia Moura
Bruno Bastos product Cassia Moura has enjoyed nothing short of a meteoric rise through the world of BJJ, and this weekend, the 18-year-old phenom will compete in her first IBJJF major as a black belt.
A world champion at every colored belt, Moura made waves when she went from blue to black belt rank in just one year. She has quickly lived up to the hype in her first few months at black belt, picking up a dominant submission win at Who’s Number One 23 and winning gold at the 2024 Jiu-Jitsu Con.
Moura will now throw herself into the deep end of no-gi competition in the featherweight division. If she can win her opening-round matchup, Moura can look forward to a quarterfinal clash against multiple-time world champion Tammi Musumeci – a woman widely recognized as the greatest ever American-born female BJJ competitor.
2 – Brianna Ste-Marie
Canadian standout Brianna Ste-Marie has been a fixture of the elite no-gi scene for the past few years and she’ll be the top seed in the talent-stacked lightweight division.
With her old-school style guard play and unique submission game, Ste-Marie has typically found plenty of success on the IBJJF mats, boasting a 2022 no-gi world title in addition to her recent gold medal run at the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Euros. She’ll come into the event following a stellar run in the gi at the IBJJF Crown.
While she’s the divisional favorite, Ste-Marie has no easy matches ahead of her, as she’s sharing the bracket with no-gi Pans champion Amanda Bruse, ADCC veterans Julia Maele and Mo Black, as well as 2023 no-gi Pans champion Jaine Fragoso.
3 – Gabrieli Pessanha
Gabrieli Pessanha has enjoyed nothing short of a spectacularly dominant run in the gi and will now make her long-awaited no-gi debut.
Undefeated since 2021, the 24-year-old has earned double gold honors at each of the past four IBJJF Worlds, all while boasting an absurdly high 65% submission rate.
As is often the case in the women’s super-heavyweight division, Pessanha will struggle to find a variety of opponents. At the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds, she has just one other woman in her division – 2024 No-Gi Pans champion Mayara Ribeiro.
4 – Junny Ocasio
On the men’s side, Unity Jiu-Jitsu’s Junny Ocasio aims to continue his reign of dominance in the light-featherweight division and pick up his second consecutive no-gi world title.
In 2023, Ocasio claimed gold at the IBJJF No-Gi Pans, Euros, and Worlds to establish himself as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound competitors. He’s continued that success this year, again winning gold at no-gi Euros and Pans. The 35-year-old will look to employ his dynamic guard game, top-flight leg locks, and underrated passing to further solidify himself as a generational talent.
If he can win his first-round matchup, Ocasio can look forward to a trilogy match against rival Valor Boyer – the last man to defeat him in competition.
5 – Cole Abate
Art of Jiu-Jitsu prodigy Cole Abate has all the makings of an all-time great. Still relatively new in his black belt campaign, he’ll come into the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds following a successful debut in ONE Championship and a gold medal performance in the lightweight division.
Now competing down a weight class at featherweight, he is the division’s #2 seed and a favorite to make it to the final. Look for him to use his aggressive passing game and crafty leg locks to make a statement against some of the bracket’s more established veterans.
The 20-year-old could potentially face ADCC silver medalist Gabriel Sousa in the quarterfinals.
6 – Fabyury Khrysthyan
In the middleweight division, fans should keep an eye on last year’s brown belt no-gi world champion Fabyury Khrysthyan.
An explosive athlete with a deep gas tank and well-rounded game, Khrysthyan has already made waves in his black belt campaign, winning gold at the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Euros where he defeated top competitors Kieran Kichuk and Pierre Leclerc. He’ll come into the event fresh off a victory over Daniel Sathler at WNO 25.
The Art of Jiu-Jitsu representative will have no shortage of potential exciting matchups, including possible clashes against ADCC veterans Elijah Dorsey and Jon Satava.
7 – Adam Bradley
After some time away from the IBJJF mats, the B-Team’s Adam Bradley could turn heads in the super-heavyweight division.
Bradley enjoyed a breakout year in 2024, making it to the semifinals of the inaugural Craig Jones Invitational and putting on a strong showing at the PGF Worlds. Watch for him to employ his elite leg lock and half-guard game as he tries to score some upsets on his way to the podium.
Bradley is in for a stiff test in his first-round match, as he’s set to take on 2023 no-gi world champion Elder Cruz.
How to watch: The 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Worlds take place on December 12-14, 2024, in Las Vegas, Nevada and will air live on FloGrappling (subscription required).
