JANUARY 25, 2025, LISBON, PORTUGAL. The 21st edition of the European Championship of Jiu-Jitsu, organized by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) has just taken place this week, an event that broke the record for the most athletes ever, with over 6000 competitors across all belts and categories.
A very tight race in the team rankings, 2025 was an ode to professional squads, as the podium was mostly comprised of small workgroups of fully professional, hand-picked athletes from teams like Fratres, Dream Art, Alliance, and AOJ. Although the past couple of years have pointed in that direction, this was the first year we saw such a clear disparity between the more traditional teams, mostly built on several hubs in different camps under one umbrella, and the new Super-Squad philosophy.
The biggest event, or should we say tragedy, of the 2025 Euros happened in the final of the male open weight class between Alliance’s Marcus Ribeiro and GFT’s Marcos Carrozzino when both athletes got disqualified for lack of combativity (stalling). For what it is worth, we did believe Ribeiro tried his hardest to make something happen for most of the match against Carrozzino’s complete lack of combativity. Marcus Ribeiro – commonly known as Scooby – attempted single legs, uchimatas, and pulled guard to wrestle up twice, though all attempts went out of bounds, against Carrozzinno’s complete lack of engagement. Zero forward-moving attempts for 9 minutes and 50 seconds (the duration of the match). Once both finalists were out of the tournament, the IBJJF called upon the two semi-finalists, Luis Oliveira & Leonardo Ferreira to compete for the gold medal, a match that went to the Fratres representative (Oliveira) by two points.
In the main division, the adult black belt category, the level was very tight from the early rounds. Although things appear to be leveling for athletes of all nationalities in the sport, the quality of the grappling this year didn’t follow the trend of years past when we saw so many breakout performances worthy of a second and third look. This year the former crowd-pleasing style was seldomly seen on the mats and instead, an onslaught of anti-jiu-jitsu strategies with double lasso, 50/50, and lapel guards were the common rule. Statistically speaking we witnessed 90 matches won by 2 points or less (68 male matches – 36% & 22 female matches – 39%).
Still, on the subject of numbers, Gabrieli Pessanha continued her reign of invincibility in Lisbon, Portugal. The 24-year-old Brazilian athlete had another flawless tournament, finishing all her 5 matches with 4 ankle locks and 1 choke. Her winning streak is now 156 matches strong.
Adam Wardzinski (Poland) & Vannessa Griffin (USA) were the only non-Brazilians to win gold at the 2025 IBJJF European Championships.
TOURNAMENT NUMBERS (black belt division):
Total Matches: 190
Total Submissions: 67 (35%)
Male Matches: 134
Female Matches: 56
2025 Adult Black Belt Euro Champions:
Male 57KG: Yuri Hendrex (Escola Melqui Galvao)
Male 64KG: Diego Reis (Escola Melqui Galvao)
Male 70KG: Diego “Pato” Oliveira (AOJ)
Male 76KG: Leonardo Souza (KSA)
Male 82KG: Tainan Dalpra (AOJ)
Male 88KG: Davi Vetoraci (Focus)
Male 94KG: Adam Wardzinski (Checkmat)
Male 100KG: Windson Torres (Gracie Barra)
Male +100KG: Luis “Cantareira” Oliveira (Fratres)
Male Open: Luis “Cantareira” Oliveira (Fratres)
Female 48KG: Thais Loureiro (Atos)
Female 53KG: Mayssa Bastos (AOJ)
Female 58KG: Larissa Campos (AOJ)
Female 63KG: Janaina Lebre (AOJ)
Female 69KG: Vannessa Griffin (TLI / Crazy 88)
Female 74KG: Ingridd Alves (DreamArt)
Female 79KG: Melissa Cueto (Alliance)
Female +79KG: Gabrieli Pessanha (InFight)
Female Open: Gabrieli Pessanha (InFight)
ROOSTERWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Jalen Fonacier def. Andrew Soares via advantage (6×6 pts)
– Yuri Hendrex advanced via gentleman’s agreement against Thalison Soares
Final:
– Yuri Hendrex def. Jalen Fonacier via 2×0
LIGHT-FEATHERWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Diogo Reis def. Leonardo Mario via 2×0
– Shoya Ishiguro def. Rerisson Gabriel via decision
Final:
– Diogo Reis def. Shoya Ishiguro via advantages (0x0 pts)
FEATHERWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Kennedy Maciel def. Marcos Amorim via 4×2
– Diego Oliveira def. Minho Yoon via choke from the back
Final:
– Diego Oliveira def. Kennedy Maciel via 2×0
LIGHTWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Lucas Protasio def. Pedro Maia via advantages
– Leonardo Souza def. Thiago Saboia via choke from the back
Final:
– Leonardo Souza def. Lucas Protasio via choke
MIDDLEWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Andy Murasaki def. Jefferson Goteu via katagatame
– Tainan Dalpra def. Rafael Borges via choke from the back
Final:
– Tainan Dalpra def. Andy Murasaki via 2×0
MEDIUM-HEAVYWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Davi Vetoraci def. Uanderson Ferreira via advantages (0x0 pts)
– Matheus Vetoraci def. Bruno Lima via 3×0
Final:
– Vetoraci brothers closed the final (gentleman’s agreement)
HEAVYWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Adam Wardzinski def. Vinicius Liberati via advantages
– Leonardo Ferreira def. Rider Zuchi via decision
Final:
– Adam Wardzinski def. Leonardo Ferreira via choke from the back
SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Windson Torres def. Guilherme Cypriano via advantage (0x0 pts)
– Pedro Lucas def. Marcos Carrozzino via decision
Final:
– Windson Torres def. Windson Torres via verbal tap (exhaustion?)
ULTRA-HEAVYWEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Luis Oliveira “Cantareira” def. Marcus Ribeiro “Scooby” via advantage (0x0 pts)
– Hygor Brito def. Anderson Kaua via advantage (0x0 pts)
Final:
– Luis Cantareira def. Hygor Brito via arm-in Ezekiel choke
OPEN-WEIGHT, MALE
Semi-Finals:
– Marcos Carrozzino def. Leonardo Ferreira via decision (0x0 pts)
– Marcus “Scooby” Ribeiro def. Luis Cantareira via 2×0
Final:
– Double SQ (stalling)
Final 2*:
– Luis Cantareira def. Leonardo Ferreira via 2×0
* After Ribeiro & Carrozzino were both disqualified in the final, the semi-finalists were called back to compete for the gold medal.
ROOSTERWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Thais Loureiro def. Mara Kelly via advantage (2×2 pts)
– Yasmyn Castro def. Giulia Gregorut via DQ (reaping)
Final:
– Thais Loureiro def. Yasmyn Castro via straight ankle lock
LIGHT-FEATHWEWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Final:
– Jessica Caroline def. Naiomi Anaiansi via decision
– Mayssa Bastos def. Leticia Gomes via Choke from the back
Final:
– Mayssa Bastos def. Jessica Caroline via choke from the back
FEATHERWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Larissa Campos def. Astrid Scholin via choke from the back
– Vitoria Assis def. Cassia Moura via decision
Final:
– Larissa Campos def. Vitoria Assis via choke from the back
LIGHTWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Janaina Maia Lebre def. Randryely Souza via bow & arrow choke
– Stephanie Faure def. Janine Mutton via 5×0
Final:
– Janaina Maia Lebre def. Stephanie Caroline Faure via 6×2
MIDDLEWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Vitoria Nogueira def. Sabatha Lais via 2×0
– Vannessa Griffin def. Amanda Schurtz via mounted triangle/armlock
Final:
– Vannessa Griffin def. Vitoria Nogueira via decision
MEDIUM-HEAVYWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Ingridd Alves def. Fernanda Cristo via 2×0
– Aurelie Vern def. Alexia Arantes via 2×0
Final:
– Ingridd Alves def. Aurelie Le Vern via armbar
HEAVYWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Izadora Cristina def. Magdalena Loska via Armbar
– Melissa Cueto def. Giovanna Jara via 2×0
Final:
– Melissa Cueto def. Izadora Cristina via decision
SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Gabrieli Pessanha def. Maria Santiago via straight ankle lock
– Yara Soares def. Maryanna Cardoso via Canto choke
Final:
– Gabrieli Pessanha def. Yara Soares via straight ankle lock
OPEN-WEIGHT, FEMALE
Semi-Finals:
– Gabrieli Pessanha def. Amanda Schurtz via choke from the back
– Yara Soares def. Melissa Cueto via choke from the back
Final:
– Gabrieli Pessanha def. Yara Soares via straight ankle lock