FEBRUARY 27, 2026, COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA, USA, was the date and location set for the latest edition of the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) Grand Prix. This is the event with the biggest prize money offered by the IBJJF, with this week’s tournament being set to define the No-Gi Open Weight Class Champion.
Victor Hugo of Six Blades, the Big Man Flow, took the gold medal here with relative ease. One could say rookie Swedish black belt, Marlon Tajik, was his hardest match of the tournament, despite not being truly put in danger there, either. We now hope to see Hugo face the IBJJF World and Pan No-Gi champion, Roosevelt Sousa, in a future event.
The IBJJF No-Gi Grand Prix featured a familiar faces in the sport outside the tournament with a handful of very solid super fights between the finest names of jiu-jitsu’s new wave of talent, both in the colored belt divisions and the pro category.
The card was mostly supported by the local Costa Mesa super-squad, AOJ, who had a good night, with 3 wins and 2 losses in the adult black belt division. In terms of entertainment, plenty of fun matches on display, particularly with the gi, though Crevar x Fernandes in No-Gi could have easily taken Match Of The Night honors.
SUPERFIGHTS (Pro)
– Mateo Cardona DEF. Leonardo Oliveira via 4×2 (Gi ruleset)
– Ashlee Funegra DEF. Yasmin Castro via Armbar (Gi ruleset)
– Sarah Galvao DEF. Maria Vicentini via Armbar (Gi ruleset)
– Helena Crevar DEF. Aghata Fernandes via Darce choke (No Gi ruleset)
– Cole Abate DEF. Will Wilson via advantage (2×1) (Gi ruleset)
NO-GI GRAND PRIX RESULTS
Quarter-Finals:
– Victor Hugo DEF. Marlon Tajik via 3×0
– Javier Barter DEF. Nick Hartman via RNC
– Pedro Marinho DEF. Diego Pato via 2×0
– Gustavo Batista DEF. Michael Pixley via 2×0
Semi-Finals:
– Victor Hugo DEF. Javier Barter via RNC
– Pedro Marinho DEF. Gustavo Batista via Inside heel hook
Final:
– Victor Hugo DEF. Pedro Marinho via 15×2
