In a year that will go down in history, 2020 saw the heart of Jiu-Jitsu severed by COVID-19 and the lockdown restrictions that occurred during the pandemic.
Originally scheduled to happen March, the Pan American championships was thankfully rescheduled to October at a new location in Florida. However, this year’s PanAms are an entirely different affair.
In a year where all competitions are cancelled, this year’s Pan American Championships have done away with the traditional IBJJF points system allowing competitors to compete if they are able to get to the competition.
2020 IBJJF Pan American Championship Preview
COVID-19 has also forced a dramatically decreased roster. In a championship that would be filled to the rafters, we now see normally stacked black belt divisions whittled down to whoever can get to Florida without quarantining. However, the show must go on, so here are our picks for the 2020 American Divisions.
Male Black Belt Division
Rooster weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Lucas dos Santos Pinheiro |
| BJJ Globetrotters USA | Rashawn Emmanuel Kershaw |
| CheckMat | Ronald Stephen Henderson Jr. |
| CheckMat | Willis da Mota Nunes |
| Form Jiu Jitsu Academy | Lee D. Rosenfield |
| GF Team | Matheus Viana Magalhães |
| Masterskya | David B. Zennario |
| PSLPB Cicero Costha | Francisco Jonas Borges Andrade |
| Undisputed Tucson | Santos Rene Bruckner Rivera |
This year’s rooster weight division doesn’t feature big names such as Bruno Malfacine and Talison Suares, so this year’s division is wide open for a brand new reigning champion. Our pick for this division is Lucas Pinheiro, who has competed regularly in the rooster weight division but has never made huge strides.
Light-Feather Weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Hiago Gama Sousa |
| Ares BJJ | Taniel Santos de Jesus |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Dennis A Pressey Jr |
| Carlson Gracie Team | Pedro Paulo Dias Clementino |
| Cascao Jiu-Jitsu | Rene Eduardo Lopez |
| Cleber Jiu Jitsu Visalia | Joshua Anthony Cisneros |
| Fight Sports | Suraj Kumar Budhram |
| GF Team | Carlos Alberto Oliveira da Silva |
| Gracie Barra | João P R M S Figueredo |
| Gracie Barra | Kaio Cesar Abrantes Fonseca |
| Gracie Barra JJ | Elijah Rueben Tagalog |
| Lovato Jiu-Jitsu | Vincent Eliseo Saenz |
| Pedro Sauer Team | Marcus Beddor |
| PSLPB Cicero Costha | Paulo Henrique Bordignon Miyao |
| Renato Tavares Association | Igor Gabriel P. Mancebo |
The light-feather division see’s our first recognisable name and one which is likely to dominate their division, Paulo Miyao. Unusually his brother Joao is not featured in this year’s competition, but it’s likely he will be there to support his brother’s run through the division.
Featherweight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Isaac Doederlein |
| Alliance | Kennedy Leonardo Maciel |
| Alliance International | Frederico Augusto Alves Silva |
| Alliance International | Gianni Paul Grippo |
| Ares BJJ | Danilo Soares Moreira |
| Ares BJJ | Rodrigo Lopes Cardoso |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | João Pedro Bueno Mendes |
| Brasa / CTA / RT | Charles Denny Murdock |
| Brasa / CTA / RT | Joshua Michael Murdock |
| Brasa CTA | Edward Hohl |
| CheckMat | Matheus Gabriel Pinheiro Barros |
| CheckMat | Samuel Nagai Hatchwell |
| CheckMat USA | Gabriel Ferreira da Silva |
| CheckMat USA | Windson Ramos da Silva |
| Fifty/50 Jiu-Jitsu | Adam Benayoun |
| Fight Sports | Orlando Fernando Castillo Andaviza |
| G13 BJJ USA | Thiago Cintra Vieira Brito |
| Gracie Allegiance | Brandon Woodly Walensky |
| Nova União | Tyson David Antillon |
| PSLPB Cicero Costha | Giovanni Marcelo da Silva Carvalho |
| Renato Tavares Association | Michael Joseph Danyus III |
| Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ | Richar Emiliano Nogueira |
| Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ | Thiago Augusto Araujo Macedo |
| Team Robson Moura | Eric M LLerena |
| Team Robson Moura | Raphael da Costa Cadena |
| Unity Jiu-jitsu | Thiago Aguiar Abud |
| Winners Training Center | Brian Mahecha |
| Zenith BJJ | Emilio Alejandro Hernandez Rodriguez |
Featherweight sees our first handful of big names looking to take the 2020 crown, with Isaac Doederlein, Kennedy Maciel, and Gianni Grippo looking to win this division. With the recent run of form, it’s likely that we will see Isaac and Kennedy fight it out for the top podium and with Isaac’s run at Europeans, we’re giving it to him.
Lightweight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Johnny Joachin Tama Apolinario |
| Alliance | Rafael Rosendo dos Santos |
| American Top Team | Mauricio Esteban Gomez Bobadilla |
| Ares BJJ | Hugo Doerzapff Marques |
| Art of Jiu Jitsu | Johnatha Barbosa Alves |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Jonnatas Gracie Araujo da Silva |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Michael Remigio Liera Jr. |
| BJJ Revolution Team | Alexander Scott Lane |
| Brasa CTA | Jeremy S. Jackson |
| Brasa CTA | Kim Terra |
| Carlson Gracie Team | Alexandre Faria Molinaro |
| Caveirinha Jiu-Jitsu Family USA | Kevin Melendrez |
| Charles Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy | Kaisar Adilevich Saulebayev |
| CheckMat | Jose Mathias Macedo de Lira Luna |
| CheckMat | Renato Forasieppi Alves Canuto |
| Gracie Barra | Edwin Najmi |
| Gracie Humaita | Paulo Gabriel Martins da Costa |
| Lotus Club USA | Francisco Cuneo |
| Nova União | Marcio Andre da Costa Barbosa Junior |
| Pedro Sauer Team | Ricky Joey Semiglia |
| Rodrigo Freitas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Rodrigo Lamounier de Freitas |
| ZR Team Association | Bruno Valdivino de Carvalho |
One of the most interesting facts about this year’s PanAms is that AOJ has split away from ATOS meaning that both teams are now competing for the coveted team trophy. With that being said, we’re expecting AOJ black belt Johnatha Alves to have a good run through the division. Other big names to watch out for are Gracie Barra’s Edwin Najmi, Jeremy Jackson and Renato Canuto, all who will get into the later stages of the division.
Middleweight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Rehan Muttalib |
| Alliance | Vinicius Lino Wong |
| Alliance International | Andre Nascimento dos Santos Gois |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Juan Cleber Pio de Souza |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Ronaldo Pereira de Souza Júnior |
| Atos JJ International | Thomas Justin Vernon Palmer |
| Brasa CTA | Julian L. Synan |
| Carlson Gracie Team | Guthierry Barbosa Nascimento Conceição |
| CheckMat | Jackson Nagai Hatchwell Junior |
| GF Team | Joel Adan Torres Silva |
| GF Team | Leonardo da Silva Guimaraes |
| Gracie Barra | Carlos Jorge Alves Souza |
| Gracie Barra | Lucas Sette C. Valente Tobias |
| Gracie Barra JJ | Saul Viayra |
| Gracie Humaita | Ross Daniel Keeping |
| Nova União | Santiago Fermin Farina |
| R1NG BJJ | Kevin Cuervo Vieira |
| R1NG BJJ | Lucas Benévolo Valle |
| Renzo Gracie Ottawa | Pablo Lavaselli |
| Richardson BJJ | Vinicius Carvalho Garcia |
| Soul Fighters BJJ | Dylan C. Whyte |
| Studio76 Jiu Jitsu Ecuador | Nicolas Lora Ospina |
| Team LDMA | Eric Thomas Ingram |
| Unity Jiu-jitsu | Felipe Cesar Silva |
| Unity Jiu-jitsu | Levi Jones-Leary |
The really interesting thing about this year’s Pan Ams is the switch in divisions. Competitors who are normally in lighter divisions are being forced into heavier ones. This is why it’s interesting to see Levi Jones-Leary compete in the middleweight division. Absent from this year’s European Championships due to injury, we’re interested in seeing how far Levi’s berimbolos can take him through the middleweight division.
Another big name for this division is Ronaldo Junior who is likely to do very well in this division.
Medium-Heavy weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Cascao Jiu-Jitsu | Armando Menezes Esquer |
| Cassão Team | Matheus Lucas Rocha de Oliveira |
| CheckMat | Gabriel Salles Muniz Almeida |
| CheckMat | José Matheus Macedo de Lira Luna |
| Fight Sports | Jose Joaquin Valenzuela Torres |
| Fight Sports | Yuri A V Silva |
| Gracie Barra | Otavio Ferreira de Sousa |
| Gracie Barra | Ulpiano Malachias Neto |
| Gracie Barra JJ | Joseph C. Watson |
| Gracie Barra JJ | Nathan Paz Barreto |
| Integração / EOFC | Henrique Nóbrega e Silva |
| Maracaba BJJ | Jake Michael Watson |
| Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ | Manuel Ribamar V. de Oliveira Filho |
| Team Royce Gracie | Ronnie Trey Louis Pace III |
| Unity Jiu-jitsu | Murilo Silva Ferreira de Santana |
In an interesting turn of events, we see the owner of Unity Jiu-jitsu Murilo Santana enter the adult division for the 2020 Pan American Championships! This division is looking like an interesting prospect with names sich as Matheus Oliviera and Gabriel Almeida in the division.
Heavyweight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Alejandro Enrique Villaparedes Quiroz |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Gustavo Espindola Batista |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Rafael Vasconcelos de Lima |
| Atos JJ International | Dominique L. Bell |
| Atos JJ International | Nisar Amin Loynab |
| Brazilian Top Team | Gilvan Gomes da Costa |
| Cascao Jiu-Jitsu | Michael Musumeci Jr. |
| Coalition 95 | Nathan Albrecht Mendelsohn |
| Gracie Barra | Jurgens Olivier Jansen |
| KMR BJJ KIMURA | Horlando de Jesus Monteiro |
| KMR BJJ KIMURA | Patrick A. de Almeida Goncalves |
| LEAD BJJ | Yuri Allison Paiva dos Santos |
| Renato Tavares Association | Hunter Lee Colvin |
| Studio76 Jiu-Jitsu Las Vegas | Roberto Francisco Jimenez |
| TAC Team BJJ | Ashur Sami Darmo |
| Team Jucão | Brian John Wells |
The most surprising name to see in this division is Mikey Musumeci Jr. however due to commitments with BJJ Fanatics, he has had to pull out of the Pan Americans to everyone’s disappointment. However this doesn’t stop the heavyweight division from being one of the most stacked divisions at this year’s Pan Ams.
Unfortunately, we can see this going one way, an ATOS close out with Gustavo Batista taking the gold.
Super-heavy weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Fellipe Andrew Leandro Silva |
| Alliance | Guilherme Augusto Soares Santos |
| American Top Team | Charles Kilyan Mcguire |
| CheckMat | Arnaldo Maidana de Oliveira |
| Fight Sports | Aaron Michael Johnson |
| Gracie Barra | Francisco Carlos de Leon |
| Legion American Jiu-Jitsu | Keenan Kai-James Cornelius |
| Team Lloyd Irvin | Roberto Torralbas |
| Unity Jiu-jitsu | Devhonte M. Johnson |
COVID has done another one of the Super-heavy division with normal 88kg competitor Keenan Cornelius coming into the super-heavy division. We’ll be will be seeing if this is the year for Keenan’s fourth Pan Am gold!
Ultra-heavy weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Leonardo Henrique D’avila Corrêa |
| Brasa CTA | Renato dos Santos Tagliari |
| CheckMat | Luiz Fernando de Azevedo Panza |
| GF Team | Max dos Santos Gimenis |
| Kronos BJJ HQ | Johnny Souza Gonçalves |
| Luiz Palhares Jiu Jitsu | Stuart Randle Maddox |
| R1NG BJJ | Austin Wade Avera |
Ultra heavyweight sees no significant big names meaning this is an opportunity for a new ultra-heavy weight competitor to sign their name in the Pan American history books!
Female Black Belt Division
Light-Feather weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Ana Talita de Oliveira Alencar |
| CheckMat | Patrícia Maria N. Fontes dos Santos |
| GF Team | Mayssa Caldas Pereira Bastos |
| Gracie Humaita | Ann Marie Kneib |
The light feather division is always stacked with big female names, unfortunalty not this year! Get ready to see a final between Mayssa Baston and Talita Alencar, a furious paced match!
Featherweight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Gracie Humaita | Gabrielle McComb Lima |
| Gracie Humaita | Lyanne Perez |
| R1NG BJJ | Amanda Elouise Alequin |
| TAC Team BJJ | Taylor Biagi |
Lightweight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Nicole C. Sullivan |
| Cascao Jiu-Jitsu | Talia Marie Vaughan |
| CheckMat | Nathalie Wan Soares Veras Ribeiro |
| Fight Sports | Natasha Aileen Quiza |
| Jiu-Jitsu For The People – Sheridan BJJ | Yanelisa Reyes |
Lightweight sees another lack of big names, namely Ffion Davies. However we’re looking at another ATOS close out with the two female black belts likely to head into the finals.
Middleweight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Rafaela Ribeiro Guedes |
| BJJ Lab Naperville | Jessica Constance Swanson |
| CheckMat | Raquel Dayne Kaleialoha Canuto |
| Club Pina Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu | Brenda Ariane Oliveira Palheta |
| GF Team | Laurah Elizabeth Hallock |
| Gracie Humaita | Melissa Stricker Cueto |
| TAC Team BJJ | Claire Elaine North |
| Team Lloyd Irvin | Vannessa Nancy Griffin |
Medium-heavy weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Abmar Barbosa Association | Maria Malyjasiak |
| Atos Jiu-Jitsu | Emilly Alves Silva |
| CheckMat | Vedha Clemente Toscano |
| Gracie Barra | Andressa Mezari Cintra |
| Nova União | Brenda Heller Pessoa Freitas Barbosa |
Super-heavy weight
| TEAM | NAME |
|---|---|
| Alliance | Talita Andrea Nogueira |
| Big Brothers | Michelle Welti |
| Gracie Barra | Jessica D Flowers |
| Gracie Barra | Kendall Marie Reusing |
The final division of the adult female black belts looks to see a Gracie Barra close out with both Kendall Reusing and Jessica Flowers taking the top two spots of the podium.
Conclusion
In a year that no body expected it’s great to see the IBJJF getting competitive BJJ back onto our screens, and just remember, Pan Ams is responsible for the best BJJ meme thanks to Megaton Dias