Bloody Elbow’s grappling editor Roy Billington and ADCC veteran Tom DeBlass give you a quick breakdown of what to look out for at the 2016 IBJJF World Championships.
This weekend, the IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu Championship goes down in Long Beach, California. It features an abundance of elite grapplers, from white belts to black belts, competing for supremacy in their divisions and the coveted world title. The event willl be streamed live at FloGrappling.com and the black belts will take center stage over the weekend.
Submission grappling has had a huge 2016 so far. Events like EBI 6 and Polaris Pro 3 have pitted MMA fighters with grapplers over the last few months, and there has been a notable rise in interest about the grappling world after Gordon Ryan’s heroics at EBI 6. But if you, like many casual fans out there, find the IBJJF World Championships and its multiple divisions and belts a bit daunting, fear not, as for the second consecutive year, No-Gi world champion and ADCC vet Tom DeBlass and I will give you the low down on what to look out for this weekend.
Women Take Centre Stage
Roy Billington: The IBJJF World Championships always feature a litany of highly-skilled female athletes and this year is no different. As far as I am concerned, the women’s featherweight division is going to be one of the highlights of this year and there are two girls who I am particularly interested watching. Mackenzie Dern is the Ronda Rousey of the BJJ world. Dern’s father, Megaton Dias, is one of the most technical and physically imposing grapplers of his generation and his daughter has followed in a similar vain. While Dern has aspirations of an MMA career, she will be returning to the World’s one last time and there is one woman in particular that is eager to face her.
The IBJJF World Championships of 2015 brought us one of the greatest women’s finals of all-time as Dern pulled off a big win against Michelle Nicolini. Nicolini, a blackbelt under Robert Drysdale, will be looking to regain her title in this must-watch rematch.
Tom DeBlass: I think that both women bring a ton of momentum behind them. The question is will MacKenzie’s transition to MMA affect her performance in the world’s? This is also Michelle’s last world championship in adult division she announced will that bring her extra motivation? It is going to be a close call.
Keenan Cornelius Chasing Gold
RB: Keenan Cornelius is a beast and at this point of his career it seems like he has won it all, but he has never taken home gold at the IBJJF World Championships in the gi. While Cornelius has a busy summer ahead, including a sub-only match-up with Gordon Ryan, he will be looking to take home the gold in this one. Unfortunately for Cornelius, the medium-heavy divisions is stacked with some of the best names in grappling. Former ADCC champ Romulo Barral, Matheus Diniz, and Leandro Lo are just some of the name that Cornelius will have to contend with if he is to emerge victorious at the world championships.
TDB: It’s hard to ever bet against Romulo. Leandro Lo however seems to have the recipe for victory as of late. Matheus is a monster but i believe the other guys experience will edge a bit. Keenan always has a shot. I believe it’s a throw up between Keenan, Leandro, and Romulo.
Return of the King
RB: Buchecha was my favourite to take home gold last year, but unfortunately he suffered a horrific knee injury, which has left him on the shelf for a long period. This time around, Buchecha will be looking to mark his return to the sport in devastating fashion before refocusing his gaze towards MMA. If Buchecha is to be successful, he will have to overcome some big names including the ever-dangerous, Cyborg Abreu and Alexander Trans, who has proven himself to be among the world’s elite as of late, earning high-profile victories over Keenan Cornelius and Cyborg himself.
My pick for this one is Buchecha, it would make for a great story if the star can return and take home the gold medal once again.
TDB: You can never rule Cyborg out, you know any day that he shows up and is on fire he can be a problem, as he proved when he won the ADCC absolute. Alexander Trans is also coming off an injury, but he has proved that his injury has not held him back as he has competed successfully at the ADCC gi pro. Now when it comes to Buchecha, when he is on he is on. However, Alexander Trans and Buchecha have had neck-and-neck battles in the past. Alexander Trans is probably the most underrated grappler in the world right now, he’s had extremely close matches with Buchecha, I am going to go with the dark horse and pick Trans to win.
The IBJJF World Championship goes down this weekend in Long Beach, California and will be available to stream live from FloGrappling.com and features a stacked roster of the best grapplers in the world.