The IBJJF 2023 European Championships are nearly upon us!  Scheduled to run Jan. 23-29 in Paris, France, the tournament represents the launch of the 2023 gi season and is stacked with talent from all over the globe. 

All eyes should be on two-time IBJJF World Champion Tainan Dalpra.  The Art of Jiu-Jitsu superstar had a flawless year in 2022, winning every event he entered and reaching a total record of 18-0 with 14 submissions.  Will Tainan's reign over the middleweight division continue?  At this point, it's hard to imagine otherwise.  

It would not be an overstatement to say that Gabrielle Pessanha from Infight jiu-jitsu might be the most dominant athlete competing in the IBJJF today.  A double grand slam winner (gold in weight and the absolute category at every IBJJF major) in 2022 , Pessanha has been an unstoppable force and unmoveable object.  She racked up an astonishing record of 51-0 with 35 finishes over the course of the season. 

Make the jump to see the key players in each black belt category.  

Roosterweight

• Thalison Soares
• Frank Cespedes

Featherweight

• Shane Jamil-Hill Taylor
• Fabricio Andrey
• Alexxsandro Sodre
• Sam Mcnally
• Diogo Reis
• Eduardo Roque

Lightweight

• Andy Murasaki
• Pablo Lavaselli
• Max Lindblad
• Marcel Fausto
• Meyram Alves
• Marcio Andre
• Elijah Dorsey

Middleweight

• Tainan Dalpra
• Lucas. Protasio
• Espen Mathiesen
• Italo Moura
• Tarik Hopstock

Medium-Heavy

• Matheus Spirandeli
• Pedro Machado
• Jansen Gomes
• Clay Mayfield
• Francisco Lo
• Taylor Pearman

Heavyweight

• Bruno Lima
• Fellipe Andrew
• Adam Wardzinski
• Rider Zuchi
• Devhonte Johnson

Super-Heavy

• Steffan Banta
• Kaynan Duarte
• Thomas Bracher

Ultra-Heavy

• Mason Fowler
• Wallace Costa
• Seif-Eddine Humane

Rooster

• Jessa Khan
• Thais Loureiro
• Julia Gomes

Light-Featherweight

• Rose-Marie El Sharon
• Bendra Larissa
• Mayssa Bastos

Featherweight

• Sophia Dalpra
• Ana Rodrigues
• Andreia Cavalcante

Lightweight

• Luiza Monteiro
• Nathalie Ribeiro
• Maria Almeida
• Kira Sung

Middleweight

• Lis Clay
• Raquel Canuto
• Vanessa Griffin
• Thalyta Lima

Medium-Heavyweight

• Maria Malyjasiak
• Amy Campo

Heavyweight

• Leticia Cardozo
• Amanda Oliveira

Super-Heavyweight

• Gabrielle Pessanha
• Claire-France Thevenon