Mica Galvao stepped on the IBJJF European Championships mats for the first time as a black belt today, marking his first time in 599 days competing at an IBJJF major tournament.

The Manuara worked his top game before attacking the back, and finished the match against Gyula Szabo with an armlock.

One mat over, reigning IBJJF European lightweight champion Andy Murasaki made his Euros debut at middleweight, where he scored a triangle victory over Oscar Gugala.

Both men will advance to the second black belt day of Euros, which begins with the quarterfinals and ends at the podium.

Kicking off the middleweight division tomorrow, Mica will face Tarik Hopstok, the Norwegian grappler who landed a footlock victory in his only match on the day. On the other side, Sweedish grappler Max Lindblad and rookie black belt Fabyury Khrystyan will square off.

Murasaki will have Vinicius Martins in the final, with Pedro Souza of Dream Art and Hungarian grappler Szilard Sule facing off on the other side.

Middleweight quarterfinals:

• Mica Galvao vs Tarik Hopstok
• Max Lindblad vs Fabyury Khrystyan
• Andy Murasaki vs Vinicius Martins
• Pedro Souza vs Szilard Sule

Watch the 2024 IBJJF Eruopean Championships in Paris, France live on FloGrappling

Gutemberg Pereira & Pedro Machado to face off in absolute final

With Erich Munis backing out of his campaign for an absolute title at Euros, Gutemberg Pereira entered the mix as the clear favorite. He had a relatively uncontested path to the final, picking up a first round bye, then picking up two points victories. In the semifinal, long time friend Mauricio Oliveira opened the path for Gutemberg, resigning from the match.

On the other side of the bracket, Pedro Machado defeated Alex Munis and Welington Sebastião, before collecting a flashy armbar win over Guilherme Lambertucci. That puts both men in an opportunity to win their first-ever black belt major absolute title. It's a special opportunity for Pereira — now representing Art of Jiu-Jitsu — as he could win the first ever absolute black belt major title for the AOJ banner.

Gabrieli Pessanha & Thalyta Lima to run it back yet again in Euros final

Gabi Pessanha is on a path to collect her tenth consecutive double gold at an IBJJF major after her performance today at Euros. One of the two women standing in her way is Thalyta Lima, who has been her open class final opponent in each of the last two editions of Euros.

Pessanha scored an early submission against Maryana Cardoso, before edging out a hard-fought decision against longtime rival Yara Soares.

Meanwhile, Lima defeated Pessanha's teammate Maria Claudia in the quarters, then beat wold champ Melissa Cueto in the semis to earn her spot in tomorrow's final.

Pessanha is on a run for the record books. She's already completed two consecutive IBJJF double grand slams, and is starting up her run at a third. A double gold in tomorrow's finals would put her well on her way.

Dorsey, Espen, Natan, Lavaselli in the mix for lightweight title

With the reigning lightweight champ Andy Murasaki up to middleweight, the 76kg division is up for grabs. 2022 champ Espen Mathiesen could be the favorite coming in, winning his only match on Friday with a crafty last-minute backtake. But he'll find worthy challangers among the field of medalists from the 2023 season.

Elijah Dorsey won his only match via armlock on Friday, and will see Pedro Silva in the quarters. Natan Chueng won his qualifier match on points, and will meet Leon Larman in the quarters. Pablo Lavaselli defeated Karl Pegers via wrist lock, and will next face Julio Arantes. For Mathiesen, the quarterfinals bring division Darkhorse Lucas Protasio, against whom he had a battle in 2022, on his way to gold.

Lightweight quarterfinals:

• Espen Mathiesen vs Lucas Protasio
• Natan Chueng vs Leon Larman
• Pablo Lavaselli vs Julio Arantes
• Elijah Dorsey vs Pedro Silva

Medium heavyweight quarterfinals:

• Mauricio Oliveira vs Nolan Stuart
• Charles Adorian vs Davi Vetoraci
• Shane Fishman vs Wellington Sebastião
• Horlando Monteiro vs Faris Benlamkadem

Heavyweight quarterfinals

• Adam Wardzinski vs Vinicius Liberati
• Pedro Machado vs Jesse Vuorio
• Fellipe Andrew vs Marcos Carrozzino
• Lucas Alves vs Italo Lima Costa

Super heavyweight quarterfinals

• Rayron Gracie vs Marcus Lopo Ruiz
• Erich Munis vs Vinicius Alves Lessa Paula
• Anderson Munis vs Harryson Pereira
• Pedro Ribeiro vs Anderson Marinho

Featherweight quarterfinals

• Sam McNally vs Diego Sodre
• Sebastian Serpa vs Kennedy Maciel
• Isaac Doederlein vs Ademir Araujo
• Jun Young Cho vs Alex Sodre

Light featherweight quarterfinals

• Seokhyeon Seo vs Enrique Gonzalez
• Yuri Hendrix vs Anderson Duarte
• Meyram Alves vs Keven Carrasco
• Tomoyuki Hashimoto vs Jefferson Veloso

Roosterweight quarterfinal

• Thalison Soares vs Andrew dos Santos
• Shay Montague vs Tadiyah Danforth
• Zayed Alkatheeri vs Oziel Santos
• Italo Bonfim vs Jonas Andrade

Ultra Heavyweight quarterfinals

• Gutemberg Pereira vs Guilherme Lambertucci
• Helder Rodrigues vs Kjetil Lydvo
• Marcus Scooby vs Tacio Alves
• Yatan Bueno vs Seif-Eddine Houmine

2024 IBJJF European female black belt final pairings

• Roosterweight: Shelby Murphey vs Giulia Gregorut
• Light featherweight: Mayssa Bastos vs Jessica Dantas
• Featherweight: Gabriela Perera vs Margot Ciccarelli
• Lightweight: Vitoria Vieira vs Julia Alves
• Middleweight: Thalyta Silva vs Ingridd Alves
• Medium Heavyweight: Sabatha Lais vs Aurelie Le Vern
• Heavyweight: Melissa Cueto vs Izadora Cristina
• Super Heavyweight: Gabrieli Pessanha vs Tayane Porfirio

Watch BJJ On FloGrappling

FloGrappling is the streaming home to the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu events and news coverage. FloGrappling is the streaming home of: 

• ADCC
• IBJJF
• WNO
• Fight to Win
• And more!

Join The BJJ Conversation By Following FloGrappling On Social

• Follow us on Twitter @flograppling.
• Follow us on Instagram @flograppling.
• Watch us on YouTube.
• Like us on Facebook.