This weekend’s Third Coast Grappling event will feature some of the most prominent women in jiu-jitsu.

Eight competitors will take their shots at $10,000 at Third Coast Grappling: Kumite VII on Saturday, September 26. The popular Kumite series has already awarded $60,000 in prizes in a variety of weight divisions. The seventh installment will be the first to feature a female tournament, and the bracket is star-studded.

Reid: There’s a who’s who list of female grapplers competing at this weekend’s Kumite and on paper it might be the best tournament 3GC has put together. And that’s saying a lot considering the elite brackets they’ve put together in the past. But with all these world champions in one bracket, it’s bound to be an exciting night of jiu-jitsu.

On the right side of the bracket, one matchup leaps out at me, a potential semi-final of Ana Carolina Vieira vs Andressa Cintra. Both these girls have emerged in the last few years as the new generation of female grapplers you should be paying attention to. I don’t believe these two have ever squared off before so fingers crossed we see it first on Saturday night. 

On the other side of the bracket, it’s hard not to see Nathiely de Jesus as the favorite there. With five world titles to her name, Nathiely has put herself in a category all her own. 

I see an action-packed final happening between the two local Texas-based grapplers, Andressa Cintra vs Nathiely de Jesus. This bracket is loaded with talent so expect an upset of two in there but for my money I just think Cintra and de Jesus have proved they are ahead of the pack, I guess we’ll find out for sure on Saturday night. 

Prediction: Nathiely de Jesus defeats Andressa Cintra via triangle choke

Michael: I have world champs Nathiely de Jesus, Luiza Monteiro, Ana Carolina Vieira and Andressa Cintra making the semis. 

Then I'll take Nathiely and Ana Carolina advancing to the finals, where Nathiely wins in OT to become the first women's Kumite champion.

Hywel: With four IBJJF world champs in each corner of the 8-women kumite, I think it's pretty safe to say that we'll see semifinals between Nathiely de Jesus and Luiza Monteiro on one side and Ana Carolina Vieira and Andressa Cintra on the other.

I wouldn't be at all surprised to see submissions in every single one of those first-round matches. 

Nathiely vs Luiza is a tough one, they're former teammates and know each other well. Nathiely's size advantage usually gives her the edge in this match, and I see her taking a close decision. Vieira vs Cintra is a different matter– they've not fought (to my knowledge) and I feel that they are well-matched. 

They're both physical and hungry for the finish. I expect a hard-fought battle, but I'm going with Vieira here. Nathiely vs Ana Carolina has happened before and I believe that Nathi's cool technique will stifle Vieira's physical jiu-jitsu. 

I'm picking Nathiely to take the $10k check back to San Antonio. 

 Corey:  There are a bunch of exciting potential matchups in this bracket, especially because so many of these competitors have history. 

The rematch I'm most excited to see is the likely semi-finals of side A. Nathiely and Luiza should be able to advance and rehash their match from early last year. 

I think Nathiely takes the win in overtime to advance to the finals.On the other side, Andressa Cintra has a tough bracket ahead of her, and I think she steps up to the challenge. Her biggest test will be Ana Carolina Vieira. 

I have Andressa pulling off two upsets here, first against Ana Carolina and then against Nathiely.None of these matches are easy picks.

 So many of these women are top-ranked. Andressa is the only competitor in this bracket with experience in the Third Coast Grappling format, and that could weigh heavily on the outcome in many of these matches.

Prediction: Andressa Cintra beats Nathiely de Jesus by golden score

Riccardo:  Very, very tough bracket. A lot of great first-round matches.

 It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I think Jena vs Nathiely first round is going to be awesome. 

I think Luiza and Nathiely could end up facing off on that side facing the winner of Andressa and Ana Carolina.

 I think we will end up seeing Nathiely and Ana Carolina in the finals with Ana Carolina winning it all. 

Chase: Super competitive bracket, I'm really excited to see this one play out. 

On the left-hand side, I think we'll see a Monteiro x Nathiely semi-final - both women are as elite as they come and will have a size advantage on their first-round opponents.   This would be a rematch from the 2019 super-heavyweight final at the European Championships, and I'm eager to see how it plays out this time. 

I think the golden score element at 3CG / the overtime round will absolutely be a factor in most of these matches, and Nahielys incredible guard may secure her path to the final. 

The question on the right-hand side of the bracket is who will meet Ana Carolina Vieira in the semi-final? Nathalie Ribeiro has had an excellent summer, but I think Cintra's size and gi specific skills place her in front of Vieira for the second match. 

I see the final taking place between Nathiely and Ana Vieira – it should be scrappy as ever, but I think Vieira is going to pull off the win in OT.