2022 IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix

Bahiense & Lebre Win The First IBJJF FloGrappling GP; Dalpra Shines

Bahiense & Lebre Win The First IBJJF FloGrappling GP; Dalpra Shines

Isaque certified his spot as the best medium heavyweight. Janaina Lebre defied the odds to win a historic title. Tainan returned for a dominant performance.

Oct 29, 2022
Bahiense & Lebre Win The First IBJJF FloGrappling GP; Dalpra Shines

Isaque Bahiense won the medium heavyweight IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix last night in Austin, TX, collecting the $10,000 prize and certifying his place at the top of the medium heavyweight rankings.

Bahiense submitted Andre Porfirio in the first round of the four man bracket, and defeated Manuel Ribamar in the final on advantages.

The final was a hard fought battle for position, in which both athletes fought relentlessly to score and to prevent their opponent from scoring. Bahiense scored an advantage on a near sweep at the end of the match, enough to put himself over in the final.

Ribamar earned a decision victory over Ronaldo Junior in the semifinal to get his shot against Bahiense. Junior took third with a submission from the back against Porfirio in the consolation match.

After receiving the GP title, Bahiense called for a match with no.1-ranked pound-for-pound gi grappler, Tainan Dalpra, who won a superfight at the event by submission.

Dalpra is 1-0 against Bahiense, defeating him at the middleweight final at Worlds in 2021 in a cagey match.

Watch every match from the 2022 IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix here.

Janaina Lebre had a career-best performance at the first-ever IBJJF female Grand Prix, decisively defeating two multiple time world champions to earn the historic title.

Lebre defeated Luiza Monteiro 8-6 in the semifinal, snapping a losing streak against the two-time world champion. Lebre relied heavily on her offensive worm guard play, with which she scored the go-ahead sweep to earn her berth in the final.

There, she defeated two-time IBJJF light featherweight world champion Anna Rodrigues, scoring a backtake off of a pass attempt early in the match, and riding that lead to the $10,000 grand prize.

Rodrigues defeated Mayssa Bastos in the semifinal 4-0, with all points coming from sweeps. Montiero defeated Bastos on advantages in the consolation match for third place.

Tainan Dalpra continued his undefeated season with a flawless performance against Rodrigo Lopes in a medium heavyweight superfight. Dalpra put up 14 points in less than five minutes, demonstrating efficient passing before attacking and finishing with an armbar. After the match, Dalpra asked for a match with Levi Jones-Leary. The two have been slated to compete against each other multiple times this year but have not yet stood across the mat from each other.

Fellipe Andrew had one of the most impressive submission victories of the event, defeating ultra heavyweight Roosevelt Sousa in a superfight. Sousa had a 50 lb advantage over Andrew, but that did not stop the highly ranked super heavyweight from sweeping, passing, and choking Sousa.


Johnatha Alves defeated Matias Luna in a superfight which caught the criticism of colleagues, including Nicholas Meregali who was in attendance for the event. Alves and Luna spent the majority of the match in 50-50 with lapel grips, trading sweeps back to forth. The match went to referee decision in favor of Alves after a 10-10 draw.

“If we want to keep the Gi Jiu Jitsu still alive, we urgently need to change the rule in several aspects, because the way it is, what we will have most will be athletes using this type of strategy where the fight doesn’t happen but the title is won, and it’s a disgrace to the sport,” Meregali wrote in an Instagram post criticizing the match.