The 2021 No-Gi Pan Championships kick off on Saturday, May 15. The divisions are loaded with some of the biggest names in grappling. And this year, there's a new wrinkle in place; heel hooks and reaping are legal for black belts. New faces have come out in droves, and we could see the crowning of some first-time IBJJF No-Gi Pans champions. But those new faces will still have to get through some of the best in the world.

The 2021 IBJJF No-Gi Pan Championship brackets have been released.

The light featherweight division at the 2021 No-Gi Pan Championships will feature some of the best 135 pound-ers, and several more looking to break into the top-10. Paulo Miyao will be the likely favorite here. He hasn’t won a no-gi title since winning Pan No-Gi in 2015, and he had a rough go in 2020, losing each of his only two matches. Still, he’s one of the hardest to beat on the IBJJF platform.

The super heavyweight division at No-Gi Pans is up for grabs, as the 2020 champion, Kaynan Duarte, is not returning to defend. That leaves this division open for several long-time contenders to slide in and collect a title.

The 19-man featherweight division at the 2021 No-Gi Pan Championships has more wildcards than outright favorites, as leg lock specialists have flocked to the tournament in droves following the new IBJJF rules sanctioning heel hooks and reaping attacks.

Four-time no-gi world champ Lucas "Hulk" Barbosa won his first Pan No-Gi gold in 2020, and he’s slated to return this year to defend that title. Hulk has proven nearly unbeatable in no-gi matches in the IBJJF format; he’s 35-1 as a black belt in the federation’s no-gi tournaments. But he hasn’t yet competed in the new IBJJF no-gi ruleset, which allows heel hooks and reaping. And though he’s never lost via heel hook in his career, the new metagame could give him a new test in this 12-man heavyweight division.

Andrew Wiltse had a relatively seamless ascent to his first black belt title, earning No-Gi Pans gold in 2020, winning his first two matches by points before winning a third via penalty. He didn’t give up a point in three matches, but the returning champ is unlikely to have such an easy route to the top in the medium heavyweight bracket in this go-around.

The middleweight division will be one to watch closely at the 2021 IBJJF No-Gi Pans on May 15. More than 20 competitors have registered for this bracket, meaning the winner will have to scale through four or five rounds to reach the podium.