Former IBJJF black belt World Champion Tye Ruotolo will put the gi back on to enter IBJJF Worlds at middleweight. Tye is a former world champion at lightweight who is known for his aggressive style, scrappy demeanor, and twin brother, and with this entry he sets up potential collision courses with champions like Mica Galvao and Tainan Dalpra.

Mica Galvão has announced that he will be moving up to middleweight for the 2024 IBJJF World Championships. The WNO welterweight champion had previously competed at lightweight in his IBJJF campaigns, including his gold medal run at the 2022 Brazilian Nationals.

In a late move, 2022 IBJJF Lightweight World Champion black belt Tye Ruotolo has registered himself for the 2023 World Championships - up at middleweight. The weight move was unexpected but opens up a ton of interesting matchups for the exciting young champion, who may face exciting matchups with world and Pan champions like Tainan Dalpra and JT Torres.

Three IBJJF world champions will try to fend off some of the next generation’s fastest rising talent in the BJJ Stars 8 middleweight grand prix next weekend in Sao Paulo.

Gabriel Sousa will return to the Tezos WNO mats after a second-place run at the WNO Championship when he faces Keith Krikorian at the top of the free prelims card in Frisco, TX on March 25 for Tezos Who’s Number One: Musumeci vs Martinez presented by Fat Tire.

Three free preliminary matches will start the show on Friday, January 21 for WNO: Craig Jones vs Pedro Marinho.  Those matches will be streamed for free on YouTube and Facebook.

Less than one month out from the first IBJJF World Championship since 2019, eight invited athletes had an opportunity to compete in a high-stakes event in Las Vegas. The winner would take home $20,000 and no doubt enjoy a huge confidence boost going into Worlds.

The IBJJF has announced the completed heavyweight Grand Prix coming to jiu-jitsu con on Nov 13, and it’s certainly a clash of the titans.

The IBJJF Middleweight GP has fully taken shape with four incredible athletes set to throw down for the cash prize of use $20,000.

Forty athletes are registered for the male black belt middleweight division at No-Gi Worlds, making it the deepest of the tournament. That roster includes six ADCC veterans, three returning IBJJF no-gi world champs, and one Levi Jones-Leary looking to make his no-gi debut as a black belt.

The online betting site BetOnline has released money lines for FloGrappling’s WNO Championship.

Update (Sept 22) — Oliver Taza, who replaced Craig Jones, is out of the division, and will be replaced by Johnny Tama, a no-gi world champ.

Andrew Wiltse is set to make his third appearance on FloGrappling’s Who’s Number One mats, this time taking on a ranked middleweight in Gabriel Almeida on June 18.

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.