June 2024 was a big month for the world of professional Jiu-Jitsu as the best gi grapplers on the planet stepped on the mats for the IBJJF World Championship at the beginning of the month. The action didn’t stop there either, with major no gi events taking place just a few weeks later and attracting some of the top competitors in the sport. Polaris 28 and Who’s Number One 24 both featured a series of action-packed superfights between big names from the worlds of both BJJ and MMA. Then the month finished just as strong as well, with the IBJJF Brazilian No Gi Championship kicking off the IBJJF no gi Grand Slam season for 2024. These events led to some big changes in the Jits Magazine BJJ Rankings, which REVGEAR is now the proud sponsor of.
Storylines from the mats in June 2024
The IBJJF World Championship 2024
The IBJJF World Championship is the biggest tournament in gi grappling and this year was no exception, as almost every elite competitor in the format was there. The biggest news came from the heavyweight division, where Adam Wardzinski became the first European man in history to win a world title. It was a huge moment for an entire continent and it was the culmination of over a decade and a half of hard work by Wardzinski, who was promoted to black belt back in 2016. There was plenty of other first time champions like Mica Galvao, who finished off his IBJJF Grand Slam year, and Anderson Munis, who shared the podium with his brother Erich.
Erich Munis did get to add another world title to his collection though, as he won the absolute division despite amazing runs by lighter grapplers; Meyram Maquine and Jansen Gomes. The women’s absolute champion was Gabrieli Pessanha once again, who won that and the super-heavyweight division for an unprecedented fourth year in a row. Mayssa Bastos and Andressa Cintra continued their runs of dominance in the lighter weight classes, with both women winning their fifth world titles. The other major storyline in the women’s divisions came when Luiza Monteiro stood on top of the podium for the first time in 7 years, winning a third world title and leaving her black belt on the mat to signify her retirement from the tournament.
Full results for the IBJJF World Championship 2024 can be found here.
ONE 167, Polaris 28, and WNO 23
There were some big names in the no gi grappling world competing in June as well, although they were split out across several major events. First up was ONE 167; where Mikey Musumeci moved up in weight to challenge the last man who beat him back in 2021, Gabriel Sousa. It was a flawless performance by Musumeci, who triumphed despite the size difference and got the submission win. Reigning ADCC world champion Kade Ruotolo also competed at the event, but he was making his professional MMA debut instead. He predictably won by submission but what wasn’t expected is what happened beforehand, as he displayed some crisp striking at the beginning of the fight.
Full results for ONE 167 can be found here.
Polaris 28 was next and several of the best competitors from all around Europe were competing throughout the card. Two of the promotion’s titles were on the line as well, and Helena Crevar kicked things off by winning the inaugural women’s lightweight championship with a convincing decision win. Mateusz Szczecinski put his welterweight title on the line in the co-main event and although he wasn’t able to use the elite leglock game that he’s known for, he still got the decision win over Levi Jones-Leary. Then in the main event, Baissangour ‘Baki’ Chamsoudinov stepped in on less than one day’s notice to replace Yoel Romero against Owen Livesey and they fought to a draw in a grinding standup battle.
Full results for Polaris 28 can be found here.
The biggest event of the month was undoubtedly Who’s Number One 23, as Gordon Ryan stepped on the mats for the very first time in 2024. He defended his heavyweight title in yet another vintage performance and locked up a heel hook to get the submission win. That wasn’t the only WNO title on the line though, as Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira defended the featherweight belt and the vacant middleweight belt was up for grabs. Pato submitted Fabricio Andrey with a rear-naked choke and Jonnatas Gracie was dominant in victory over Jacob Couch in order to become the new middleweight champion.
Full results for WNO 23 can be found here.
And off the mats…
There was just as much entertainment off the mats too, with Craig Jones causing chaos in the grappling world by announcing the highest paying event in the history of the sport. The Craig Jones Invitational will have a million dollars on the line for the winner of each of the two brackets and by staging the event on the same weekend as ADCC 2024, he’s made a huge statement about grappler pay. He’s been able to attract several elite grapplers who were originally supposed to be competing at ADCC and will no doubt siphon off a huge chunk of the audience too, as CJI will take place in the same city and will be streaming for free on YouTube.
Check out the full competitor list for the Craig Jones Invitational here, and for ADCC 2024 here.
