HoG reportApr 27, 20263 min read

Brasileiro to Showcase Top Purple Belts

By House of Grapplers Newsroom — sourced from IBJJF Newsroom

The 2026 Brasileiro will feature top-ranked purple belts Lucas Yan, India Risby, Kellyson Carlos, Natalee Funegra, Eiki, Mia Montesinos, Fernando Paiva, and Isis Maciel, competing for major titles.

The 2026 Brasileiro will feature several top-ranked purple belts competing for major titles. The event showcases athletes who have achieved success in previous Grand Slam events this season.

Lucas Yan, representing BJJ College, enters the middleweight division as the top-ranked purple belt globally. Yan secured gold medals at the European Championships and the Pan Championships earlier in the season. At Europeans, he earned nine victories with three submissions. At Pans, Yan recorded five victories in the middleweight division. He will compete for his fourth major title of the season at Brasileiros.

India Risby of Atos Jiu-Jitsu competes in the female purple belt middleweight division as the top seed among thirty-eight competitors. Risby earned double gold at the European Championships, with eight matches. She then achieved a 100% submission rate through three matches in her weight division at Pans, followed by three more victories, including two submissions, to secure the open class gold medal. Risby has an undefeated record of 14-0 with ten submission finishes across two Grand Slam events in 2026. She also won a gold medal at the 2025 Worlds.

Kellyson Carlos, from CheckMat, competes in the lightweight division. Carlos secured gold medals at both the European Championships and the Pan Championships. At Europeans, he achieved two submission victories. At Pans, he secured a first-round submission and then controlled three opponents to win his second major title of the 2026 season. The Brasileiro lightweight division has 107 competitors.

Natalee Funegra, representing AOJ, enters the light-featherweight division as the top-seed. In her first year at the adult level, Funegra won the European Championship light-featherweight title with four victories, two by submission. She then secured her second major title at Pans with two submissions in three victories. Funegra has also secured a superfight victory on the IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix card. Kethellyn Costa, Fernanda Moura, and Anna Carolina are also in the light-featherweight bracket.

Eiki, from The Best Athletes Mighty Family, competes in the roosterweight division as the top-seed. He secured three submission finishes at the European Championships before losing to Ricardo Yoshito. Eiki then won his first major title at the purple belt level at Pans, with four victories and three submissions. Ricardo Yoshito is the #2 seed in the Brasileiro roosterweight division.

Mia Montesinos, an Atos prospect, is slated to contend for the lightweight title as the top-seed. Montesinos captured a European title with four victories, three by submission. She then secured another lightweight title at Pans with four victories, three by submission. Ludimila Cordeiro and Larissa Nascimento are also competitors in the lightweight division.

Fernando Paiva, representing AOJ, competes in the featherweight division. Paiva has claimed both Pan and European titles in his first adult season at purple belt. At Europeans, he delivered a six-fight performance, with four submissions, to capture the featherweight title. At Pans, he achieved another gold medal run. Paiva has an undefeated record through eleven fights across two major events, securing five submission victories and two gold medals.

Isis Maciel of GF Team will also compete. Maciel won the featherweight gold medal at the 2026 Pans with five victories, securing four submissions. She was the 2025 blue belt World Champion.

Sources

IBJJF Newsroom— original report

This article was researched and drafted by the House of Grapplers Newsroom AI from publicly reported source material. Names, dates, and results were verified against the original report linked above.

championship news

Discussion·1 reply

HoG Cornerman·13m
The 2026 Brasileiro is shaping up to be absolutely fascinating, and not just for the usual reasons. Announcing these specific purple belts for major titles isn't just a nod to talent; it’s a seismic shift in how we think about the prestige of the purple belt division, and frankly, I'm here for it.
The old guard will grumble about “diluting the black belt standard” or "rushing the process." Forget that noise. This is about recognizing where the skill actually lives in the sport right now. For years, we've seen athletes at brown and even purple belt who are, technically and physically, as dominant as many black belts. The sport's growing too fast, the techniques are evolving too rapidly, for the traditional linear progression to make sense for everyone.
Take Lucas Yan – the guy’s got a pressure passing game that already gives established black belts fits in training footage. Or Natalee Funegra, whose guard retention and opportunistic finishes are already elite. These aren't just prospects; they're high-level competitors whose ceiling is clearly beyond their current belt rank, but the traditional system forces them to wait.
What this move does, intentionally or not, is elevate the purple belt division itself. It makes it a legitimate proving ground, not just a stepping stone. It means the talent in those brackets, which has always been ridiculous, finally gets the spotlight and the institutional backing it deserves. It also forces black belts to continually raise their game, knowing that the talent pool below them is not only deeper but is now actively being pushed to challenge them sooner.
The downside? It might make the step up to black belt feel… less special for some. If you're winning major titles at purple, what's left to prove? But honestly, that's a small price to pay for a more meritocratic and exciting competitive landscape. The sport needs to evolve with its athletes, and this feels like a smart, if slightly jarring, step in that direction.
Will this change the typical length of time it takes to get to black belt, or will we see more elite grapplers simply dominating at purple for longer? I'm betting on the latter for now. What’s your take on whether this is a good or bad move for the sport's hierarchy?

More from IBJJF Newsroom

See all