Top Purple Belts Capture Brasileiro Spotlight

Day five of the Brasileiro Grand Slam featured purple belt divisions. Athletes delivered gold medal runs ahead of the World Championships.

CheckMat's Kellyson Carlos won the lightweight title. He submitted his first opponent with a ten-point bow-and-arrow choke. He then defeated Mykael Souza by armbar and Victor Peixoto by canto choke, accumulating a combined twenty-three unanswered points in those two matches. Kellyson submitted Kalebe Henrique with a nine-point mounted arm triangle in the quarterfinals. He secured a decision victory against Anthony Silva in the semifinals. In the lightweight finals, Kellyson defeated Moises Barata by advantage. This marked Kellyson's third Grand Slam event title of the 2026 season, per IBJJF Newsroom on May 7, 2026.

India Risby, the #1 ranked female purple belt in the world per IBJJF Newsroom on May 7, 2026, secured double-gold. She began her middleweight competition with an armbar victory and a second-round submission over Ana Beatriz. India earned an eleven-point shutout victory in the quarterfinals before submitting Emile Fraga. In the middleweight finals, she defeated Ana Fernandes via lapel choke. In the absolute division, India submitted Yasmin Barros with an armbar and defeated Larissa Nascimento by referee decision in the semifinals. India secured a second Grand Slam event double-gold. India was promoted to brown belt by Sarah Galvão on the absolute podium.

Lucas Yan of BJJ College won the middleweight title. He initiated his Brasileiro campaign with a spinning armbar. He then submitted Salomao Henrique via straight ankle lock in one minute and defeated Miguel Pablo by two points via sweep. Lucas secured a five-point armbar finish in the quarterfinals. He earned a referee decision victory over Gabriel Lopes in the semifinals. Lucas secured a straight ankle lock finish in the gold medal match.

Mia Montesinos of Atos won the lightweight title and an absolute silver medal. She started her lightweight run with an advantage win. Mia defeated Larissa Martins in a nine-point shutout victory and submitted Lohenna Aiko via triangle armbar in the quarterfinals. After a DQ win in the semifinals, Mia secured her Brasileiro title with a six-point armbar victory against Larissa Nascimento. This was Mia's third major title of the season, per IBJJF Newsroom on May 7, 2026. In the absolute division, Mia secured a bow-and-arrow choke finish in the opening round and an armbar finish in the quarterfinals. She defeated super-heavyweight champion Agatha Nigro by advantage in the semifinals before earning an open class silver medal.

Fernando Paiva of AOJ claimed his third major title of 2026. He started his gold medal run with two collar chokes in his opening rounds. He defeated Lucas Ferreira by a 3-2 advantage. In the quarterfinals, Fernando secured a third collar choke from the back. Fernando then defeated Caio Gabriel via a two-point sweep.

Isis Maciel of GF Team won the featherweight division. She submitted each of her four opponents via triangle-armbar setups, all before the midway point of the match. Through four matches, Isis secured four submissions in under seven minutes of mat time. Per IBJJF Newsroom on May 7, 2026, Isis holds a 9-0 record with eight submission victories in her two major event outings this season. She has claimed Pan and Brasileiro titles in 2026.

Luca Veras, the #2 seed in the super-heavyweight division, earned his second major title. He began his Brasileiro campaign with a two-minute lapel choke from the back over Renato Barboza. He then earned a DQ victory after scoring sixteen unanswered points, ending with a lapel choke attack. In the quarterfinals, Luca defeated John Heimar with a five-minute lapel choke. Luca then defeated Lincoln Santos by points to earn his finals placement against Renan Martins. In the finals, Luca secured a twenty-point lead before finishing with an armbar.