Brown Belts Shine at the 2026 Brasileiro

Hazel Butcher-Salazar of Alliance won double gold in the heavyweight and open class divisions at the 2026 Brasileiro in São Paulo, marking her fifth Grand Slam event title.

Butcher-Salazar began her heavyweight division campaign with a rear triangle armbar submission. She then scored 15 unanswered points in the semifinals before winning by americana. In the heavyweight final, she secured a lapel choke from the back in under two minutes. In the open class division, Butcher-Salazar won her first match by four points, then scored 19 unanswered points in the semifinals, finishing with an armbar. She faced middleweight champion Luandra Barbosa in the open class final, winning by guard pass, mount, and americana finish in over five minutes.

Per IBJJF Newsroom, this is Butcher-Salazar's third major event weight class title this season, and she previously won double-gold at Pans.

Rafael Gamba of Alliance secured the middleweight title with five submissions across five matches. He won his first-round match by armbar in over one minute, then defeated Diego Ferreira by triangle. He submitted Denner Oliveira by triangle with 30 seconds remaining. In the semifinals, Gamba won by reverse triangle. He faced Luan Veras in the final, securing a cross-collar choke with a triangle around the opponent's head to win the title. Per IBJJF Newsroom, Gamba's Brasileiro performance mirrored his European title win, where he also had five submissions in as many matches.

Luandra Barbosa of Gracie Barra won the middleweight title and took silver in the open class division. She entered the middleweight bracket as the top seed. Her first two matches resulted in triangle-armbar submission victories, totaling four minutes of action. In the semifinals against Amanda Soares, she secured a kimura-style shoulder lock in under one minute after a triangle setup. Barbosa won the middleweight final with a rear-naked choke after a pendulum sweep to the back. In the open class division, she won her opening round by triangle-armbar submission and her semifinal match against Emily Leyva by points. She lost to Hazel Butcher-Salazar in the open class final. Per IBJJF Newsroom, Barbosa secured the Pan middleweight title earlier in the season.

Jeferson Tijolo of DreamArt won the heavyweight title and earned a silver medal in the open class division. He entered the heavyweight division as the #7 seed. He won his first-round match by points. In the quarterfinals, he defeated Pan Absolute Champion Mauro Lucas by two advantages. Tijolo then submitted Hyan Nicolas with a cross-collar choke from the back in the semifinals. He faced Lucas Coruja in the heavyweight final, securing a four-point victory after eight minutes to win his first Grand Slam title at brown belt. In the open class, Tijolo won his first round by points and defeated Orlando Neto in the quarterfinals. He secured a ten-point victory in the semifinals before facing Lucas Coruja again in the absolute finals, where he took silver.

Kellen Arraes of Alliance won her second major title of the season in the featherweight division. She entered as the #2 seed. Her first-round victory came via lapel choke from the back after scoring nine unanswered points. She won her second-round match against Micaela Gomes by seven advantages. Arraes secured her Brasileiro title with a triangle-armbar finish in two and a half minutes over Sandra Muniz. Per IBJJF Newsroom, Arraes won her first Grand Slam title at brown belt at the Pan championships. She holds a 7-0 record with five submission victories across two major events in 2026.

Lucas Coruja of Alliance earned a silver medal in the heavyweight division and continued competition in the absolute division. His Brasileiro campaign began with a ten-point kimura finish, followed by a collar choke from the back in the second round. He won his semifinal match by two points. Coruja faced Jeferson Tijolo in the heavyweight final, losing by four points. He then secured a second kimura finish in the opening round of the absolute division against Matheus Cardoso, followed by an advantage victory in the quarterfinals. Per IBJJF Newsroom, Coruja previously secured Pan and European titles this season.