The 2025 IBJJF No-Gi World Championships, held this December in Las Vegas, wasn't just another tournament - it was a seismic shift in the grappling landscape. While we expected dominance from the usual suspects, the weekend was defined by a "changing of the guard" and a performance for the ages by one of the sport's most clinical submission hunters.
If you weren't mat-side (or glued to FloGrappling), here is the breakdown of the names that defined the year.
The Giant Slayer: Elisabeth Clay’s Flawless Run
The story of the tournament - and perhaps the year - was Elisabeth Clay. Going into the Absolute (Open Class) final, she faced the seemingly invincible Gabi Pessanha. Pessanha, riding a legendary 166-fight win streak and fresh off her Super-Heavyweight gold, was the heavy favorite.
Clay didn't just win; she shocked the world. She went 8-for-8 in submissions across the entire weekend. In the final, she bypassed Pessanha’s legendary guard and secured a surgical outside heel hook to force the tap. Clay walked away with Double Gold, cementing herself as the pound-for-pound queen of No-Gi.
Roosevelt Sousa: The Double Gold King
On the men’s side, Roosevelt Sousa proved why he is currently the most complete heavyweight on the planet. Roosevelt achieved the rare feat of winning the IBJJF World title in both Gi and No-Gi in the same calendar year.
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He dominated the Ultra-Heavyweight division, finishing Heikki Jussila with a choke.
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He then took the Absolute Gold by submitting the relentless Elder Cruz with a rear-naked choke in the final.
The Rise of the AOJ & Kingsway Phenoms
The "next generation" has officially taken over. Two 18-year-old sensations made their black belt No-Gi debuts and made the veterans look like amateurs:
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Helena Crevar (Kingsway/Danaher): In her first black belt No-Gi Worlds, the 18-year-old phenom won the Medium-Heavyweight title with a 100% submission rate. She capped her run by choking out Ane Svendsen in the final seconds of the match.
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Cole Abate (AOJ): "Ice" Cole moved up to the Lightweight division this year and looked untouchable. He navigated a bracket of killers, eventually defeating Julian Espinosa in the final to claim his second consecutive No-Gi World title.
Historic Firsts and International Dominance
The 2025 Worlds proved that top-tier Jiu-Jitsu is no longer exclusive to Brazil and the USA:
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Shay Montague: Made history as the first-ever Scottish IBJJF Black Belt World Champion, winning the Roosterweight gold with a slick triangle finish over Lucas Castro.
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Pawel Jaworski: The Polish powerhouse won the Medium-Heavyweight gold and took Bronze in the Absolute, finishing the weekend with 7 submissions in 9 matches.
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Adele Fornarino: The Australian superstar continued her tear through the grappling world, winning the Featherweight gold with a lightning-fast 16-second ankle lock in the final against Ana Mayordomo.
Other Major Winners to Note:
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Cassia Moura: In a gutsy move, she moved up four weight classes to Heavyweight and still secured the gold medal, proving her technical superiority outweighs any size disadvantage.
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Lillian Marchand: The 19-year-old Atos standout won the Lightweight gold, defeating her teammate Amanda Bruse in an all-Atos final.
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Tarik Hopstock: The Norwegian "Tarikoplata" specialist finally claimed his first Black Belt World title in the Middleweight division.
Final Thoughts
This December in Vegas felt like a turning point. We saw the end of Gabi Pessanha’s era of invincibility and the definitive arrival of "super-prodigies" like Crevar and Abate. The technical level of leg-locking and back-taking has reached a point where even a tiny mistake results in a tap.
Who was your MVP of the weekend? Was it Lis Clay for the upset of the decade, or Roosevelt Sousa for the Grand Slam season?