IBJJF The Crown 2026 Results: Every Champion, Final and Bracket

Quick answer: Mica Galvão, João “Bisnaga” Mendes, Fellipe Andrew, Erich Munis, Sarah Galvão and Gabi Pessanha won the six Crown titles on Sunday, November 8, at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, California.

The fourth Crown brought 48 athletes into six eight-person brackets. Mica Galvão’s return from a long break was the main story. Two athletes also stayed perfect: Munis and Pessanha have won every Crown since the event began in 2023. Here are the finals, how each champion got there, and what it means for the gi season.

Will Wilson, 21, and João Mendes, 29, spent the early minutes trading guard pulls. Under Crown rules, a double guard pull sends both athletes back to their feet after 20 seconds, so the match stayed level for a long stretch. Mendes pulled away late by passing Wilson’s guard for three points and finished 7-2.

It is a reversal for Mendes, who lost the 2025 final to Cole Abate. Abate beat him on points in that final. Mendes and Leonardo Ferreira both train with Alliance, a team with a long history in the sport that we cover in our Alliance Jiu-Jitsu legacy and history guide. Wilson represents the Carlson Gracie Team, another lineage worth knowing, covered in our Carlson Gracie Team history.

Route to the title:

• Quarterfinal: beat Jun Yong Cho 4-2
• Semifinal: beat Mateo Cardona
• Final: beat Wilson 7-2

Wilson beat Ademir Barreto and then Keven Carrasco, both 2-0.

Galvão took Clay down, passed her guard and led 5-0 about 30 seconds in. She spent the rest of the match holding position, including some time in north-south, and won on points. She beat Clay and two other opponents to become a back-to-back Crown champion. The source does not give the final score. Galvão trains with ATOS, whose background we cover in our ATOS Jiu-Jitsu legacy and history post.

Route to the title:

• Quarterfinal: armbar on Giovanah Oliveira
• Semifinal: Americana from the triangle position on Aghata Rabelo
• Final: points over Clay

Clay, whom we profiled in Elisabeth Clay: Young Prodigy of Jiu-Jitsu, earned her place in the final with a 2-0 win over Janaina Lebre. Lebre is the reigning lightweight world champion, and she won silver at the Crown in each of the previous two editions.

This was the final most people had circled. Galvão, 23, sat out most of 2026, then beat three men in one day, finishing with a technical win over Murasaki. It was also his first Crown. Murasaki had won the division in 2024 and 2025 and was going for a third in a row.

The first minutes were scrambly, and the match was level at one advantage each. Galvão took Murasaki down for two points, Murasaki swept back for two, and Galvão held the edge on advantages. With about 30 seconds left, he swept again to make it 4-2. His wife, Olympic gold medalist Amit Elor, was matside, and he collected their infant son before receiving the Crown. For background on his career, see our profile of Mica Galvão, the youngest male BJJ black belt.

Route to the title:

• Quarterfinal: beat Leonardo Souza 4-2
• Semifinal: beat Matheus Luna by disqualification
• Final: beat Murasaki 4-2

Murasaki reached the final with a rear-naked choke on Rafael Gamba and a 4-0 advantages win over Tarcisio Santos.

Ferreira, 25, scored first, sweeping Andrew for two points. Andrew, 32, took over after passing guard, built a 9-2 lead and finished an arm-triangle. It makes him a two-time Crown winner. His first came in the inaugural 2023 event.

Route to the title:

• Quarterfinal: beat Windson Torres 14-0
• Semifinal: Americana from the triangle on Davi Vetoraci
• Final: arm-triangle on Ferreira

Defending champion Nolan Stuart lost in the quarterfinals to Vetoraci, 2-0.

Pessanha attacked an ankle lock from the opening whistle. Later, in a scramble, she caught a toe hold for the finish. She won all three of her matches by submission, including a smother from closed guard in the semifinal. If you are curious how legal that finish is, our explainer Is Smothering Legal in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu? covers it.

Dias, an Elementum athlete, finished with a footlock in the quarterfinals and another in the semifinals. You can read about her in Larissa Dias: BJJ Black Belt World Champion.

Route to the title:

• Quarterfinal: arm-triangle on Maria Ruffatto-Gilpin
• Semifinal: smother on Hazel Butcher-Salazar
• Final: toe hold on Dias

Munis pulled guard, swept for the lead, passed to mount to reach 8-0 and finished with an arm-triangle. He submitted every opponent he faced: Francisco Papasidero and Alexander Sak with Ezekiel chokes, then Kauan. Kauan had beaten reigning world champion Seif-Eddine Houmine 7-2 in the semifinals. For earlier coverage, see our post on Erich Munis’s sponsorship deal with Reebok Brazil.

Munis and Pessanha stay perfect. Both are four-time Crown winners, having won every edition since the event began. No one else has more than two titles.

A new middleweight champion. Murasaki’s two-year run ended, though he still reached the final. Galvão’s win, after months away from major competition, makes him a clear name to watch in the gi division.

Women’s divisions were decisive. Pessanha finished every match, and Sarah Galvão never let a bracket go to a close decision until the final.

The 2025 winners were Abate, Murasaki, Stuart, Munis, Sarah Galvão and Pessanha. Three of the six titles changed hands this year.

The Crown is a single-day, invitation-only gi event. Winning means getting past seven other elite athletes. There are four men’s divisions and two women’s, each with eight athletes. The weight limits match the standard IBJJF divisions, which we break down in our guide to IBJJF weight classes.

Matches are scored the way most IBJJF contests are: points first, then advantages, then penalties. If you want the full scoring system, our guide to IBJJF points, advantages and penalties explains each one.

Prize money: The cash prize is $20,000 for each division winner. For how that compares with other events, see our list of BJJ tournaments that offer cash prizes.

FloGrappling streamed the event, and the replay is available there with a subscription.

If you want more 2026 IBJJF coverage, we also recapped the 2026 IBJJF European No-Gi Championship. For the wider competitive picture, including ADCC and UFC BJJ, see BJJ Competition in 2026. Upcoming events on FloGrappling’s schedule include the ADCC Austin Open on November 14, Polaris 40 on November 21 and the UWW Senior World Grappling Championships from November 23 to 25.

The Crown is a gi event, so uniform rules matter if you compete under IBJJF rules. Our guide to IBJJF legal gis explains what the federation requires, and our IBJJF-approved BJJ gis are available if you are shopping. If you are deciding between styles, Gi vs No-Gi BJJ covers the differences.