For the IBJJF European Championships 2020 men’s competitor list and preview, click here.
Roosterweight
Competitors – Mayssa Bastos & Serena Gabrielli.
Discussion – Mayssa Bastos is a full ten years younger than Gabrielli and has already won virtually every IBJJF tournament available. Last year’s European Championships featured the exact same women in the final and Bastos took the win there, expect the same again this year.
Prediction – Mayssa Bastos.
Light-Featherweight
Competitors – Ana Rodrigues, Naiomi Martin, Rose-Marie El Sharouni & Talita Alencar.
Discussion – This really is Alencar’s to lose at this point, she’ll face Martin in the first round and should comfortably book her place in the final. Once there, I can’t honestly see either of the other women she might face giving her enough of a challenge to bet against her. That being said, anything can happen.
Prediction – Talita Alencar.
Featherweight
Competitors – Amal Amjahid, Bianca Basilio, Gabriela Fechter, Larissa Campos & Elsa Sery-Dromart.
Discussion – Gabriela Fechter would have been the favorite here as she returns to the division she came second in last year, coming up short against Ffion Davies in the final. Unfortunately for Fechter, while Davies has moved up in weight, ADCC 2019 Champion Bianca Basilio has decided to drop down. Expect to see her take the place on the podium that Davies occupied last year.
Prediction – Bianca Basilio.
Lightweight
Competitors – Ffion Davies, Katherine Hill, Clara Dufau, Charlotte Von Baumgarten, Nicole Sullivan, Amandine Layec & Nathalie Ribeiro.
Discussion – This division is pretty hard to call with last year’s Lightweight champion, Charlotte Von Baumgarten, on the opposite side of the bracket as the returning Light-Featherweight champion, Ffion Davies. Nathalie Ribeiro has a decent chance of upsetting Von Baumgarten and making it to the final but regardless, Davies has been on an absolute tear last year and should continue it here.
Prediction – Ffion Davies.
Middleweight
Competitors – Julia Maele, Danielle Alvarez, Carolina Carriello, Renato Moreira, Thamara Ferreira, Vedha Toscano & Hannah Rauch.
Discussion – This is the most open division as none of last year’s medalists are returning and Danielle Alvarez is the only woman here to have won the IBJJF European Championships before. Vedha Toscano and Thamara Ferreira both have good chances of winning here but they meet each other in the first round. This match should determine the other finalist opposite Alvarez and it’s tough to call, but I’m taking Alvarez to win her second gold here.
Prediction – Danielle Alvarez.
Medium-Heavyweight
Competitors – Sabatha Dos Santos, Maria Santos & Margaret Grindatti.
Discussion – Sabatha Dos Santos is the one waiting for the outcome of the other match before finding out her opponent and I expect both her and Margaret Grindatti to beat Maria Santos. It might be difficult for Grindatti coming in to the final but she should be able to overcome Dos Santos and secure the victory here.
Prediction – Margaret Grindatti.
Heavyweight
Competitors – Laura Barker, Magdalena Loska, Patricia Dos Santos & Claire-France Thevenson.
Discussion – The Europeans are representing strong in this division with three out of four competitors hailing from there. British-born Laura Barker and Paris native Claire-France Thevenson should make it past their opponents to meet in the final and from there, I wouldn’t count out Barker pulling off something fantastic and taking home gold.
Prediction – Laura Barker
Super-Heavyweight
Competitors – Jessica Flowers, Kendall Reusing & Venla Luukkonen.
Discussion – Jessica Flowers is coming into her prime right about now and should put on a good show against Venla Luukkonen in the opening match. Kendall Reusing will then meet the loser and after a great performance at Queen Of The Mats I expect her to make it to the final. Even then, It’s Flowers’ time now and she should win this with a strong display of top-level Jiu-Jitsu.
Prediction – Jessica Flowers
Brackets for every age and belt category for the IBJJF European Championships 2020 can be found on the IBJJF website here.
This article is part of our coverage of the IBJJF European Championships 2020, click here for the latest news.
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