The World IBJJF Championship 2017 takes place from May 31 to June 4. The venue for this highly anticipated events is the CSULB Pyramid Stadium in Long Beach, California. With so many fighters from across the world competing in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, we have broken down some of the top guys at the black belt male lightweight division. The championship is open to several weight classes and skill levels, but it has a strong emphasis on the lightweight division competitors. Here are some of the forerunners and favorites scheduled to compete at the meet.
ALLIANCE:
Lucas Lepri
Lucas Lepri is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the tutelage of the legendary Elan Santiago. The latter, of course, is one of the most successful competitors in the history of lightweight jiu-jitsu competition. As a member of the famous Alliance team, Lepri is truly a standout performer from Minas Gerais. In fact, he has won some of the most notable tournaments in the world. This includes the IBJJF World Championship (lightweight), as well as the UAEJJF World Pro Championship and Brazilian Pan-American title. Lepri is looking to make his mark, once again, at his week’s World Championship!
Michael Langhi
Michael Langhi is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the tutelage of the legendary Rubens Charles. Also known as “Cobrinha”, the latter is one of greatest lightweight competitors in history. Langhi is also known as one of the top technical defense-guard competitors of all time. In fact, his accolades and achievements earned him the “BJJ Fighter of the Year” in 2009. Michael is also the older brother of former grappling star, Michel Langhi. Michael is looking forward to putting Cobrinha’s teaching into fruition at this week’s World Championships. In fact, many in the press are praising Michael for his impressive skill sets and are also looking forward to a truly memorable event!
ATOS:
Michael Liera Jr.
Michael Liera Junior is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the tutelage of Andre Galvao at Atos Academy. Galvao is considered one of the most talented competitors of his generation. Michael Liera, Jr. was born in Littleton, Colorado, and won his first world title at blue belt in 2011. Since then, he has continued to make waves in the competitive scene and even won two more “Mundial” gold medals at purple and brown belt. Liera earned his black belt in November 2014 and looks to be a major competitor at the upcoming World Championships.
Andris Brunovskis
Andris Brunovskis is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the tutelage of Andre Galvao. Andris is known for his innovative and exciting open guard game, as well as being a true submission specialist. As a competitor in many colored belt divisions of the sport, Andris earned his claim to fame after his amazing submission of Christopher Broudnax back at the World No Gi Championship semi-finals in 2010. Since then, he has been a major force in the world of competitive jiu-jitsu and mixed martial arts.
Gracie Barra:
Edwin Najmi
Edwin Najimi is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under the tutelage of Romulo Barral from Gracie Barra Academy Northridge. Edwin is known as a true talented grappler with amazing submissions and crowd-pleasing finishers. He has competed in the World Championship before and won the open weight at brown belt, as well as the European Open and Pan-American Championships.
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