IBJJF World Championship (Mundials)

What is the IBJJF World Championship?

The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship, known as the Mundials, is the IBJJF's annual world championship in gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu. The IBJJF's 2026 results list divisions for blue, purple, brown and black belts, men and women, in juvenile and adult age groups, across weight classes from rooster to ultra heavy plus open-class divisions.^[1] Each belt, age group, sex and weight has its own bracket and champion, so one edition crowns many world champions; the IBJJF also publishes academy team standings.^[1]

Who organizes the IBJJF World Championship?

The championship is organised by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation, a private federation that sets its own membership, divisions and ranking-point requirements for entry.^[3] The IBJJF publishes the results of every edition in its own archive.^[2] Other bodies hold their own world events: the Ju-Jitsu International Federation (JJIF), which lists SportAccord and The World Games under "Recognised By" on its site, staged the JJIF World Championship Abu Dhabi 2026.^[10] The ADCC World Championship is a separate submission-grappling event under its own organiser.

When and where is it held?

The championship is held once a year over four days, in late May or early June. Recent editions have been at the Walter Pyramid on the California State University, Long Beach campus; the IBJJF's 2026 event page gives the venue as the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, 1250 N Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, and the dates as 28 to 31 May 2026.^[3] The 2025 event page names the venue as The Walter Pyramid (CSULB).^[4] The exception is 2021, when the IBJJF staged the championship at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena in Anaheim, California, in December.^[5] The IBJJF results archive lists no 2020 edition.^[2]

Season, the divisions contested, and venue with dates. Divisions and final days from the IBJJF results archive and event pages; dates for 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2024 from FloGrappling, the streaming partner.^{[11][12][13][14][9]} The IBJJF archive also lists a 2016 edition; its venue could not be confirmed from a retrieved source.

Since when does it exist?

The IBJJF results archive begins with the World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship 1996, whose results list male divisions only, at blue, purple, brown and black belt.^[2] The archive lists an edition every year from 1996 to 2019 and from 2021 to 2026.^[2] FloGrappling, the championship's streaming partner, called 2026 "the 30th edition of the Worlds".^[8]

How do athletes qualify?

Entry is open to IBJJF members rather than selected by national federations. The IBJJF's 2026 event page requires active IBJJF membership valid through the event, sets birth-year divisions (Juvenile 1 and Juvenile 2 at blue and purple belt; Adult, born 2008 and before, at blue to black belt), and states: "80 IBJJF ranking points required for Black belt division."^[3] The same requirement appears on the 2025 event page.^[4] In 2021 the IBJJF's announcement gave the adult black-belt points requirement as 36.^[5] Ranking points are earned at IBJJF events, which ties black-belt entry to the federation's own circuit. See qualification standards.

Why does it matter?

The measurable proxy is the ranking threshold for the black-belt division, which only athletes with 80 IBJJF ranking points could enter in 2025 and 2026.^[3][4] The IBJJF itself wrote on 25 September 2026 that "The 2026 World Championships highlights the pinnacle of jiu-jitsu competition, it also maintains the integrity of the sport."^[6] The same notice quotes USADA: "Although the IBJJF is not a signatory to the World Anti-Doping Code (the Code), USADA was contracted by the IBJJF to conduct testing for the event". According to USADA as quoted there, one athlete accepted a three-year period of ineligibility for an anti-doping rule violation, with disqualification of IBJJF results from 23 August 2024, and another accepted a three-month period of ineligibility from 8 July 2026 for an out-of-competition infraction. The IBJJF revised the 2026 results accordingly, changing the podiums of the adult male black-belt heavyweight division and the adult female black-belt super-heavyweight and open-class divisions, and the team standings.^[6]

Who competes?

Competitors enter as individuals representing academies, and the IBJJF ranks academies as well as athletes.^[1] Men and women compete in juvenile divisions at blue and purple belt and in adult divisions at blue, purple, brown and black belt.^[3] The IBJJF publishes no total entry figure on its results pages; its guide to the 2023 edition gives entries per division, such as 15 competitors in one black-belt weight class and 31 in another.^[7] Athletes named in the IBJJF's results are listed with their academy, not a nation.^[1]