Nicholas Meregali – Absolute gold

Tayane Porfirio – Super heavyweight and Absolute gold

Gutemberg Pereira – Heavyweight gold

Erin Herle – Lightweight gold

Adam Wardzinski – Middle heavyweight gold

Claudia Do Val – Middle Heavyweight gold

Pedro Dias – Light featherweight gold

Full Brown Belt Results from 2016 IBJJF European Championships

One of the most exciting things for me as a spectator and fan of jiu-jitsu was watching the action in the brown and purple belt divisions at the 2016 Euros The level of skill and talent on the mats was just incredible, and I think this is a very clear indication of where jiu-jitsu is going in the next few years. Competitors are versatile, extremely technical, and many of them are already living lives similar to the top professionals – two-a-day training sessions, lucrative sponsorships, travelling to major comps…With 17 adult brown belt divisions contested on Sunday Jan. 25, it’s a tough task to highlight every single gold medallist – especially as I was running around taking photos, commentating on the black belt finals, and trying to watch all 10 mats at the same time.Here are a few of the top brown belts from the weekend who stood out for me. Note – This list is by no means meant to be complete, as there were many other amazing athletes in action that weekend.The Alliance rep took gold in the absolute, beating Cicero Costha’s Helton Junior by decision, but looked on fire all day ( check out this savage loop choke at around 1.40 of the match). He lost a close match (6-4) to GF Team’s Gutemberg Pereira in the final of the heavyweight division, although I have a feeling that we’ll get to see them meet again many times in the future.Another tournament, another double gold. Alliance’s super heavyweight (who many are calling ‘ The Next Gabi Garcia ’) showed her abilities by winning both her weight class and the absolute division. There were no easy fights for her, but she showed her versatility on her way to victory. With less than a year as a brown belt her stature as one of the most dominant members of the rank speaks volumes about her potential for the future.GF Team’s got two very dangerous brown belts in Max Gimenis and Gutemberg Pereira, with the two training partners switching between heavy, super and ultra heavyweight depending on the tournament. Pereira had the best performance of the two last weekend, winning his weight class (as we mentioned, beating Meregali in the finals) but a torn hamstring took him out of the absolute division in the semi-finals.An Alliance rep training with Marcelo Garcia in Manhattan, Herle originates from the West Coast where she used to train with another titan of the Alliance team in Rubens ‘Cobrinha’ Charles. Noted guard player Gianni Grippo is her boyfriend, but Herle’s aggressive bottom game relies more on spider guard attacks than the de la riva-berimbolo game. Look out for her deadly triangle choke.The Polish grappler represents Checkmat, and he added his third Euro gold (two in the gi, one no gi) to his resume with a submission win (choke from the back) over the very tough Brazilian Horlando Monteiro of Kimura-Nova Uniao. Wardzinski’s performance at the Euros saw him go to the podium twice, as he also took bronze in the absolute.A new-comer to the brown belt competition scene, the Rio de Janeiro-based grappler burst onto the scene at the end of 2015 with a series of hard-fought encounters with Tayane Porfirio. Val is unusual in that she didn’t compete at either blue or purple belt, and so her competition experience is limited – not that it stopped her taking gold in her weight and bronze in the absolute.Well-known on the Brazilian competition circuit, ‘Pedrinho’ is a tough and aggressive competitor from Rio who is a regular sight on the podium and tournaments both big and small. His main coach is 6th degree black belt Jose ‘Leao’ Teixeira, and he trains daily with old-school grapplers such as Mauricio Gomes (better known as Roger Gracie’s dad).First - Hiago Gama Sousa - AllianceSecond - Carlos Saquic Perez - AllianceThird - Claudio Henrique de Souza - Fernando Boi JJThird - Aniel Bonifacio Candido - Zenith BJJFirst - Pedro Paulo Dias Clementino - Escola de JJ Leão TeixeiraSecond - Anthony Guy De Oliveira - Werdum Combat Team FranceThird - Mani Tavanaei - Alliance InternationalThird - Willian Melo de Oliveira - AllianceFirst - Adam Benayoun - AllianceSecond - Lucas de Araujo Gomes - AllianceThird - John Lenno Dantas - Nova UniãoThird - Joshua S. Rodriguez - GD Jiu-Jitsu AssociationFirst - Pedro Alves Douteiro Cranfield Ramalho - Team Manoel Neto BJJSecond - Tanno Robson Odilio - Infight Japan Jiu-JitsuThird - Borna Ramic - Neves Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu AssociationThird - Breno Henrique Abreu Bittencourt - Ares BJJ BrasilFirst - Isaque Bahiense Braz - AllianceSecond - Jaakko Emil Johannes Hulkkonen - Hilti BJJ TampereThird - Igor Veríssimo de Oliveira Chaves - Ns BrotherhoodThird - Pascal A. Mazza Ramsby - CheckMatFirst - Adam Wardzinski - CheckMatSecond - Horlando de Jesus Monteiro - Nova UniãoThird - Matheus Spirandeli Souza - Lótus ClubThird - Benjamin William Hodgkinson - Maromba Academia InternationalFirst - Gutemberg de Jesus Santos Pereira - GF TeamSecond - Nicholas Meregali - AllianceThird - Amadu Martins Jorge - Gracie BarraThird - Jamie Malcom William Hughes - Brasa CTAFirst - Helton Jose Mendes da Silva Junior - PSLPB Cicero CosthaSecond - Eldar Rafigaev - Jungle BJJThird - Perttu Tapio Tepponen - Hilti BJJ TampereThird - Max dos Santos Gimenis - GF TeamFirst - Admilson Gobi Junior - Team Lloyd IrvinSecond - Danny Andre Feliz Capitao - Icon Jiu-Jitsu TeamThird - Ruben Araújo Fonseca - Pantera Negra Jiu-JitsuThird - Camil Moldoveanu - Absoluto BJJFirst - Nicholas Meregali - AllianceSecond - Helton Jose Mendes da Silva Junior - PSLPB Cicero CosthaThird - Gutemberg de Jesus Santos Pereira - GF TeamThird - Adam Wardzinski - CheckMatFirst - Helene Wenger - Malicia TeamSecond - Outi Järvilehto - Brasa CTAThird - Natalia Carriello - Gracie BarraFirst - Eirin Cathrine Nygren - Frontline AcademySecond - Ana Talita de Oliveira Alencar - GF TeamThird - Carolina Carriello - Gracie BarraThird - Emilia Tuukkanen - Roger GracieFirst - Erin Elizabeth Herle - AllianceSecond - Fran Vanderstukken - Brasa CTAThird - Leoni Munslow - New School BJJThird - Patricia Kazimierczak - CheckMatFirst - Samantha Lea Cook - CheckMatSecond - Ida Fløisvik - Roger GracieFirst - Claudia Fernanda Onofre V. Doval - De La Riva JJSecond - Morena G. Cuba - Association AranhaThird - Jessica Medeiros de Andrade - GF TeamThird - Nivia de Souza Moura - Ribeiro Jiu-JitsuFirst - Tayane Porfírio de Araújo - AllianceSecond - Jonna Karoliina Konivuori - AllianceFirst - Tayane Porfírio de Araújo - AllianceSecond - Ana Talita de Oliveira Alencar - GF TeamThird - Claudia Fernanda Onofre V. Doval - De La Riva JJThird - Jonna Karoliina Konivuori - Alliance