The European IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship (also: European Championship or European Open) is the most prestigious and largest Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu tournament held in Europe by the

International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu-Jit ...

(IBJJF). The tournament is an

open championship The Open Championship, often referred to as The Open or the British Open, is the oldest golf tournament in the world, and one of the most prestigious. Founded in 1860, it was originally held annually at Prestwick Golf Club in Scotland. Later th ...

accepting competitors from all countries and is considered one of the most important competitions in the lead-up to the Worlds.

History

The first edition of the European Championship took place in 2004 in

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. Over the years, the

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

grew significantly in size and prestige, becoming one of the four major IBJJF tournaments, alongside the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

, the

Pan IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship The Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championship or Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Pan American Championship (commonly known as Pan Ams or Pans), is the largest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held in the Americas. The event is held annually by the International Brazilian Ji ...

, and the Brazilian Nationals. For nearly two decades, the event was held annually in Lisbon. However, after the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

caused the cancellation of the 2021 edition, the tournament relocated to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

in 2022. Since 2023, the competition has been hosted in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Importance

The IBJJF assigns point weightings to its tournaments to help calculate an athlete's ranking. For the 2017/2018

IBJJF The International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) is a for-profit company that hosts several of the biggest Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournaments in the world, including the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, World No-Gi Championship, Pan Jiu-Jitsu ...

season, the European Championship had a weighting of 4, making it second in importance only to the

World Jiu-Jitsu Championship The World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championship is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu tournament held annually by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. It is widely considered the most important and prestigious jiu-jitsu tournament of the year. The ...

, which has a weighting of 7. The event serves as a crucial stepping stone for elite competitors preparing for the World Championship and is often the first major international IBJJF event of the calendar year.

Notable Competitors

Over the years, numerous world champions and high-level competitors have participated in the European Championship. Some of the most notable athletes who have won titles at the Europeans include: * Lúcio Rodrigues *

Roger Gracie Roger Gracie (born Roger Gracie Gomes; 26 September 1981) is a Brazilian former professional mixed martial artist (MMA) and 5th degree Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) practitioner and coach. The son of coral belt Mauricio Gomes and grandson of BJJ ...

* Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida *

Leandro Lo Leandro Pereira do Nascimento Lo (11 May 1989 – 7 August 2022), better known as Leandro Lo, was a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt competitor. A record holder with eight IBJJF world championship titles in five different weight classes, as w ...

Mikey Musumeci Michael Musumeci Jr. (born July 7, 1996) is an American submission grappler and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt competitor. A four-time World Champion and Pan American Champion in colored belts, Musumeci is a five-time IBJJF black belt World Ch ...

Gabi Garcia Gabrielle Lemos Gabi Garcia (born November 17, 1985) is a Brazilian mixed martial artist and grappler. She is one of the most successful competitors of all time in the female black belt divisions, and a member of the IBJJF Hall of Fame. Ear ...

Micael Galvão Micael Ferreira Galvão, commonly known as Mica Galvão, (born 8 October 2003) is a submission grappler, Luta Livre and Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) black belt competitor from the Brazilian state of Amazonas. A highly decorated athlete competing ...

* Gabi Pessanha

Interesting Facts

The European Championship is known for being one of the largest IBJJF tournaments in terms of participation, often attracting thousands of competitors worldwide. Unlike the Pan Championship and the

, which are held in the United States, the Europeans provide a major opportunity for athletes based outside

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

to compete at an elite level. The event is open to all belt levels, from white to black belts, and includes divisions for juveniles, adults, and masters competitors.

Past Locations

Black belt male champions by year and weight

Black belt female champions by year and weight

References

{{European championships

European Championship A European Championship is the top level international sports competition between European athletes or sports teams representing their respective countries or professional sports clubs. In the plural, the European Championships also refers t ...