Last year the first IBJJF Grand Prix came to be during the UFC Expo surrounding UFC 200. The worlds most intimidating heavyweights all got to vie for a 50.000$ in cash prizes.
This year it was initially announced Roger Gracie would be in this year’s edition of the Grand Prix however Roger Gracie announced his retirement following stunning triumph over last year’s victor Marcus Almeida Buchecha.
This left a spot – a spot many were vying for including BJJ Bad Boy Erberth Santos.
However the official word is out – Marcio Pe de Pano will be replacing Gracie in the 8 men tournament. Marcio Cruz, also known by his nickname “Pe de Pano” is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt under Carlos Gracie Junior.
Marcio Cruz was one of the biggest stars of the Gracie Barra Academy in the early 2000’s. Professor Marcio conquered numerous titles, including some of his biggest achievements: two open weight black belt world championship titles in 2002 and 2003.
- ADCC Champion (2003)
- 6x World Champion
- 8x Pan American Champion
- 5x Brazilian Champion
- 2x Brazilian National Silver Medallist
- 4x World Bronze Medallist
The rest of the bracket is filled by: Marcus Buchecha (Checkmat), Leandro Lo (NS Brotherhood), André Galvão (Atos JJ), João Gabriel Rocha (Soul Fighters), Dimi Souza (Alliance), Ricardo Evangelista (GFTeam/Abu Dhabi) and Mahamed Aly (Lloyd Irvin).
