Pans Results, Craig Jones Drops ADCC, Covington Mauls Danis

Pans Is Done. AOJ Took Everything.

The 2026 IBJJF Pan Championship wrapped up in Kissimmee today, and if you didn't train at Art of Jiu-Jitsu, you were basically competing for second place.

AOJ collected six gold medals across the men's and women's black belt divisions. [Diego "Pato" Oliveira](https://www.flograppling.com/articles/15660521-2026-ibjjf-grand-slam-watch-whos-still-alive-ahead-of-pans) won light-feather for his ninth consecutive IBJJF major title. Tainan Dalpra took his fifth Pans middleweight gold and went 16-0 lifetime at the event. Both men keep their 2026 Grand Slam bids alive heading into Brasileiros.

Cole Abate won his first Pans gold at black belt in the featherweight division, beating Samuel Nagai in the final. Marcos Gomes dropped down from light-feather to win rooster — which means Jalen Fonacier's Grand Slam bid is dead.

The twin story is the one that'll stick. Enderson Dias won men's medium-heavy and his sister Larissa Dias won women's heavy — same afternoon, same arena, both from Elementum JJ. That doesn't happen.

And then there's the absolute final. [Gabi Pessanha](https://www.flograppling.com/articles/15686705-2026-ibjjf-pans-preview-the-best-in-the-world-are-ready-in-florida) entered Pans chasing a double Grand Slam — weight class AND absolute gold at every major this year. She got the weight class (10th Pans title at super-heavy). Then Sarah Galvao beat her in the absolute final. Double Grand Slam? Dead. Sarah Galvao also won her own weight class at lightweight, making it a double-gold weekend.

Will Wilson's deep half guard run fell short with a silver at lightweight, losing the final to Jackson Nagai. Tommy Langaker's return to the gi at medium-heavy didn't produce a medal.

Craig Jones Torches the ADCC Bridge

Craig Jones [withdrew his $48,000 ADCC equal pay pledge](https://www.bjjee.com/bjj-news/craig-jones-withdraws-adcc-equal-pay-offer-over-izaak-michell-controversy/) this week. He originally offered to personally match the women's pay gap at ADCC 2026 in Poland — making up the difference after ADCC doubled the men's purse while the women's share dropped from 60% to 50%.

The reason he pulled it: ADCC invited Izaak Michell to compete despite active arrest warrants for sexual assault in Hays County, Texas. Michell is reportedly living in a van along Australia's east coast, avoiding US authorities.

Jones said he won't "prop up an organization that doesn't value women." He promised the $48K would go to women in the sport another way.

Meanwhile, Jones announced [CJI 2.5 for July](https://www.bjjee.com/bjj-news/craig-jones-announces-10-million-prize-for-next-cji-event/) — eight competitors, one night, $10 million prize pool. He backed it up by posting a Bitcoin wallet screenshot showing $14 million in holdings. The community is equal parts hyped and concerned it'll be the next Metamoris. Jones responded on Reddit: "It's free, I'll do whatever the fuck I want. Respectfully."

The man went from writing ADCC a check to lighting it on fire in the span of two months.

RAF 7: Covington Mauls Danis, Calls Out Weidman

[Colby Covington tech-falled Dillon Danis 14-4](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/colby-covington-tech-falls-dillon-030446160.html) at RAF 7 in Tampa on Saturday night. The score doesn't tell the whole story — Danis actually tied it 4-4 after the first period before Covington rattled off 10 unanswered points in the second.

Kurt Angle and Chael Sonnen on commentary called Danis "gutsy" for showing up and being competitive early. The press conference beforehand was a masterpiece of trash talk involving family members, ex-girlfriends, and at least one security intervention.

Post-match, Covington called out former UFC champion Chris Weidman. Weidman accepted on X, then apparently deleted the post. The RAF wrestling promotion continues to be the strangest crossover product in combat sports.

In the actual main event, Arman Tsarukyan beat Georgio Poullas 9-3 in their rematch, capping it with a 4-point throw in the final seconds.

Two BJJ World Champions Fought in MMA. One Got Choked.

[Bianca Basilio submitted Rafaela Guedes](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/bjj-wiz-bianca-basilio-bold-200000481.html) with a rear-naked choke at 3:36 of round one at LFA 229 in São Paulo. Both are IBJJF and ADCC medalists. Basilio is a two-time world champion. Guedes left Atos in the Galvao fallout.

Basilio is now 2-0 in professional MMA — her debut was an armbar win at LFA 225 in January. She wants six wins in 2026 and a UFC contract by year's end. Her dream fight is Mackenzie Dern.

The grappling-to-MMA pipeline keeps producing. When two world-class BJJ athletes fight in MMA and one finishes with a clean RNC in under four minutes, it's worth paying attention to where this is going.

Meregali Questions Everything About UFC BJJ

Nicholas Meregali had a productive weekend of publicly questioning the organization he works for. In [back-to-back interviews](https://bjjdoc.com/2026/03/28/meregali-ufc-bjj-rules-are-not-serving-the-sport-of-jiu-jitsu/), he said the UFC BJJ ruleset "doesn't fit jiu-jitsu" (5-minute rounds limit submission development, 10-9 scoring is borrowed from MMA), questioned whether the [UFC BJJ belt has "the meaning of being the world champion"](https://bjjdoc.com/2026/03/29/meregali-on-ufc-bjj-belt-i-dont-know-if-it-has-the-meaning-of-being-the-world-champion/), and confirmed his contract is NOT exclusive — structured as one year or four matches, whichever comes first.

That last part matters. The UFC BJJ exclusivity policy banning athletes from ADCC starts in 2027. Meregali's non-exclusive deal means he could theoretically compete everywhere. Whether that continues when the next contract comes around is a different question.

Technique of the Week: Named Leg Locks Are Having a Moment

The Aoki Lock counter and the Caio Terra ankle lock are both trending in training rooms and online this week. A slick heel-slip escape from the Aoki Lock went viral, and the community is workshopping counters to a modified Caio Terra ankle lock with both legs outside that's been showing up in competition.

The leg lock meta is deep into the "counter to the counter to the counter" phase. Named submissions are the new currency — if your lock doesn't have a proper noun attached, does it even count?

Looking Ahead

**WNO 32** (Monday, March 31, Austin TX) — Lightweight Grand Prix featuring Deandre Corbe, Julian Espinosa, Max Hanson, and Dorian Olivarez. Corbe already holds a win over reigning LW champ Pato and just had an MVP performance at Finishers Survivor Series with four submissions in the finals. He's the clear favorite.

**UFC BJJ 7** (Wednesday, April 2, Las Vegas) — Three title fights. Main event: Andrew Tackett defends the welterweight title against Vagner Rocha, who is 43 years old, on TRT, and was diagnosed with heart failure in January 2025. He's getting a direct title shot without ever competing in UFC BJJ. That booking is a whole conversation. Also: Carlos Henrique vs. Lucas Valente for the lightweight title, and Aurelie Le Vern vs. Rebeca Lima for the women's featherweight title. Free on YouTube.

**ADCC West Coast Trials** (April 17-19, Pomona CA) — Registration deadline April 15. Over 1,000 athletes expected.

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*This content was AI-generated by BJJ Problems. All facts were verified against multiple sources. Sources linked throughout.*

Sources

• IBJJF Pan Championship 2026 Results
• Craig Jones Withdraws ADCC Equal Pay Over Izaak Michell
• Covington Tech-Falls Danis at RAF 7
• Bianca Basilio Defeats Rafaela Guedes at LFA 229
• Meregali Questions UFC BJJ Ruleset
• WNO 32 Full Card

This post was generated by AI. Sources are linked above. Follow @bjj-problems on YouTube for the weekly video digest.