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2026 IBJJF No Gi Absolute GP live stream, BJJ results, video highlights — and more

2026 IBJJF No Gi Absolute GP live stream, BJJ results, video highlights

IBJJF No Gi Absolute GP 2026 poster

The IBJJF will be hosting a professional Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) event highlighted by an open weight grand prix tournament stacked with world champions from various divisions. The 2026 IBJJF No Gi Absolute GP happens on Thursday, (February 26, 2026) in Costa Mesa, California.

The biggest names competing include the biggest competitor and likely tournament favorite in Victor Hugo, along with pound-for-pound star Diego Pato, Pedro Marinho, and Michael Pixley. The top featherweight in Pato will face WNO light heavyweight champ Marinho in the opening round, with Pixley taking on late replacement Gustavo Batista in the same side of the bracket.

Outside of the Absolute Grand Prix, there will also be a lot of interesting super-fights both in gi and no gi, which feature BJJ stars like Helena Crevar, Sarah Galvao, Cole Abate, and the sisters Ashlee Funegra and Natalee Funegra among others.

The jiu-jitsu event will stream LIVE on FloGrappling, starting at 8 p.m. ET.

Check here for a preview of the IBJJF Absolute GP.

IBJJF Absolute GP: BJJ brackets and live stream

Below are the brackets and opening round match ups for the 2026 IBJJF No Gi Absolute GP. A free live stream of the earlier matches from the 2025 IBJJF Crown will likely be on YouTube, and will be embedded below once available.

2026 IBJJF No Gi Absolute GP BJJ brackets

2026 IBJJF No Gi Absolute GP full results, fight card, video highlights

Absolute GP Opening Round:

  • Victor Hugo vs. Marlon Tajik — Victor Hugo def. Marlon Tajik by points (3-0)
  • Javier Barter vs. Nick Hartman — Javier Barter def. Nick Hartman by submission (rear naked choke)
  • Pedro Marinho vs. Diego Pato — Pedro Marinho def. Diego Pato by points (2-0)
  • Michael Pixley vs. Gustavo Batista — Gustavo Batista def. Michael Pixley by points (2-0)

Absolute GP Semifinals:

  • Victor Hugo vs. Javier Barter
  • Pedro Marinho vs. Gustavo Batista

Absolute GP Finals:

  • TBA vs. TBA

Super fights:

  • Cole Abate vs. Will Wilson (Gi)
  • Helena Crevar vs. Aghata Rabelo (No Gi)
  • Sarah Galvao vs. Maria Vicentini (Gi)
  • Ashlee Funegra vs. Yasmyn Castro (Gi) — Ashlee Funegra def. Yasmyn Castro by submission (armbar)
  • Leonardo Souza vs. Mateo Cardona (Gi) — Mateo Cardona def. Leonardo Souza by points (4-2)

Prelims:

  • Dominic Manno vs. Luan Veras (Gi) — Dominic Manno def. Luan Veras (Gi) by points (2-0)
  • Kellyson Carlos vs. Evan Duncan (Gi) — Kellyson Carlos def. Evan Duncan by advantage
  • Natalee Funegra vs. Kaitlyn Schmidt (Gi) — Natalee Funegra def. Kaitlyn Schmidt by advantage
  • Johnny Anderson vs. Julio Cesar (Gi) — Johnny Anderson def. Julio Cesar by points
  • JP Tran vs. Asafe Alves (Gi) — Asafe Alves def. JP Tran by judge’s decision
  • Mick Whelan vs. Isaac Huertas (Gi) — Mick Whelan def. Isaac Huertas by submission (triangle armbar)

FOR THE LATEST BRAZILIAN JIU-JITSU (BJJ) AND GRAPPLING-RELATED NEWS CLICK HERE. FOR ADDITIONAL GRAPPLING CONTENT, FOLLOW @BJJBEAT ON INSTAGRAM.

Jaxon Boschee scores 23 in Bemidji's loss to Elk River

Feb. 26—ELK RIVER — A great night from Bemidji High School boys basketball senior Jaxon Boschee wasn't enough to defeat Elk River Wednesday night.

The Elks took care of business against the Lumberjacks, winning 75-66.

Boschee scored 23 points, including three 3-pointers. Jeron Huseby finished behind him with 12 points.

Elk River's shooters were spread out, having four players score 14 points or more.

Elk River 75, Bemidji 66

BHS 36 30 — 66

ER 40 35 — 75

Bemidji — Boschee 23, Huseby 12, Riewer 10, Gish 6, Haack 6, Tverstol 6, Bondy 3.

Elk River — Rosenthal 19, Nebster 16, Harris 15, Sheldon 14, Rebrovich 6, Boll 5.

See the updated list of Recopa Sul-Americana champions 🏆

See the updated list of Recopa Sul-Americana champions ��
See the updated list of Recopa Sul-Americana champions 🏆

The Maracanã decided on Thursday (26) yet another champion of the South American Recopa.

Lanús overcame Flamengo in overtime and won the title for the first time in its history.

This is the second consecutive year that the trophy goes to an Argentine team that won the South American Cup the previous year.

Additionally, since 2020 all Recopa winners have claimed the title for the first time.

The competition, which pits the Libertadores champion against the winner of a "secondary" Conmebol tournament, was first held in 1989.

Since then, it only did not take place from 1999 to 2002.

Despite being runners-up this year, Brazil is the country with the most trophies, with 13, compared to Argentina's 12, which is in second place.

Check below the list of all the champions in the history of the South American Recopa:


Boca Juniors: 4 (1990, 2005, 2006, and 2008)

River Plate: 3 (2015, 2016, and 2019)

São Paulo: 2 (1993 and 1994)

Internacional: 2 (2007 and 2011)

LDU: 2 (2009 and 2010)

Olimpia: 2 (1991 and 2003)

Grêmio: 2 (1996 and 2018)

Nacional-URU: 1 (1989)

Colo-Colo: 1 (1992)

Independiente: 1 (1995)

Cruzeiro: 1 (1998)

Vélez Sarsfield: 1 (1997)

Cienciano: 1 (2004)

Santos: 1 (2012)

Corinthians: 1 (2013)

Atlético-MG: 1 (2014)

Atlético Nacional: 1 (2017)

Flamengo: 1 (2020)

Defensa y Justicia: 1 (2021)

Palmeiras: 1 (2022)

Independiente del Valle: 1 (2023)

Fluminense: 1 (2024)

Racing: 1 (2025)

Lanús: 1 (2026)

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

‘Being Able To Fix Means Being Able To Break’ – Ayaka Miura’s Journey From Osteopath To Submission Hunter

Most athletes leave their work at the gym. Ayaka “Zombie” Miura never quite gets that luxury – though in her case, the lines between profession and passion have always been beautifully, almost poetically, blurred.

On the global stage of ONE Championship, the Japanese MMA star is one of the most feared submission hunters. Her signature “Ayaka Lock” – a scarf-hold Americana so refined it might as well have her name on a patent – has finished nine opponents, seven in ONE Championship alone.

Away from the sport, though, Miura was doing the same thing, albeit in reverse. 

Before MMA consumed her world entirely, the Tokyo-based warrior worked as a clinical educator at an osteopathic center, studying the human body with the kind of precision that most fighters simply never develop. She learned how joints move, how they lock, and, crucially, how to put them back together.

The irony writes itself:

“Well, being able to fix means being able to break. Because I understand the structure of the body, I think it’s easier for me to lock in techniques that require bending joints. I often joke that I went from a job healing people to a job breaking them.”

Miura still hasn’t fully left that world behind. 

At Tribe Tokyo MMA, where she trains under Japanese martial arts veteran Ryo Chonan, her clinical knowledge gets called upon regularly – not on opponents, but on teammates.

The 35-year-old told onefc.com:

“I only take appointments occasionally when there are appointments at a friend’s clinic. The same goes when I’m at the gym. Sometimes, when Chonan-san’s body needs work or when fighters dislocate something during practice, I’m called over to pop it back in.”

It’s a remarkable thing to picture. 

One moment, “Zombie” is drilling submissions on the mat, hunting for the precise angles to secure a tap. The next moment, she’s the one repairing the damage.

It’s a dynamic that exists nowhere else in combat sports. Most fighters study the body to hurt it. Miura studies the science behind solving issues like that, and somewhere along the way, discovered that understanding one made her dangerously good at the other.

The Science Behind The Submissions

There’s a line that separates healer from fighter in most people’s minds. For Ayaka Miura, that line has never really existed.

Her osteopathic background has sharpened her into the combatant she is today. Understanding exactly how a joint bends, where its limits are, and what angle produces the most leverage isn’t something you can learn purely from drilling. 

Miura carries that knowledge into every scramble, clinch, and moment she pulls guard and goes hunting for submissions on the canvas:

“[That knowledge is] probably ingrained in my body. But I’m not very athletic, and my head isn’t that great, so I’m the type who has to repeat techniques many times before I can do them.”

The self-deprecation is classic Miura — humble to a fault, despite the evidence stacking up against that assessment throughout her 13 appearances in ONE. What she doesn’t say, but what her record makes abundantly clear, is that all that repetition has worked just fine.

There was one moment, though, that captured her dual nature perfectly. 

In competition, after locking in a joint technique and hearing the telltale sound of something giving way, her instinct wasn’t to celebrate:

“During one of my previous fights, when I locked in a joint technique and heard a pop, I immediately tried to fix my opponent’s limb. But it was a situation [I couldn’t solve].”

Source

Which Beavers will be honored on Senior Night against Tommies?

Feb. 26—BEMIDI — Kirklan Irey has watched the Bemidji State men's hockey team's annual Senior Night celebration three times before this season. Each time, graduating Beavers noted how fast their four (or five) years in college flew by.

Still, this year's Senior Night celebration crept up on Irey.

"I haven't really thought about it too much, but it's crazy to think that these last four years have flown by so fast," he said. "You take it for granted, but it just flies by."

BSU will commence its Senior Day celebration ahead of Saturday's regular-season finale against St. Thomas at 6 p.m. at the Sanford Center.

Eight seniors will be honored: forwards Irey, Reilly Funk, Connor McClennon and Adam Flammang, and defensemen Patrik Satosaari, Mitch Wolfe, A.J. Macaulay and Vince Corcoran.

Flammang will not play against the Tommies this weekend. He is out with a lower-body injury, suffered on Feb. 6 against Ferris State. Flammang is questionable to return in the postseason.

Players will line up on Bemidji State's goal line for the festivities on Friday. They will skate to the bench and be handed a bouquet of flowers, then they'll skate to the opposite end of the ice and give the flowers to their family and friends in attendance.

Players recorded Senior Night interviews that will be shown at the Sanford Center on Saturday night.

"It went by way too fast," Irey said. "We've had our interviews a couple of weeks ago and it was kind of tough looking back at all the memories we made and all of the friendships we made over the last four years."

Senior Night does not always signal the end of collegiate careers. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, college athletes were given an extra year of eligibility. Bemidji State traditionally honored players in their fourth seasons, despite some of them being eligible to return for a fifth.

McClennon is playing in his first season with the Beavers after transferring from the University of Alberta in USports. Despite this being his first NCAA season and only his third in college, McClennon will be out of eligibility unless he successfully appeals.

Macaulay and Funk are the only other two seniors who didn't play four seasons at BSU. Macaulay transferred from Alaska-Fairbanks, while Funk transferred from Northern Michigan. Both seniors played two seasons with the Beavers.

Bemidji State has won its last five games on Senior Day. Its last defeat came on Feb. 29, 2020, against No. 3 Minnesota State.

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