Dave Herman and Lavar Johnson may not watch, but if you’re a Brazilian jiu-jitsu fanatic, Thursday kicks off the World IBJJF Jiu-Jitsu Championships, a four day event at Cal State – Long Beach’s Walter Pyramid.
Some of the top BJJ competitors in the world will hit the mats from 9 AM PST – approximately 8 PM PST every day on up to 12 mats, testing various locks, chokes and the back-and-forth battles that high-level BJJ can be. Some of the competitors include Otavio Sousa, Rafael Mendes, Andre Galvao, Caio Terra, Mike Fowler and the Gracie Humaita Girls Team.
The event is available on iPPV with commentary. Viewers will have the option to jump between mats if there are certain matches they want to see.
The IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation) is the world’s largest governing body and oversees several tournaments including the Worlds, Nogi Worlds, Pan American Championships and European Open. It was started by Carlos Gracie Jr. in 1994.
Here’s a preview video for the event: