The REAL Power Rankings

So many hours of watching tape. So many hours of tracking down matches between PGF Season 7 competitors. Almost too late, but the Editorial Staff at EggheadWarrior.com requires thorough research before making their final pre-season rankings. Whether the matches were on FloGrappling, UFC Fight Pass, Enigma Invitational, or some random YouTube channel…we did the work to give you the best analysis into the stacked PGF World Season roster yet. The best week of jiu jitsu starts in a few days, so let’s check out the rankings.

1. Ryan Aitken – The current Eddie Bravo Invitational Absolute Champion holds many titles including the Main Character Jiu Jitsu 185lb championship and the Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 185 championship. While Ryan likes to compete at 185lb, he’s a monster and cuts a lot of weight to get down to 185. He’s shown at the EBI Absolute Championship that he has not problem with bigger guys. The 10th Planet Atlanta team knows the PGF very well and Coach Applegate will be sure to have Aitken ready for this season. But a few things moved him into the top spot. First, at Combat Jiu Jitsu Worlds 2023 (December), Aitken faced nearly a quarter of this roster and came home the champion. Second, at the AIGA qualifier, Aitken showed some great wrestling in his second round against a very tough Dory Aoun. Knowing Aitken can use his wrestling when necessary added another piece of the puzzle to correctly placing him at first spot.
2. Paul Ardila – Four-time ADCC qualifier winner, Paul Ardila is a beast. He’s a national collegiate champion wrestler at 197lb. But he’s not just an athlete, he’s a Notre Dame Law graduate. Ardila brings the athleticism of a wrestler and the intelligence of a lawyer to the mats. He’s dangerous and a serious contender for the overall championship. He’s not a point player; out of 34 professional wins, 19 of them are via subs. He’s also a real contender to take over as the Handsome Belt Champion, apologies to Handsome Kevin Sherrill.
3. Kyle Boehm – 2/3 of wins are via submission and most of the others are in EBI overtime where Kyle gets to crush people with his rear naked chokes. One of 10th Planet’s most prolific competitors, Kyle Boehm has faced the best in jiu jitsu: Gordon Ryan, Craig Jones, Lucas Barbosa, etc. Boehm has been close to the pinnacle, but stopped just shy. Now, Boehm finds himself in a league which highlights his strengths: submissions. In other promotions, competitors could continually disengage with Boehm and try to win a ref decision – the PGF will have none of that. If competitors try to flee from Boehm’s guard, they will receive a stalling call and be faced with fending Boehm off their back (or at least from top wrestler’s referee position). Plus, he’s probably cutting a good amount of weight for this season.
4. Chris Wojcik – Wojcik placed fourth in the most recent ADCC at -88kg. That’s about 10lbs less than the 205lb limit at PGF World 7, but it’s still with the big boys. Wojcik is a professional grappler: training, teaching, competing, and writing about it. In his interview with the PGF Insiders, Wojcik showed he’d put some real thought into preparing for the PGF – read: his mind matches his awesome jiu jitsu skill. Wojcik has gone far in the ADCC trials for a number of iterations. He trains with some of the best grapplers in the world at B Team. As the first B Team representative to compete in the PGF, Wojcik has the chance to show the PGF World, the B Team are the best grapplers in the world.
5. Adam Bradley – Started Jiu Jitsu at 14, he moved to San Diego at 19. Bradley studied at Atos and taught there. He’s since moved to B Team for his team affiliation, but he still lives in San Diego. He’s the lead jiu jitsu instructor at The Arena, in San Diego. Now he’s joined B Team, so he’s been a part of two of the best teams in jiu jitsu. At Who’s Next, he won a three-hour match via submission, so he has grit to match his “escape artist” nickname. But, being an escape artist doesn’t get you subs in 6 minutes. So, these rankings probably have him lower than expected. If he taps into his catch wrestling background, he could definitely prove us wrong
6. Kyle Chambers – One of 10th Planet’s most prolific competitors, Chambers is tough. He trains out of !0th Planet Oceanside under coach Geo Martinez. Chambers might be the complete expression of what leg locking can be. He’s competed at lower weights, but his frame can definitely fill out to handle the 205lb competition. He’s got a very good shot at making the post season. Went against Mason Fowler for SUG title. Faced very high profile people. Competed in a 2 hour plus match for the Who’s Next Finale. He’s got momentum coming off a great AIGA qualifier showing, let’s see if he can keep it going. Freaks Don’t Sleep!
7. Elijah Carlton – “Never bet against Elijah Carlton in the PGF!” – while Egghead has said it repeatedly on the PGF broadcast, fellow PGF Insider Walo Jay first coined that phrase…and it’s always proven right. NO ONE has more PGF experience than Elijah Carlton. While some may discount Elijah due to his lack of history in the IBJJF or ADCC, Elijah knows this game. Even facing top competition in PGF Season 6, Elijah was still earned the second-highest amount of points in the regular season and made it to the semifinals of the final. Elijah has stepped up to every challenge in the PGF and shown he’s about that PGF life: when faced with a 225lb roster in Season 2, he subbed everyone but one person; when faced with overtimes in the playoffs, he won it all in Season 5, submitting the runner-up in overtime; when faced with a world-class roster in Season 6, he was the second highest scorer in the regular season. Tell Elijah what he can’t do in the PGF and he will prove you wrong!
8. Davis Asare – Asare was a breakout star of PGF World 6, scoring the most points in the regular season, helping his team win the $100k. A last second change led to Asare facing PJ Barch (the top ranked competitor heading into he season) in the first round of the playoffs. Asare’s early exit in the playoffs doubtlessly lit a fire in him. Now Asare is moving up in weight class, but is very dangerous. When asked about moving up, he points out he’s on one of the best teams in the world, which is full of champions at the top weight classes. Asare has a good shot at making a run at the playoffs again.
9. Travis Thomas – A burgeoning MMA fighter (titles in 2 orgs) who has been training jiu jitsu for less than five years. He played baseball and cheered in college. Travis is the fastest promoted student under Brandon Mccaghren. No one saw him coming in PGF Season 5 and he was one of the big stars of the show. He has great footsweeps and an arsenal of attacks (never the same sub twice in PGF). He knows the game and will be hunting for kills, but is smart enough to take any sub. Playoff bound; stardom bound!
10. Andre Porfirio – Andre hails from Brazil, but now lives in Miami. Porfirio received his black belt from Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu, 4 years ago, as a part of the Fight Sports team. Porfirio likes to sit and play de la Riva & reverse de la Riva. He loves straight ankles and estima locks. Andre likes to berimbolo, exposing his opponents’ ankles. Porfirio competed in the 2024 ADCC, but had a rough draw, facing eventual -88kg champion Giancarlo Bodoni in the first round (loss via RNC). Now we’ll see what he can do with a fresh start in the PGF World 7 season.
11. Sebastian Attard – He’s only 23. Out of 79 wins on Smoothcomp, 50 were by submission. He moved from Australia to train with the best in Austin. He’s lower in this rankings list because he’s still somewhat new to the truly competitive scene and doesn’t have the breadth or depth or work as those above him. Don’t get it twisted though, we’re huge fans. Attard gets at least 3 Elbow Genie points for subs in less than one minute this season. Attard is EXACTLY the type of competitor the PGF wants and needs. Seriously, Attard will become a star during PGF World Season 7 – we guarantee it.
12. Kemoy Anderson – Kemoy has featured more of his promotional skills as the owner/commissioner of Main Character Jiu Jitsu over the last few years. Nevertheless, Kemoy is a beast of a competitor. He first turned heads almost tearing arms off other 10P folks at a 10^th Planet Qualifier. Then he had a solid showing at PGF Season 2 (225lb), making the playoffs. Finally, after having competed in the PGF and served as a coach for a PGF team during Season 4, Kemoy gave a compelling performance during PGF Season 5, coming one overtime away from winning it all. Competitors will sleep on Kemoy at their own peril.
13. Cam Hurd – Cam has been grappling since he was 5 when he started wrestling. He eventually earned a scholarship at Virginia Tech, a D1 Wrestling school. Cam has unreal strength and conditioning. More importantly, he has the experience from PGF Season 5 and Season 6 and the wisdom to know he has to change his game. Cam doesn’t have to compete in jiu jitsu. He’s a family man and has a good job, but grappling is his calling. He is improving constantly and shows unreal work ethic. Cam will motivate his team. He will help them gel.
14. Marcin Maciulewicz – The Polish Punisher holds many titles, including the Polaris Absolute Grand Prix 2023 Contenders; ADCC European Trials 2024; IBJJF No Gi Worlds; and IBJJF No Gi Europeans. He’s a huge grappler and probably cutting a good amount of weight for this season. He can be a real stopper, but he can attack upper body and lower body equally. Honestly, since almost all of his matches are European, it’s hard to peg him, but he’s damn good. Now he’ll test his skills in PGF World 7.
15. Dory Aoun – “The Lebanese Tiger” showcased his smothering pressure during the qualifier. The 4X IBJJF No-Gi Champ (colored belts) is a former collegiate basketball and football player. As a certified trainer and coach, Aoun knows how to get himself ready for competition. His cardio will allow him to push the pace the entire six minutes of each PGF match. His endurance should make him one of the competitors who peaks as the season starts breaking other competitors. Dory normally uses his pressure game and cardio to break opponents, winning the second half of matches. He’s a real talent and a motivating individual, but the question remains: Can he speed up his game to break his opponents in 6 minutes enough to get a submission? By day 3, when competitors start breaking down, Dory will start breaking people.
16. Fedor Nikolov – Fedor is competing for the first time since receiving his black belt from 10th Planet founder Eddie Bravo. Looking at the Season 5 stats (50% sub rate; 25% kill rate), one would think Fedor would rank very high, but Fedor played the game right. Fedor maximized his opportunities against the bottom half of the PGF Season 5 roster, getting all his submissions against them. Fedor didn’t get any submissions against competitors in the top half of the roster. Fedor has a sick rubber guard game and you know he’s been adding to his arsenal training under Eddie Bravo, the mad scientist of jiu jitsu. Still, until he puts up some wins against this season’s stacked roster, he’s going to be ranked in the bottom half of the rankings himself this time.
17. Nathan Haddad – A part of a jiu jitsu family, he’s been studying jiu jitsu since he was six years old at his family’s gym. His style is a lot of solid wrestling that usually leads to him taking the back, often getting the RNC. He’s shown he can finish (see match against PGF Season 5 runner-up). He’s shown his grit, giving up 0 points while facing the top two competitors from every opposing team in Season 6. He’s a showman and a fan favorite, but he’s still relegated to being a defensive stopper until he proves otherwise.
18. Ernesto Rivera – Ernesto Rivera had a great showing at the PGF World 7 Nashville qualifier, only losing to eventual winner Kyle Boehm. In other competitions, Ernesto has shown the ability to go on a submission spree. Ernesto likes to pull guard, but can pass as well. It’s hard to find a lot of his matches so competitors will likely sleep on him at their expense.
19. Brad Schneider – Training under Dante Leon at Team Adamas (a Pedigo affiliate), Schneider trains with Nic Craton (season 5 competitor), Nilo Burgener (Season 1 competitor) and Max Hanson (season 6 competitor), so Schneider should have a good idea of what it takes to compete in the PGF. Of course, it’s one thing to understand and another to experience it. Schneider has a reputation for unique submissions, so he could be a highlight waiting to happen.
20. Caleb Crump – Caleb Crump comes from a mixed martials arts background. So, he’s tough, very tough. Crump has 54 out of 85 wins via submission per Smoothcomp. His ability to withstand Kyle Chambers and get the win speaks volumes about him. Crump will need that grit and those skills as he faces some of the best grapplers in the world at PGF World 7.

There you have it. The more informed Egghead Warrior Editorial Board Power Rankings. These rankings are from a “who will win” or “who will help a team win the regular season” perspective. The Egghead Warrior Editorial Board has already done their pre-draft fantasy rankings analysis as well – which differs greatly from these rankings. Because the fantasy includes points for takedowns, mounts, back takes/ponts, and stall penalties. The fantasy rankings will be different because the competitors do not necessarily have an incentive to rack up those points (e.g. sitting back for a quick leg lock for three points plus the elbow genie point might be smarter than expending a lot of energy to take someone down, get to mount, then take their back, and possibly not have enough time to sink in the RNC).

If you disagree with these rankings, feel free to post your own on Instagram and tag @EggheadWarrior and @PGFWorld. If you’re more accurate than we are, we’ll give you a shoutout after the season.

Now do your own research and get ready for the most amazing week of jiu jitsu in the world. We’ll be doing fantasy research and predictions every day so you can be ready to make your PGF World fantasy rosters each day. The announcement will happen soon, but the PGF has its own fantasy system now that will allow everyone to win prizes for their fantasy predictions – yeah, you could win prizes, but can you beat Egghead? Doubtful as he has a 20lb brain. Regardless, tune in on 3 November for the PGF Draft – the most exciting draft in sports!

Keep following PGF World and Brandon Mccaghren on Instagram and keep tuning in to the PGF Insiders on PGF World’s YouTube page. We normally go live at 7pm Eastern on Sundays. If you want a comprehensive article that breaks down everything we know about PGF World Season 7, check out my “All the Details” article. It’s an amazing time to be a jiu jitsu fan. So much is happening to grow the sport. But the biggest thing you can do to help it become professional is to follow and support the Professional Grappling Federation World. After all, it’s everything you love about sports, plus jiu jitsu!

BTW, if you’re looking to get some new jiu jitsu gear, PGF World Season 6 Team Champions XMARTIAL has some great gear. I wrote a review of my XMartial shorts and rash guard HERE. If you use the coupon code “EGGHEAD,” you will get 15% off your order (and you’ll help me out a bit). XMARTIAL has some really fun rash guards and everyone I know loves their shorts. So check them out.