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Grappling Report: Several big names retire after IBJJF Worlds 2021

The final major event of the year is over and we now have a whole new generation of IBJJF world champions in the gi, although many past and present champions will not be returning to compete again next year. Perhaps the biggest news came in the heaviest male divisions as Nicholas Meregali was disqualified from both the Ultra-Heavyweight and the absolute division for swearing at the crowd during the semi-final match of his weight class.

He’s since explained his actions and apologized to Felipe Pena, who won the absolute division by default as a result and retired from gi competition immediately after.