NAGA Greensboro Grappling & BJJ Championship
Organized by NAGA
Gi and no-gi competition across all belt levels at NAGA Greensboro on September 19, 2026. The tournament includes kids divisions and absolute divisions, with championship belts awarded to adult winners.
Event Description
NAGA Greensboro brings the world's largest mixed grappling tournament circuit to North Carolina, now in its 29th-plus year of running events open to competitors from any grappling background, not just BJJ. Rather than a strict belt system, NAGA sorts adults into skill-level divisions — Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, and Expert — while gi divisions still follow standard BJJ rules and no-gi uses NAGA's own, more permissive ruleset that allows leg locks. The tournament runs September 19, 2026 in Greensboro, North Carolina, with gi, no-gi, and kids' divisions for ages 3 to 63 and up. Entry fees are tiered, from roughly $79 for early registration up to $169 for late sign-up, and adult division winners take home a championship belt. Register through NAGA's Smoothcomp event page linked on this listing.
Divisions
Registration deadline: September 18, 2026
About NAGA
NAGA (North American Grappling Association) is a submission grappling and BJJ tournament promotion founded in 1995 by Kipp Kollar. One of the oldest and highest-volume tournament circuits in the sport, it runs gi and no-gi events across the US nearly every weekend, with divisions from age 4 through adult, using its own Beginner/Intermediate/Advanced/Expert skill-level system for no-gi divisions.
Rules
NAGA (North American Grappling Association) runs one of the largest grappling tournament circuits in the world, with gi and no-gi divisions for kids, teens, adults, and masters at every event. Divisions are grouped by age, weight, and experience level rather than strictly by belt in no-gi, and novice kids divisions do not allow submissions — the legal-technique list expands as competitors age up and move to more advanced divisions.
The no-gi divisions use NAGA's own ruleset, which differs from IBJJF scoring in a few important ways: takedowns and sweeps score 2 points (with extra points when a sweep finishes in a dominant position), and submission attempts themselves can score 1–2 points depending on how close they come to finishing. There are no advantages — if a match is tied, the referee decides it on aggression and initiation, rewarding whoever pushed the action hardest.
Gi divisions run under a more traditional points structure closely based on standard IBJJF-style scoring, so gi competitors will find the positional point values familiar. Because the gi and no-gi rules genuinely differ, competitors entering both should read both sections of the NAGA rulebook.
Always confirm the official rulebook before you compete — organizations update rules between seasons. See the official event page for current rules.
Community results
No results logged yet. Results show up here once competitors log them after the event.
Frequently asked questions
- When and where is NAGA Greensboro?
- September 19, 2026 in Greensboro, North Carolina.
- What is NAGA?
- The world's largest mixed grappling tournament circuit, running for over 29 years and open to competitors from any grappling background.
- How are skill divisions organized?
- By skill level — Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert — rather than strict belt rank.
- Are leg locks allowed?
- NAGA's no-gi ruleset is more permissive than standard BJJ rules and allows leg locks; gi divisions follow standard BJJ rules.
- What's the entry fee?
- Tiered pricing, roughly $79 for early registration up to $169 for late sign-up.
- Do winners get anything special?
- Adult division winners receive a NAGA championship belt.
BJJ gyms near Greensboro, NC
Looking for a place to train before or after the tournament?
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