Our story
What started as a simple idea — bringing a grappling tournament to Novi Sad — has grown into a sports event shaped by passion, teamwork, and a growing local scene. Launched in 2023, the tournament introduced a special highlight: a superfight, a submission-only match featuring highly skilled and experienced competitors, including masters and elite-level athletes. Designed to showcase technique, strategy, and experience, the superfight added a new dimension of excitement to the event.
Continued in 2024 and 2025, each edition welcomed more competitors, stronger divisions, bigger awards, and increased international participation. The tournament brings together athletes from Serbia and the wider region, featuring men’s and women’s divisions across all weight categories and skill levels. Kids and junior divisions were introduced in the second year and have continued since, creating space for younger generations to step onto a major competition stage.
Why tournament in Novi Sad
A growing community needed a home tournament
With multiple clubs and an expanding BJJ community, Novi Sad lacked a grappling competition. Supported by the city’s iconic SPENS, the idea quickly turned into action.
From practitioners to organizers
Organized by people who live the sport
A group of BJJ practitioners, grappling and BJJ experienced competitors, enthusiasts and supporters came together to create a tournament they would want to compete in themselves.
A community that supports
Partners who stayed, stories that spread
With consistent sponsors, long-term partners, community support and their positive feedback, ADCC referees, and coverage from major local media, the tournament earned trust and recognition year after year.
NO GI Challenge tournament history
Since its launch, NO GI Challenge Novi Sad has grown into the tournament that has become a regular destination for competitive athletes, drawing competitors who return year after year.
The tournament was first held in September 2023 at SPENS as the first grappling event of its kind in Novi Sad, bringing together competitors from Serbia and the region. Introducing a submission-only superfight immediately distinguished the tournament and set the tone for future editions.
The beginning: NO GI Challenge 2023
The first NO GI Challenge Novi Sad was held in September 2023 at SPENS, marking the first grappling tournament of its kind in Novi Sad. The event brought together competitors from Serbia and the region and immediately stood out by introducing a submission-only superfight.
Welcoming youth: NO GI Challenge 2024
Building on the success of its debut, the second edition expanded to include kids and junior divisions, alongside men’s and women’s categories across all weight classes and skill levels. The tournament attracted a significantly larger number of competitors and clubs.
Community growth: NO GI Challenge 2025
The tournament had established a recognizable identity. Continued expansion of youth categories, growing competitive momentum, free entry for spectators, superfight promotion, and a strong focus on community and athlete development reinforced its goal of becoming a traditional annual event.
Superfight Spotlight: A Strong First Edition
The submission-only superfight between Dragan Djakon Djakonovic (Rio Grappling Club Novi Sad) and Guillaume Gile Huni (Kimura BJJ) introduced a distinctive, high-quality competitive element to the tournament. With athletes from 10 countries, the event established itself as a serious competitive platform from its very first edition.
Building Competitive Momentum
The second edition expanded in both size and participation, welcoming competitors from 45 clubs. A submission-only superfight between Lazar Zlatanovic (Rio Grapling Club Belgrade) and Nemanja Lekovic (Da Luta) provided a notable moment and contributed to the ongoing development of the superfight format within the event.
Turning Momentum into Continuity
The 2025 edition expanded further with strong participation from Serbia and the wider region. The centerpiece was once again the attractive superfight, this time in the heavyweight division, featuring Nikola Pavlovic (ViN BJJ Belgrade) and Obrad Nedic (Old School BJJ Belgrade), reinforcing the superfght as a defining element of the tournament.
