Lioness Challenge - BJJ Tournament in Cornelius 2026

Lioness Challenge

Cornelius, United States

Description

General rules

This is a last person standing, no gi tournament. There is no division by age or belt rank. Everyone is on the mats at the same time. You will be responsible for pairing yourself  up with your competitor

You may not face the same opponent twice until you have faced at least three different competitors.

If there is an odd number of competitors and you have to sit out a round, you will not be penalized and can jump back in for the next round.  If you sit out for two rounds back to back, you're out of the tournament.

All rounds begin with one opponent inside the other opponent's closed guard.

Before the start of each match,  opponents will play Rock, Paper, Scissors.  The winner of Rock, Paper, Scissors gets to decide who gets to choose their starting position, either holding closed guard or being inside closed guard.

Each round will be 3 minutes in duration.  You must be in the closed guard position and ready to begin when the timer starts.  If you are not in position at the start of the round, you're out of the tournament.

Qualifying rounds (20+ competitors):

There will be 45 seconds in between each round.  During that time, you will need to find your next opponent, play Rock, Paper, Scissors, and be in position for the next round before the 45 seconds is up.

If you are submitted during the 3 minute rounds, you're out of the tournament. Your opponent gets to rest until the next round begins

If neither of you are  submitted during the round, you both continue with the tournament.

After every 90 minutes of continuous competition,  a 10 minute water and bathroom break will be taken.

Quarter-Finals: When there are only eight competitors left,  the time between rounds will increase to one minute and the round duration increases to 5 minutes.  You still need to find your next opponent,  play Rock, Paper, Scissors and get to the starting position by the time the round begins. If you're unable to do so, you're out of the tournament

Semi-finals: When there are only four competitors left,  the round time further increases to six minutes. If there are only 3 competitors, they will compete in “up-down-out” style until only 2 competitors remain. Rock, paper, scissors will be played to determine how the first “up-down-out” round is setup.

Final Round: When only two opponents remain. The timer will be set for 10 minutes. If no submissions occur during that time frame,  the competitors will split the prize money.

Prize Money!

Your tournament entrance fee goes directly into the prize money!

1st place receives 40% of the entrance fees & free entry into the next Lioness Challenge!

2nd place received 25% of the entrance fees

3rd place received 15% of the entrance fees