The September 2026 ISKA Sport Karate Rankings offer a revealing snapshot of the athletes setting the pace across forms, weapons and sparring as the competitive season moves forward.
Across the adult divisions, familiar champions are being joined by a deep field of contenders looking to move into the top spot. From Phillip Brumme and Esteban Tremblay in the men’s open divisions to Haley Glass-Mancillas and Averi Presley on the women’s side, the rankings showcase competitors working across open, traditional, senior, sparring and synchronized categories.
Several defending ISKA world champions remain prominently positioned, but the rankings also make clear that there is no shortage of challengers.
QUICK RECAP
Phillip Brumme and Esteban Tremblay headline the men’s open weapons and forms picture as defending champions.
Haley Glass-Mancillas and Averi Presley lead prominent women’s divisions and appear across multiple categories.
Dimitrios Economo and Katarina Herman are the defending champions in men’s open-weight and women’s sparring, respectively.
Rashad Eugene headlines Senior Men’s Weapons, while Samuel Diaz III appears at the top of Senior Men’s Forms.
Team Paul Mitchell holds defending titles in synchronized open forms and synchronized open weapons, while Team Revolution and Top Ten Team USA headline team sparring.
ADULT OPEN AND TRADITIONAL RANKINGS
Brumme and Tremblay Lead the Men’s Open Divisions
In Men’s Open Weapons, defending champion Phillip Brumme sits ahead of a field led by Dawson Holt, Ben Jones, Esteban Tremblay, Hamza Tai and Alex Mancillas.
Brumme’s name also appears elsewhere in the rankings, including fifth in Men’s Traditional Forms, while his synchronized partnership with Averi Presley ranks second in Synchronized Open Forms.
Men’s Open Forms belongs to another defending champion, Esteban Tremblay. Phillip Brumme is ranked first behind the champion, followed by Dawson Holt, Austin Murray-Ohmart, Will Nevitt and Caysen Junell.
That puts Brumme in contention across multiple areas of the adult rankings and gives Tremblay a strong group of challengers as he looks to defend his title.
Glass-Mancillas and Presley Set the Pace for the Women
The women’s open divisions feature two champions who have established themselves in more than one category.
Haley Glass-Mancillas is the defending Women’s Open Forms champion and also holds the championship position in Women’s Traditional Weapons. In Open Forms, Alyss Groce is ranked No. 1 behind her, followed by Kaitlyn Vong, Averi Presley, Gemma Trehoske and Olivia Vick.
In Traditional Weapons, Glass-Mancillas is followed by Maria Routel Ferguson, Sofia Rodriguez Florez, Amber Rutherford, Averi Presley and Melina Pecci.
Averi Presley, meanwhile, holds the Women’s Open Weapons championship. Maria Routel Ferguson leads the rankings behind her, with Glass-Mancillas second, Melina Pecci third, Kaitlyn Vong fourth and Alyss Groce fifth.
Presley and Glass-Mancillas appearing throughout the rankings illustrates one of the defining qualities of high-level sport karate: many of its best competitors are not confined to a single discipline.
Traditional Sport Karate Competition Has Its Own Leaders
The traditional divisions bring another collection of established champions and rising challengers.
Dawson Holt holds the Men’s Traditional Weapons championship, with Alec Jahanvash ranked first, followed by Ben Jones, Matthew Moore, Diego Rodriguez Florez and Michael Brumme.
In Men’s Traditional Forms, defending champion Mason Stowell sits atop a division in which Mitchell Street is the highest-ranked challenger. Diego Rodriguez Florez, Noah Thomas, Jeff Doss and Michael Brumme complete the top five.
On the women’s side, Amber Rutherford is the defending Traditional Forms champion. Gabrielle Rudolph leads the rankings behind her, followed by Sofia Rodriguez Florez, Kaitlyn Vong, Christina Subonj and Olivia Vick.
The crossover between open and traditional divisions is especially notable. Names including Dawson Holt, Brumme, Glass-Mancillas, Presley and Rodriguez Florez appear repeatedly, creating potential storylines that extend beyond a single championship category.
THE SPARRING RACE
The adult sparring rankings add another dimension to the ISKA picture.
Dimitrios Economo is the defending Men’s Open Weight Sparring champion, with Bailey Murphy ranked first behind him. Tyson Wray follows in second, Alex Mancillas third, Kameren Ali fourth and Nick Kellermann fifth.
In Women’s Sparring, defending champion Katarina Herman leads a field featuring Hristina Andonova, Ki’Tana Everett, Jimena Janeiro, Alexi Jimenez and Savannah Wolaniuk.
The men’s rankings are also divided into lightweight and heavyweight categories. Bailey Murphy leads Men’s Lightweight Sparring ahead of Enrique Letona, Edoardo Bagarello, Martin Balint and Jason Letona.
Kameren Ali holds the top ranking in Men’s Heavyweight Sparring, followed by Mason Bumba, Kristhian Rivas, Dean Apicella and Erotokritos Karampoulis.
Team competition adds another layer. Team Revolution is the defending Men’s Team Sparring champion, while Top Ten Team USA holds the championship position in Women’s Team Sparring.
Top Ten Team USA is currently ranked first in the men’s division, followed by Team Paul Mitchell, Team Legend and Winni’s German Power Team. On the women’s side, Team Paul Mitchell is ranked first and Team Revolution second.
SENIOR COMPETITORS REMAIN IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The September rankings also recognize a strong senior field.
In Senior Men’s Sparring, Kevin Walker leads the standings ahead of Pablo Moreno, Brayan Rodriguez, Chance Turner and Joseph Brackett. Senior Women’s Sparring is led by Anna McCarty, followed by Caroline Bilodeau, Isabel Escalante, Alyssa Wager and Tyana Kline.
Defending champion Rashad Eugene headlines Senior Men’s Weapons. Samuel Diaz III is ranked first behind him, followed by Brett Thomason, Steeven Mathieu, Eric Tremblay and Matt Frolin.
Samuel Diaz III also leads Senior Men’s Forms, with Jared Dunn second and Eugene third. Andrew Bacchus and Joseph Bein complete the top five.
On the women’s side, Ashley Bartlett leads Senior Women’s Weapons, while Clarissa DeHoyos holds the top position in Senior Women’s Forms.
TEAM PAUL MITCHELL MAKES ITS PRESENCE FELT
The synchronized divisions reveal the continued importance of elite teams within sport karate.
Team Paul Mitchell’s Dawson Holt and Ben Jones are the defending champions in Synchronized Open Forms. Team AKA currently occupies the No. 1 ranking, while another Paul Mitchell pairing—Brumme and Presley—is second.
Team Paul Mitchell also holds the Synchronized Open Weapons championship with Jones and Tremblay. Team Competitive Edge’s Dollarhite and Grunwald are ranked first behind them, followed by Team Raptor and another Competitive Edge pairing of Hensley and Tai.
In Synchronized Traditional Forms, Team Infinity holds the championship position, with Team Juan Kan leading the rankings. Team Showtime is the defending Synchronized Traditional Weapons champion, while Team Competitive Edge currently sits first in the rankings.
Finally, Team Freestyle holds the Team Demonstration championship, followed in the rankings by Team Competitive Edge, Team Infinity, Team Xtreme Revolution, InfiniTeam Elite and Team AmeriKick Princeton.
A COMPETITIVE PICTURE WITH PLENTY STILL TO BE DECIDED
Taken together, the September rankings show just how broad the adult ISKA sport-karate field has become.
There are specialists who have built their reputations around individual divisions, but many of the most prominent names are appearing repeatedly. Brumme is in the conversation in forms, weapons and synchronized competition. Glass-Mancillas is prominent in both open and traditional categories. Holt is a defending traditional weapons champion while also competing near the top of Open Weapons and Open Forms and holding a synchronized world title.
That versatility makes the rankings more than a list of names. They provide a snapshot of the rivalries developing across the sport and of the champions everyone else is trying to catch.
As the 2026 season continues, the question is no longer simply who holds the championship. It is who will be next to take it.
Source: ISKA Sport Karate Rankings, September 2026. Rankings and defending-champion designations are based on materials supplied by ISKA.
