APRIL 20, 2021, Houston, Texas was the home for another tournament laid out by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF), an event aptly named “Houston Open”. As this southern US state continues to be a safe haven for jiu-jitsu competitions during the COVID19 pandemic, many of the sport’s top athletes are migrating to these events, adding plenty of interest – in particular – to the adult, black belt division.
GRACIE BARRA DEBUTS FUTURE STARS
One of the main points of interest to take out from the 2021 Houston Open was the debut of two rising jiu-jitsu stars of team Gracie Barra, João Felipe Cizeski – student of Felipe Pena – and Bruno Matias, student of Ulpiano Malachias.
Although inexperienced, Cizeski made it to the finals of the medium-heavyweight division and to the semi-finals of the absolute division, with the gi. His losses both being to the champs of each division, namely to Yago de Souza (MHW) and Johnatha Alves (ABS). A solid performance for the technical grappler.
Even more impressive was the debut of Bruno Matias. The Gracie Barra (Westchase) team member had a solid day with the gi, reaching the final of the heavyweight division, but it was in the no-gi portion of the tournament that Malachias’ student truly shined. A double gold medal performance with wins over big names of the sport such as Oliver Taza, Rida Haissam, and Eduardo Avelar.
DALPRA AND ALVES REMAIN UNBEATEN IN IBJJF MATCHES
Art Of Jiu-Jitsu top representatives Tainan Dalpra (14-0-0) and Johnatha Alves (32-6-0) continue bulldozing through the IBJJF division with another double gold performance. Combined, Dalpra and Alves now have 40 straight wins in the sport’s main league with a 62.5% submission rate.
With the exception of his first match (which ended with an injury of his opponent – Guilherme Cleovan – Johnatha Alves submitted all his opponents with the same move. Dalpra also submitted all his opponents with the exception of one (Joseph Watson) in the semi-final of the absolute, although Tainan was extremely dominant throughout the match, placing 72 points on the scoreboard(!).
MELISSA CUETO CLIMBING THE RANKS
Another athlete who looked unstoppable this weekend was Melissa Cueto of Gracie Humaitá’s San Diego Academy. Cueto defeated her arch-rival Emilly Alves and former brown belt world champion Jess Swanson, twice in one day, taking home a double gold medal. Solid work for the exciting medium-heavyweight competitor.
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / ROOSTER
#1 Roiter Lima Silva Junior
#2 Jorge Vasquez
#3 Henrique de Oliveira Rossi
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / LIGHT-FEATHER
#1 Carlos Alberto Oliveira da Silva
#2 Fernando de Jesus Soares
#3 João Pedro Soeiro Figueredo
#3 Keven Carrasco
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Richar Nogueira
#2 Joshua Cisneros
#3 Daniel Aquino
#3 Emilio Hernandez
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Johnatha Alves
#2 Matheus Galvão
#3 Luan Andrei de Albuquerque
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Tainan Dalpra
#2 Eduardo Avelar
#3 Alexander Scott Lane
#3 Arian de Melo Macêdo
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Yago de Souza
#2 João Felipe Cizeski
#3 Joseph C. Watson
#3 Thiago Aso da Graça
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Rafael Vasconcelos
#2 Bruno Matias
#3 Charles Mcguire
#3 Yuri Allison Paiva dos Santos
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Devhonte Johnson
#2 Daniel Hampton
#3 Lucas Norat Lopes
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / ULTRA-HEAVY
#1 Joshua Dominic Guerra
#2 Diego Almeida Ferreira
#3 Renato dos Santos Tagliari
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Tainan Dalpra
#2 Johnatha Alves
#3 João Felipe Cizeski
#3 Joseph Watson
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Lavinia Francesconi Barbosa
#2 Patrícia Magalhães Machado
#3 Brandy Rene New
#3 Mariana Azevedo
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Erin Johnson
#2 Raquel Paaluhi Canuto
#3 Victória Montrezor
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Melissa Stricker Cueto
#2 Emilly Alves Vasconcelos
#3 Jessica Constance Swanson
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Kendall Reusing
#2 Michelle Welti
#3 Alejandra Gonzalez
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Melissa Stricker Cueto
#2 Jessica Constance Swanson
#3 Emilly Alves Vasconcelos
#3 Michelle Welti
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / LIGHT-FEATHER
#1 Reynaldo De Leon
#2 Henrique de Oliveira Rossi
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Marcus Beddor
#2 Richar Nogueira
#3 Emilio Hernandez
#3 Juan Garcia
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Jordan Holy
#2 Luan Andrei
#3 Francisco Cuneo
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Oliver Taza
#2 Joshua Bacallao
#3 Eduardo Avelar
#3 Tyler Scalisi
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Stanley Rosa
#2 Pedro Henrique Rocha
#3 Arian de Melo Macêdo
#3 Avery Brooks
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Bruno Matias
#2 Rida Haisam
#3 Joseph C. Watson
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Diego Dias Ramalho
#2 Daniel Hampton
#3 Joseph Othmar Dierkhising
#3 Rennick Kama Jr.
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / ULTRA-HEAVY
#1 Diego Almeida Ferreira
#2 Joshua Dominic Guerra
ADULT / MALE / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Bruno Matias
#2 Oliver Taza
#3 Eduardo Avelar
#3 Joshua Aaron Bacallao
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Lavinia Francesconi Barbosa
#2 Patrícia Magalhães Machado
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Sheliah Denae Lindsey
#2 Erin Johnson
#3 Victória Montrezor
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Vedha Clemente Toscano
#2 Jessica Swanson
ADULT / FEMALE / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Vedha Clemente Toscano
#2 Lavinia Francesconi Barbosa
#3 Jessica Swanson
#3 Sheliah Denae Lindsey
