NOVEMBER 18, 2024, LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA, USA. Last night we saw another edition of The Crown, a professional event with solid cash prizes created by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) to help push the sport toward a more professional (read paid) avenue, akin to what the No-Gi/Submission-Grappling has enjoyed for the past 10 years.
The event ran smoothly and had solid matches in all of the elected weight classes, nevertheless, it still suffered from a fair amount of passivity calls (and possibly a few more remained in the pocket). These passivity calls saw another matching end with a double DQ, that of Patrick Gaudio vs Rider Zuchi, making this the second year in a row with double DQs for stalling. The issue here isn’t with the disqualification as these were both merited and credit to the referees for making this tough call, but if this event is to become the elite show of the Gi world -which it rightfully could- some changes need to be addressed with regards to the matchmaking.
FEATHERWEIGHT, male
After last year’s somewhat disappointing featherweight Crown tournament, where the big stars put on very shy performances, this year brought plenty more action. Athletes like Diego “Pato”, Joao “Bisnaga” Mendes, and Ademir Barreto appeared eager to embrace the ethos of this platform and perform to the crowd with fun displays of jiu-jitsu.
After last night’s performance, Diego Pato Oliveira is flying to the top of the Pound-4-Pound rankings of 2024. Pato looked like he was in a league of his own out there, competing in a weight class above his. Oliveira used his lapel guard to control his opponents from the bottom and applied a superior pressure passing style when on top. The AOJ representative currently holds both of the IBJJF’s most prized titles (World & Pan), to which he just added The Crown. Grappler Of The Year?
Quarter-Finals:
– Diego Oliveira def. Osvaldo Moizinho via 6×4
– Jamil Hill-Taylor def. Marco Mendes via decision
– Joao Mendes def. Kennedy Maciel via 4×2
– Ademir Barreto def. Eduardo Granzotto via Kneebar
Semi-Finals:
– Diego Oliveira def. Jamil Hill-Taylor via 18×0
– Joao Mendes def. Ademir Barreto via 2×0
Final:
– Diego Oliveira def. Joao Mendes via Choke from back
LIGHTWEIGHT, female
Once again the female lightweight division delivered some of the most entertaining matches of the evening with great guard work and passing much thanks to the efforts of forward-moving athletes like Gabi McComb, Brianna Ste-Marie, and Janaina Maia Lebre.
The final was a re-run of the World Championship’s semi-final of 2023, and the dynamics were very similar to that one as well though this time it was Brianna who stole the match via advantages after a couple of close submission attempts to the legs of Lebre. Both competitors fought their hearts out in this evenly-matched contest that could have gone either way.
Quarter-Finals:
– Janaina Lebre def. Vitoria Assis via Choke from the back
– Cassia Moura def. Thaynara Victoria via 4×2
– Brianna Ste-Marie def. Jaine Fragoso via 14×0
– Gabi McComb def. Vitoria Vieira via 2×0
Semi-Finals:
– Brianna Ste-Marie def. Gabi McComb via Amassa pao choke
– Janaina Lebre def. Cassia Moura via 9×2
Final:
– Brianna Ste-Marie def. Janaina Lebre via advantage
MIDDLEWEIGHT, male
A real shame we weren’t able to see Dapra and Murasaki compete in the final. Although both have met several times in the past, the matches have always been entertaining. Tainan wrote a post on social media after the event, explaining how he broke his hand 4 weeks prior to the event but chose to compete with his injury as he felt he could. Sadly, the issue aggravated in the semi-final which prevented him from defending his title.
Andy Murasaki and Tainan Dapra proved why they are at the very top of the food chain in the gi, dominating their opponents from post to post. The division had good names although it is a shame to see the absence of two of the division’s most formidable athletes, Jansen Gomes and Mica Galvao. Nenego is yet to compete against Murasaki after 2 years in this division and has only gone against Dalpra once. Galvao has never met Tainan and it is a shame the fans have been deprived of one of the most important matches to be made in this weight class. BJJ matchmakers, please make this happen.
Little rant aside, this was a good division to follow, much thanks to the forward-moving styles of the two finalists.
Quarter-Finals:
– Tainan Dalpra def. Gabriel Galvao via 8×2
– Elijah Dorsey def. Matheus Luna via advantage
– Andy Murasaki def. Jaime Canuto via 7×0
– Mauricio Oliveira def. Manuel Ribamar via advantage
Semi-Finals:
– Tainan Dalpra def. Elijah Dorsey via Armbar
– Andy Murasaki def. Mauricio Oliveira via Armbar
Final:
– Andy Murasaki won the IBJJF Crown after Tainan Dalpra forfeited the match due to injury.
HEAVYWEIGHT, male
The heavyweight division had fun matches and disappointing ones as aforementioned in the introduction of this report. It was refreshing to watch referees brave enough to enforce the rules in such a tense/high-stakes environment and tremendous to see those athletes who were pushing the pace and the entertainment, reaching the final. Both “Braguinha” and Wardzinski used their guards to set up their pressure passing.
Quarter-Finals:
– Adam Wardzinski def. Matheus Spirandeli via 9×2
– Horlando Monteiro def. Paulo Merlin via advantage
– Gustavo Batista def. Joao Nicolite via Armbar
– Rider Zuchi and Patrick Gaudio were both DQ’ed for passivity
Semi-Finals:
– Adam Wardzinski def. Horlando Monteiro via Choke from back
– Batista advanced after double DQ in 1/4 finals
Final:
– Adam Wardzinski def. Gustavo Batista via advantage
HEAVYWEIGHT, female
Another supreme performance by Gabrieli Pessanha who appeared as if she could submit her opponents any way she wanted out there. This Matrix-style performance saw her finish her opponents all in the same way, from the back after flattening them out with the traditional “espalha frango” technique to the smothering RNC.
Quarter-Finals:
– Gabrieli Pessanha def. Mayara Custodio via RNC
– Tamiris Silva def. Giovanna Jara via advantage
– Nathiely Jesus def. Maria Vicentini via Choke from back
– Melissa Cueto def. Isabely Lemos via advantage
Semi-Finals:
– Gabrieli Pessanha def. Tamiris Silva via RNC
– Melissa Cueto def. Nathiely Jesus via advantage
Final:
– Gabrieli Pessanha def. Melissa Cueto via RNC
ULTRA-HEAVYWEIGHT, male
A spectacular performance by Erich Munis. As per usual, the Fratres representative applied his lanky style to dominate the division from post to post. Submissions, sweeps, pressure passing, back takes, Erich showed all his tools last night.
Quarter-Finals:
– Erich Munis def. Kristof Szucs via Straight ankle lock
– Pedro Machado def. Kjetil Lydvo via Armbar
– Gutemberg Pereira def. Felipe Costa via advantage
– Marcus “Scooby” Ribeiro def. Roosevelt Sousa via Loop choke
Semi-Finals:
– Erich Munis def. Pedro Machado via 15×6
– Marcus Ribeiro def. Gutemberg Pereira via advantage
Final:
– Erich Munis def. Marcus Ribeiro via Arm in Ezekiel
