MARCH 19, 2022, BRAZIL, saw another edition of the International Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s (IBJJF) Curitiba Open, a tournament that brought forward some of the top jiu-jitsu figures of the South American country for an epic showdown as the elite of the sport make a final attempt to gather enough points to compete at the Pan American Championships on April 5th.
As expected, many of coach Melqui Galvão’s competitors entered the arena in Curitiba, as did those of the all-star team Dream Art, the powerful GF Team, and many more.
MICA GALVÃO ADDS 4 TO 18 MATCH STREAK
The man of the hour was the 18-year-old phenom, Mica Galvão who added four (4) more matches to his lengthy unbeaten streak. The Manaus native won all his matches this weekend by submission, making this his final clash in Curitiba, against Carlos Andrade, his 12 submission win in a row, and currently holds an 85% submission average overall and 100% submission ratio in 2022. Simply outstanding. The submissions of choice this time around were two armbars, one Ezekiel choke from mount and his trademarked Yoko sankaku.
Equally impressive was Galvão’s teammate, and fellow ADCC qualifier, Diogo Reis. Reis submitted his way to a gold medal, which included a submission win over the very durable Fernando Favari of GF Team.
RAFAEL PAGANINI & RIDER ZUCHI CLOSE ABSOLUTE
Despite looking fantastic on their way to the open-weight final, NS Brotherhood’s Rider Zuchi and Dream Art’s Rafael Paganini opted to close out the division. This after 4 matches each where Paganini conquered 3 guillotine submission wins and Zuchi 2 subs. Rider and Rafael are not teammates but have trained together since the pandemic and consider each other very close friends, thus the choice not to compete against each other.
Other big names to win their divisions were Pedro Alex (Bombom) in the ultra-heavyweight, who submitted all his 3 opponents, Anderson Munis of Dream Art who had an all out war with veteran Pedro Agrizzi in the final, rising featherweight Julio Arantes of Qatar BJJ, and Nova União’s dynamic duo, Alex Sodré and Victor Nithael, two names on the verge of gaining worldwide recognition.
From the female division we would like to highlight Jessica Caroline. The roosterweight has been cementing her claim as very likely the #2 in the division, just behind Mayssa Bastos with her current performances. In Curitiba, Caroline was able to stop 19YO prospect Duda Tozoni, one of the most dangerous guard players in the sport, while also placing 3rd in the absolute. Check the full adult black belt standings below.
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / ROOSTER
#1 Italo Frota (Karkara)
#2 Wesley Martins (OLL Fight)
#3 Guilherme Guastavino (Alliance)
#3 Rodrigo Freitas (Pantanal Association)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT-FEATHER
#1 Diogo Reis (Melqui Galvao / Fight Sports)
#2 Fernando Fávari ((GF Team))
#3 Igor Pereira Ribeiro (Melqui Galvão / Fight Sports)
#3 Paulo Cesar Oliveira (CM System)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Julio Arantes (Vision)
#2 Wesley Souza (Dream Art)
#3 Gustavo Warde Gonzalez (G13)
#3 Leandro Lima (Melqui Galvão / Fight Sports)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Alex Sodré (Nova União)
#2 Victor Nithael (Nova União)
#3 Gustavo Barbosa (Rocian Gracie)
#3 Leandro Lima (Cicero Costha)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Micael Galvão (Melqui Galvão / Fight Sports)
#2 Carlos Andrade (Templo JJ)
#3 Everton Daniel (Núcleo JJ)
#3 Lucas Brito (Gracie Barra)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Wellington Luís “Alemão” (Ns Brotherhood)
#2 Marcelo Lemelle (GF Team)
#3 Rafael Paganini (Dream Art)
#3 Reyson Neves (Ns Brotherhood)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Rider Zuchi (Ns Brotherhood)
#2 Lafayette Pinheiro (Six Blades)
#3 Filipe Pimentel (Vision)
#3 Leandro Carlos
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Anderson Munis (Dream Art)
#2 Pedro Agrizzi (Striker)
#3 Lucas Cazuza (Leão Teixeira)
#3 Romes Ramos (Rio Grappling Club)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / ULTRA-HEAVY
#1 Pedro Alex “Bombom” (GF Team)
#2 Gabriel Bosquê (Alliance)
#3 Cleiton Santos (Red Lions)
#3 Raphael Guerra (Double Five)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Rafael Paganini (Dream Art)
#2 Rider Zuchi (Ns Brotherhood)
#3 Higor Lima (Vita)
#3 Leandro Lima (Cicero Costha)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT-FEATHER
#1 Jessica Caroline (Brasa)
#2 Maria Eduarda Tozoni “Duda” (The Match Champ)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Dyna Sena (Castro Team)
#2 Sayuri Toledo (Dream Art)
#3 Dayane Aline (Au Team)
#3 Thaís Gomes Teixeira (Carlson Gracie)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Eduarda Lima (Castro Team)
#2 Natália Zumba (Alliance)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Éricka Almeida (Gracie Barra)
#2 Renata Borges (Nova União)
#3 Ana Brandão (Vita)
#3 Juliana Teixeira (Ceconi KMKZ)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Sábatha Laís ( Ryan Gracie / R1NG)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Graciele Del Fava (Guigo)
#2 Izadora Cristina Silva (Dream Art)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Fernanda Mazzelli (Striker)
#2 Juliana Campos (Striker)
#3 Joseane Souza (GF Team)
#3 Victoria Borba Amaral (CheckMat)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Sábatha Laís ( Ryan Gracie / R1NG)
#2 Fernanda Mazzelli (Striker)
#3 Eduarda Lima (Castro Team)
#3 Jessica Caroline (Brasa CTA)
