SEPTEMBER 04, 2022, LAS VEGAS, USA, was jiu-jitsu’s world capital once again this weekend through another one of the sport’s biggest gatherings, the Jiu-Jitsu Con organized by the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation. An event set to promote the sport to a wider audience and to host important tournaments on the IBJJF calendar such as the Masters World Championship and the JJ CON tournament, in this segment we will report on the latter, particularly JJC’s no-gi championship.
Highly anticipated at the JJ CON no-gi tournament were the performances of 3 key athletes who will be challenging for the ADCC World Championship later this month, arguably the biggest event of the year. The trio was formed by featherweight Diego Oliveira – AKA Pato – of Dream Art, Atos’ guillotine master Josh Hinger, and Alliance New York powerhouse Vinicius Ferreira (Trator).
PATO’S LATERAL KNEEBAR
All three aforementioned athletes showed impressive skill and athleticism in Las Vegas, for this final test before the big show, but one certainly stood out the most. We are talking about Diego Pato who overcame some very decent names in his featherweight gold medal, taking all by submission and then moving on to the open weight where he had another exciting performance taking second place and submitting one of the super-heavyweight bronze medalist Eliot Kelly.
Although a 100% submission rate against names such as Emilio Hernandez, Vinny Saenz, and Giovanni Marcelo would be enough to warrant a headline or two, what impressed us the most in Oliveira’s performance was his newfound taste for the lateral kneebar (confused as to what is a lateral kneebar? check here). Pato used this maneuver a lot after attacking the inside heel hook, as a counter to his opponents’ defense (clearing of the knee-line) with an interesting big-toe grip. Diego finished two with this submission and nearly ended the final of the open weight in the same manner.
HINGERTINE ON POINT
After 5 tough matches in the Masters World Championship, where he took a gold medal, Josh Hinger jumped on Jiu-Jitsu Con’s no-gi tournament and took that one as well, a sign that the veteran still has plenty of gas left in the tank.
In the no-gi portion of the weekend, Hinger dominated his opponents with his trademark squeeze, finishing one opponent with a guillotine and another with a north-south choke.
TRATOR BULLDOZES THROUGH SUPERHEAVY
In the super-heavyweight many were hoping for a clash between ADCC challenger Vinicius Ferreira of Alliance Marcelo Garcia and Fellipe Andrew of Alliance San Diego, but sadly that did not come to fruition as Andrew forfeited the gold medal for Trator, likely due to Fellipe’s extensive list of matches in the gi earlier in the day. Sadly for Vinicius “Trator” Ferreira, if this was his attempt at a pre-ADCC warm-up, his wishes might have been left unfulfilled as the Brazilian native only had one match, which he won via choke.
NON-ADCC STANDOUTS
Out of those not competing in the ADCC this month, we feel as though Gabriel Almeida deserves a big mention. The Checkmat athlete conquered his first Masters World title this weekend and jumpted straight on the JJ CON event, winning both his weight class and the open weight with 5 matches and 5 submissions. What a weekend!
Also impressive was Eduardo Avelar of the Double Five team. The middleweight competed with the gi and in no-gi, making the podium on both tournaments despite facing big names of the sport. Eduardo proved he is very much at the top of the division right now.
FEATHERWEIGHT
Semi-Finals:
– Emilio Hernandez def. Pedro Serrano via 6×2
– Diego “Pato” Oliveira def. Giovanni Marcelo via lateral kneebar
Final:
– Diego Oliveira def. Emilio Hernandez via lateral kneebar
LIGHTWEIGHT
Semi-Finals:
– Ismael Santos def. Daniel Maira via 4×2
– Manuel Aguilar def. Naser Adbulkareem via 3×0
Final:
– Ismael Santos def. Manuel Aguilar via RNC
MIDDLEWEIGHT
Semi-Finals:
– Joshua Bacallao def. Sergio Ardila via advantages
– Eduardo Avelar def. Francisco Cuneo via 2×0
Final:
– Eduardo Avelar def. Joshua Bacallao via 4×0
MEDIUM-HEAVYWEIGHT
Semi-Final:
– Josh Hinger def. Hayden Buckner via north-south choke
– Rolando Samson def. Michael Wilkins via armbar
Final:
– Atos HQ Team Closeout
HEAVYWEIGHT
Semi-Final:
– Gabriel Almeida def. Thiago Andrade via guillotine
– Rodrigo “Tatu” Lopes Martins def. Thiago Saldanha
Final:
– Gabriel Almeida def. Rodrigo “Tatu” via anaconda choke
SUPER-HEAVYWEIGHT
Semi-Final:
– Vinicius “Trator” def. Cassio Costa via RNC
– Fellipe Andrew def. Eliot Kelly
Final:
– Alliance closeout
ULTRA-HEAVYWEIGHT
Semi-Finals:
– Diego Ramalho def. Jackson Douglas via decision
– Arnaldo Maidana def. Joshua Guerra via katagatame
Final:
– Arnaldo Maidana def. Diego Ramalho via decision
OPEN-WEIGHT
Semi-Final:
– Diego Oliveira def. Eliot Kelly via violin armlock
– Gabriel Almeida def. Joshua Bacallao via Americana lock
Final:
– Gabriel Almeida def. Diego Oliveira via anaconda choke
FEMALE OPEN-WEIGHT
Semi-Final:
– Claire North def. Talita Nogueira via inside heel-hook
– Mayara Custodio def. Talita Nogueira
Final:
– Claire North def. Mayara Custodio via inside heel-hook
