This weekend, July 16, 2023, the submission-grappling juggernaut that is the ADCC re-visited Brazil, a nation with the biggest number of World Champions in the promotion and a country well-known as the biggest hive for new talent at the highest level.
The tournament brought forth the pizzazz of the current ADCC administration, which always delivers the professional look & feel these events deserve and spares no cost in its attempt to bring solid referees with international experience to the shows who, not only work on the tournaments but also give workshops to enlighten the local coaches, athletes, and referees as to their rule system. A role that is particularly important for the brand to succeed in its global expansion.
Held in Sao Paulo, currently, the unofficial capital of jiu-jitsu in Brazil, given how popular the state’s competitive circuit is, the ADCC Brazil Open brought forth 684 participants (source: Smoothcomp), a solid number for a first-time experiment in the country.
The tournament was particularly fruitful at raising awareness of a few teen stars of the sport, which included Julio Suzigan (who won the IBJJF World Championship this year as a blue belt) and green belt Luiz Mendonça, another athlete who has been very successful in Brazil’s kids’ circuit with two CBJJ Nationals titles as an orange belt in 2022 & 2023. Very much looking forward to what these young men have for us in the future.
Although successful in the younger ages and less experienced divisions, the event did not deliver a big appeal to the top tear athletes currently competing in Brazil, particularly when considering how fertile this area of the planet is in that regard.
In the male division, two Top Of The Food Chain competitors joined in on the fun, namely Rafael Paganini (83kg) a former CBJJ Brazilian Nationals No-Gi champion and multiple-time Brazilian Nationals medalist in the black belt division. Also widely regarded as an upper-echelon competitor is Henrique “Ceconi” Cardoso (100kg), an athlete who is currently suspended from the IBJJF circuit due to testing positive for performance enhancers (check here) but whose sentence does not include the ADCC events. Both athletes looked outstanding on the mats, putting on fun performances for the crowd and winning their divisions.
Another name worth referencing is that of French athlete Aurélie Le Vern. Based in French Guiana, Aurelie was very active and successful as a brown belt in the IBJJF circuit and made it to the semi-finals of the gi world championships earlier this year, in her debut year as a black belt. This weekend, Aurelie returned to the mats and dominated with relative ease, taking home two gold medals for her weight class and the open weight.
At a team level, Escola Melqui Galvão looked outstanding at every level, from the juniors to the adults. In the pro-level of the adult category. Very impressive even despite the absence of the bigger names of this workgroup. The team took home 8 medals in the adult-professional division with 3 of those being gold.
To check the full standings of the ADCC Sao Paulo Open, advanced divisions, check below.
ADCC SAO PAULO OPEN RESULTS
Advanced Divisions.
MALE 60 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Vinicius Inacio (Calasans)
#2 Mauricio Duarte Mormille (Ethos JJ)
#3 Weslei Costa (Amazon School)
#4 Guilherme Balieiro (Melqui Galvão)
MALE 65 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Felipe Machado (Pirâmide Grappling)
#2 Leonardo Souza (All American MMA)
#3 Felipe Minasian (Alliance)
#4 Rafael Montouro (Bonsai)
MALE 70 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Kauã De Araújo Gabriel (Melqui Galvão)
#2 Nikolas Souza Ramos (Melqui Galvão)
#3 Luiz Pimentel (São Paulo Grappling)
#4 Rodrigo Gonçalves Lopes (Calasans)
MALE 76 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Rômulo Diniz (Alliance)
#2 Ricardo Cardoso (Game Fight)
#3 Leandro Lima (Melqui Galvão)
#4 Nicolas Stefano (Zion BJJ)
MALE 83 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Rafael Paganini (Dream Art)
#2 Iago Martins Duarte (Atos)
#3 Jefferson Pontes (Team Infinity Luta Livre)
#4 Weslley Bernardes (Trevus Martal Arts)
MALE 91 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Eduardo Castillo (G13 & Guigo)
#2 Jardel Oliveira (FP Team)
#3 Vinicius Lessa (Calasans)
#4 Stefano Correa (Stefano Correa)
MALE 100 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Henrique “Ceconi” Cardoso (Ceconi KMKZ)
#2 Elioenai Braz1 (Team Crezio Lutas)
#3 Caio cavalcanti (Brasília Luta Livre)
#4 Matheus Soares (Checkmat)
MALE +100 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Antônio Assef (GFTeam)
#2 Victor Muralha (Libra CT)
#3 Paulo Araujo (LBJJ – Atos JJ)
#4 Pedro Keller (Fight Sports Florianópolis)
MALE OPEN WEIGHT PODIUM
#1 Henrique Ceconi (Ceconi KMKZ)
#2 Kauã De Araújo Gabriel (Melqui Galvão)
#3 Leonardo Goncalves (Gracie Barra)
#4 Caio cavalcanti (Brasília Luta Livre)
FEMALE 55 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Evellyn Azevedo (Melqui Galvão)
#2 Izabel Seki (Litoral Grappling)
FEMALE 60 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Franciele Nascimento (Melqui Galvão)
#2 Thaynara Bandeira (Gracie Barra)
FEMALE 65 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Jaine Fragoso (Atos RJ)
#2 Gabriela Carvalho (Team Crezio Lutas)
#3 Anny Santos (Davi Augusto BJJ)
#4 Isabelle Bottini (Fusion)
FEMALE 70 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Aurélie Le Vern (Six Blades)
#2 Julia Boscher (GFTeam)
#3 Anna Remneva (Strela Team)
#4 Maria Eduarda Monteiro (Checkmat)
FEMALE +70 KILOGRAM PODIUM
#1 Mariana Aparecida Machado (RMNU)
#2 Maria Nascimento (Gracie Barra Boa Viagem)
#3 Fernanda virginia (Brasília Luta Livre)
#4 Yennifer Donoso (Ares)
FEMALE OPEN WEIGHT PODIUM
#1 Aurélie Le Vern (Six Blades)
#2 Maria Gonçalves (Litoral Grappling)
#3 Anna Remneva (Strela Team)
#4 Yennifer Donoso Vera (Ares BJJ)
Cover photo taken by Ilan Pellenberg Photos, follow his work on Instagram at @ilanpellenberg_lutas
