DECEMBER 08, 2024. Last night, we witnessed the 14th edition of BJJ Stars, Brazil’s prime jiu-jitsu promotion and, arguably, the biggest driver for the Gi ruleset in the professional grappling circuit. Always aiming to improve on past shows, we can honestly say this was one of our favorite pro-events of the year. It was a solid production with great matchmaking (an aspect we had been critical of in the past) and athletes who delivered.
Not only did the athletes and the producers deliver a high-quality product, but the referees should also be commended for their work. Many hard decisions were made, and they appeared to consistently make the brave but correct ones, particularly concerning stalling calls, an aspect that so often stifles the action at these professional events.
The crown jewel of last night’s BJJ Stars was its featherweight tournament, which offered the winner 100,000 Brazilian Reais, a hefty sum that equates to around the average yearly income for a Brazilian worker. Many expected Meyram Maquine to take gold as he’s had a terrific year, unbeaten in his weight class in 2024 with a 17-match unbeaten streak. The Team Fratres standout did start the tournament spectacularly, with a flying armbar over the very tough Cleber “Clandestino” Sousa of Almeida JJ, though the always entertaining Fabricio “Hokage” Andrey was showing his skills in equally flashy fashion on the opposite side of the bracket and readying himself for a final with the Manaus native.
With an all-star cast, the 70-kg Grand Prix saw some of the best action this year, with fun, technical, aggressive jiu-jitsu, as Gi jiu-jitsu is meant to be. In the end, the final saw the favorite, Maquine face Hokage with the win coming via a beautiful Kouchi-Gari foot sweep.
The other big attraction of the evening was Fellipe Andrew‘s defense of his 88-kilogram BJJ Stars title. The challenger was none other than the current IBJJF medium-heavyweight silver medalist (and 2024 middleweight world champion) Jansen “Nenego” Gomes. Many expected this match to be a barn-burner as neither of these two young men is known for partaking in boring matches and they did not disappoint. The match has many exchanges both standing and on the ground, with Andrew being the more impatient of the two in his quest for holes in Jansen’s game. The Checkmat athlete kept his composure from a top position, fairly easily escaping Fellipe’s traps and posing threats from a counter-attacking stance. The two stood up a few times where the action proceeded and it was in one of the standing exchanges that Jansen was able to score his two points off of a single leg takedown. He went on to secure a few more advantages from passing attempts and a back attack to secure the title against a very game opponent.
The Masters BJJ Stars middleweight title between Jaime Canuto and Piter Frank was another barn burner of a match where we saw Jaime leave with his hand raised via sweep, but with a likely broken foot after Frank spent a good two minutes with a straight ankle lock / Aoki lock fully locked with a gruesome bend. Jaime remained stoic and was able to steal the title from Piter though both gentleman gave it their all for the fans.
Below are the results of all the matches that took place at BJJ Stars.
SUPERFIGHTS:
– Izadora Cristina def. Leticia Cardoso via 4×2
– Rafael Paganini def. Marco Aurelio Queiroz via 5×0
– Tayane Porfirio def. Giovanna Jara via 7×0
– Jaime Canuto def. Piter Frank via 2×0 (Masters 82kg title)
– Jansen Gomes def. Fellipe Andrew via 2×0 (Adult 88kg title)
FEATHERWEIGHT GRAND PRIX
– Fabricio Andrey def. Malachi Edmond via 11×4
– Meyram Maquine def. Cleber Sousa via flying armbar
– Diego Sodre def. Israel Sousa via 7×2
– Kennedy Maciel def. Kaua Gabriel via 4×0
– Fabricio Andrey def. Diego Sodre via advantages (2×2 pts)
– Meyram Maquine def. Kennedy Maciel via advantages (0x0 pts)
– Fabricio Andrey def. Meyram Maquine via 4×2
