OCTOBER 20, 2019 – São Paulo, Brazil, set the scenery for another important landmark in jiu-jitsu, the second edition of the BJJ Stars Grand Prix Super 8 event, which featured an array of high-level super fights and a fantastic open weight GP line-up with 8 athletes, 4 of which currently holding IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu titles.
The BJJ Stars promotion came to fill a huge vacuum that existed in jiu-jitsu, which was that of a top-shelf event fully dedicated to the gi, and it delivered in droves, this was felt particularly by the numbers in attendance, a packed house and a very loud one at that. One of the interesting additions to the more established gi ruleset was the inclusion of the “last to score” rule, a rule that is used in freestyle wrestling where, if the match ends in a draw, the last athlete to score a point/advantage will take the win.
The Grand Prix did not have a shortage of excitement, fun matches all-round, maybe with the exception of Leandro Lo x Dimitrius Souza – though even that had a few interesting exchanges. If we were to give a Fight Of The Night award, we would be inclined to point at Nicholas Meregali (Alliance – Mario Reis) vs Victor Hugo (Ribeiro JJ), where the relentless pace set by the famous “Alemão” forced Hugo to exhaust all his resources early on. Meregali would go on to overwhelm the talented, newly promoted black belt and win on points in a very good fight. Another big performance was Gustavo Batista’s against Jackson Sousa. Batista, AKA “Braguinha” completely took Sousa out of his comfort zone by being a bully, moving forward and setting the pace while making it hard for Jackson to use his traditional counter-attacking style. Batista who defeated his former instructor, the man who promoted him to black belt – Leandro Lo by using a very similar tactic, not allowing Lo to use his slow-cooking style.
In fact, not only did Nicholas and Gustavo have the most entertaining matches of the night, they also displayed a perfect style for a professional event, throughout the grand prix. Forward moving jiu-jitsu, sharp technique, and endless gas tanks.
Adult Matches
– Luis Marques def. Adriano “Grifo” by 13×0
– Bianca Basílio def. Ana Carolina Schmitt by straight ankle lock
Legends Matches
– Gustavo Ximú def. Roberto Godoi by 2×0
– Marco Barbosa def. Admilson Brites (Juquinha) by 6×2
Quarter Finals:
– Nicholas Meregali def. Victor Hugo by 6×2 pts
– Gustavo Batista def. Jackson Sousa by 16×0 pts
– Lucas Barbosa def. Rudson Mateus by katagatame
– Leandro Lo def. Dimitrius Souza by 0x0 pts, 5×0 adv
Semi-Finals:
– Gustavo Batista def. Leandro Lo by 0x0 pts, 3×1 adv
– Nicholas Meregali def. Lucas Barbosa by 9×0 pts
Final:
– Nicholas Meregali def. Gustavo Batista by kimura
3rd Place Match:
– No third-place bout as Leandro Lo chose to forfeit the match.
