FEBRUARY 15, 2021, CURITIBA, BRAZIL. This weekend we had the pleasure of witnessing the AJP Tour’s Brazilian National Pro, the well-respected federation’s version of the Brazilian Nationals. As expected, the tournament featured some of the country’s most prominent athletes, who traveled from Brazil’s jiu-jitsu hotspots of Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, and Manaus to compete in Parana’s state capital.
GUALBERTO CONTINUES UNBEATEN RUN
The standout of the tournament, at the black belt level, was Lucas Gualberto. The Dream Art athlete is yet to concede a point at the black belt level in 14 matches against top-shelf competition. In Curitiba, Lucas had 3 matches where he beat the always “game”, GF Team veteran, Bruno Tosto via 5×0, Paulo Ariozi by kimura lock, and the tough Pedro Pimenta of São Paulo’s Morumbi Academy by a tight 1×0 score. We can’t point to a single time in the tournament where Lucas’s gi looked out of place, that is how clean and tight Gualberto’s grappling looked. Outstanding!
GF TEAM CONTINUES TO CRUSH
As per usual, Rio de Janeiro’s GF Team continued to prove its worth at a national level. After Gabriel Gaudio showed promise in the 62-kilogram division, it was time for Israel Sousa to shine. Without a doubt one of the most underrated featherweights in the world today, Israel dominated at 69-kg, meeting the accomplished Alex Sodré of Clube Feijão (NU) in the final. The match between two of the country’s finest black belts did not disappoint, a fiery match that ended with Sousa’s hand raised after a 5×2 score.
Although missing its brightest current star at ultra-heavy – Gutemberg Pereira – GF Team still managed to pull off a gold and silver medal at 120 kilograms. The big-name here was the team’s Wallace Costa, an athlete who’s been tearing up the pesadíssimo‘s as of late, being on a 13 match win streak.
LIKE A PHOENIX, LAMBERTUCCI RISES FROM THE ASHES
Seen as one of Brazil’s most talented heavyweights only a couple of years ago, Felipe Pena’s student, Guilherme Lambertucci almost fell through the cracks of the sport, after a severe injury nearly forced him to quit his professional jiu-jitsu career. Given all he’s gone through, it was with great pleasure that we saw him return to the mats and prove he is still a force after his recent black belt promotion.
Playing mostly from his back, Guilherme was able to impose his technical guard game in all the 3 matches he had in the 94-kilogram division, taking home two submissions wins on his way to a gold medal. Fantastic performance.
FEMALE HEAVYWEIGHT ON THE RISE, INGRIDD ALVES
Competing out of Fortaleza, Ingridd Alves has had quite an impressive black belt career. This weekend, Alves conquered the 95-kilogram division, dominating both her matches against two game opponents, being the female performance of the tournament.
62KG DIVISION
#1 Lucas Pinheiro (Atos)
#2 Gabriel Gaudio (GFT)
#3 Cleber Sousa (Almeida JJ)
Final: Lucas Pinheiro DEF. Gabriel Gaudio via 2×1
69KG DIVISION
#1 Israel Sousa (GFT)
#2 Alex Sodré (Nova União)
#3 Leandro Lima (Sapo Team)
Final: Israel Sousa DEF. Alex Sodré via 5×2
77KG DIVISION
#1 Raúl Basílio (Almeida JJ)
#2 Yan Silveira (Rilion Gracie)
#3 Lucas Alves (Alliance SP)
Final: Raúl Basílio DEF. Yan Silveira via decision (0x0)
85KG DIVISION
#1 Lucas Gualberto (Dream Art)
#2 Pedro Pimenta (Morumbi)
#3 Alexandre Vieira (Checkmat)
Final: Lucas Gualberto DEF. Pedro Pimenta via 1×0
94KG DIVISION
#1 Guilherme Lambertucci (Felipe Pena)
#2 Nicholas Favaretto (Alliance)
#3 Tyrone Gonsalves (Six Blades)
Final: Guilherme Lambertucci DEF. Nicholas Favaretto via submission
120KG DIVISION
#1 Wallace Costa (GFT)
#2 Davi Cabral (GFT)
#3 Henrique Marcos (Nova União)
Final: Wallace Costa DEF. Davi Cabral via bread cutter choke
49KG DIVISION
#1 Maria Ono (Match Champ)
#2 Brenda Larissa (Alliance SP)
#3 Jazmin Hamuy (Cohab Chile)
Final: Maria Ono DEF. Brenda Larissa via 2×1
55KG DIVISION
#1 Thaina Freitas (GFT)
#2 Tine Scheldeman (PSLPB)
#3 (two person division)
Final: Thaina DEF. Tine Scheldeman via 1×0
62KG DIVISION
#1 Natalia Zumba (Alliance)
#2 Jessika Bartoli (Checkmat)
#3 Luciane Silva (Checkmat)
Final: Natalia Zumba DEF. Jessika Bartoli via submission
70KG DIVISION
#1 Ludmila Araujo (Nova União)
#2 Liandra Tavares (Arurum)
#3 Maria Souza (GFT)
Final: Ludmila Araujo DEF. Liandra Tavares via 7×0
95KG DIVISION
#1 Ingridd Alves (NS Brotherhood)
#2 Ana Paula Prates (GB)
#3 Anna Negri (The Match)
Final: Ingridd Alves DEF. Ana Prates via triangle
ABSOLUTE
#1 Ingridd Alves (NS Brotherhood)
#2 Liandra Tavares (Arurum)
#3 Luciane Silva (Checkmat)
Final: Ingridd Alves DEF. Liandra Tavares via loop choke
