One of the strongest jiu jitsu weeks we’ve seen all year, the weekend of October 22/23, 2016 saw 3 very strong and successful tournaments select their champions.
In Sao Paulo we witnessed the Copa Podio Heavyweight GP crown Leandro Lo as it’s king, while just a few hours later the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam – Tokyo chose Mackenzie Dern as its queen in Japan. As all this was unravelling, the CBJJ held one of its most important tournaments in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil. The XVIII No-Gi Nationals, which gathered 1000’s of athletes and the top jiu jitsu black belts in the country, who travelled across state lines for a chance to claim the title of Brazilian champ.
Below are the results of the Brasileiro de Jiu Jitsu Sem Quimono, AKA: Brazilian No-Gi Nationals.
ROOSTER – 55,5KG
1ST Raul Gomes Marcello
2ND Victor Gomes
The smallest division in the tournament saw Ribeiro Jiu Jitsu athlete and 2016 World Masters champion, Raul Gomes Marcello defeat GF Team‘s Victor Gomes.
LIGHT FEATHER – 61.5KG
1ST Hiago George
2ND Kelvyn Pontes
3RD Luiz Andrade
3RD Jose Carlos Lima
Closing the chapter on his first year at black belt, Hiago George has been nothing short of impressive. The Cicero Costha prospect won the Sao Paulo Open, Brazilian Nationals (gi), Abu Dhabi World Pro, European Open and medalled at the Worlds and Pan Ams. The sky’s the limit for Hiago who proved his superiority last weekend by submitting all opponents.
FEATHER – 67.5KG
1ST Isaque Paiva
2ND Bruno Celio
3RD Raphael Cadena
3RD Kaio Fonseca
The team Saikoo star Isaque once again proving that he is almost unstoppable at this weight class in his home country. Paiva had a tough time defeating Raphael Cadena of A2 JJ, whom he beat on advantages, taking the rest of his adversaries out by submission.
LIGHT – 73.5KG
1ST Kim Terra
2ND Fabio Caloi
3RD Herbert Burns
3RD Renan Sancar
Loads of hot talent in this weight class, arguably the strongest division in the tournament with undefeated MMA fighter and One Fc star Herbert Burns, Claudio Calasans top pupil Renan Sancar, Alliance RJ’s Rodrigo ‘Akilis’ and many others showing up to test their skills.
In the end it was the crafty veteran Kim Terra who proved to be at the top of his game, submitting Renan Sancar and beating the always tough Fabio Caloi on points in the final. Terra and Caloi would prove their good form with strong performances in the open weight class as well.
MIDDLE – 79,5KG
1ST Edson Oliveira
2ND Phillip Franca
3RD José Greco Júnior
3RD Matheus da Costa
The newly promoted Fabio Gurgel black belt proved worthy of his promotion in his very first major challenge at black belt. Everyone suspected Edson de Oliveira was the real deal, but this win in a very tight division proves it unequivocally.
MEDIUM HEAVY – 85,5KG
1ST Claudio Mattos ‘Caloquinha’
2ND Diego Ramalho
3RD Gabriel Procópio
3RD Ruan Oliveira
Caloquinha seems to be getting better with each passing year. Going on 11 years as a black belt, this ‘Draculino’ student is still as dominant as he was when he started. With fantastic performances in the quarter and semi finals, Mattos didn’t need to compete in the final due to Ramalho’s forfeiting the match. Injured as he was in his semi final match against the talented Ruan Oliveira of Soul Fighters.
HEAVY – 91,5KG
1ST Dimitrius Souza
2ND Victor Bomfim
3RD Wesley Lobo
3RD Bruno Cuppari
Alliance winning another gold. One of the most dominant heavyweights in Brazil today, Dimitrius Souza repeated last year’s deed at heavyweight, doing so through some fantastic matches, particularly against GF Team‘s Victor Bomfim, going on to show the same at the open weight division (see below).
SUPER HEAVY – 97,5KG
1ST Max Gimenis
2ND Leonardo Maciel
3RD Christofer Feijó
3RD Bruno Souza
The mega talented Max Gimenis finally settling in his black belt boots. A dominant performance by the GFTeam prospect, who closed the final with his team mate Leo Maciel. Maciel had solid performances as well and was very deserving of his podium placement.
ULTRA-HEAVY – over 97,5KG
1ST Antonio Nascimento
2ND Otavio Serafim
3RD Otávio Coutinho
3RD Diego Braz
Another strong performance for a GF Team heavyweight. The team that seems to produce high level heavyweights faster than any other academy in the world. Nascimento defeated a very experienced Otavio Serafim, whom many saw as the favorite to win the tournament.
OPEN WEIGHT
1ST Dimitrius Souza
2ND Max Gimenis
3RD Kim Terra
3RD Fabio Caloi
Another stunning performance by Dimitrius Souza, who wins double gold at the No-Gi Nationals. Souza mentioned he will be at the World No-Gi next month, so watch out for this Sao Paulo prospect there.
Strong performances by the lightweights Kim Terra and Fabio Caloi, who defeated much larger men in the absolute division, including a submission win by Terra over the ultra heavyweight Otavio Serafim (armbar).
FEMALE DIVISION
Another poor showing in the female divisions, just 3 athletes across all weight classes. The mega talented Bia Mesquita took both gold medals (weight + absolute) with ease.
Original cover photo by Sport Pixel.
