SATURDAY, 4th OF MAY, 2019 was the date set for the adult black belt division to enter the CBJJ (the Brazilian arm of the IBJJF) Brazilian National Championship, also known as the Brasileiro. The event was regarded as the 2nd most important jiu-jitsu tournament in the world back in the 1990s and 2000s, having lost some of its steam in the past decade. That, however, seems to be behind the Brasileiro, as over the past couple of years the competition gained strength not only in numbers of athletes (it has always been the most stacked BJJ event on the sport’s calendar in that regard) but in numbers of high profile athletes.
Signed on to this year’s tournament were names such as the Miyao brothers, Isaac Doederlein, Nicholas Meregali, Kaynan Duarte, Cyborg Abreu, Horlando Monteiro, Hugo Marques, Claudio Calasans, Victor Honório, Rudson Mateus and many, many more.
ABSOLUTE DIVISION
The main attraction today was the open weight division and it did not disappoint. More talent gathered than possibly any pro event we have seen in recent memory, this division had nearly every match worthy of a super-fight headliner. Out of the athletes who did not make it to the final, we would like to reference two black belt debuts that made a few heads turn. Those were the performances of Pedro Elias and Eduardo Lopes (Duzão). Elias had solid performances throughout the event, though his armlock submission win over one of the event’s favorites, Horlando Monteiro, showed just how good this young New School Brotherhood talent is.
Lopes, on the other hand, went on to beat the Brazilian National Judo Team player Felipe Bezerra and Victor Honório. Two very very tough matches he conquered by the skin of his teeth. Lopes would lose in the semi-final to Rudson Mateus by 2 advantages to 1.
Another tremendous performance was that of Nicholas Meregali (Alliance) who submitted every single competitor who stood in front of him. This included the Atos prodigy, Kaynan Duarte in the semi-final with a choke from the back. Kaynan who himself had submitted everyone in his path, prior to Nicholas, including the incredibly tough Cicero Costha student Hygor Brito and Zenith’s Fellipe Andrew.
1/4 Finals:
Kaynan Duarte def. Fellipe Andrew by RNC
Nicholas Meregali def. Pedro Elias by double collar choke from the back
Eduardo Lopes def. Victor Honório by DQ (stalling)
Rudson Mateus def. Igor Schneider by double collar choke from the back
Semi-Finals:
Rudson Mateusdef. Eduardo Lopes 0x0, 2×1 adv
Nicholas Meregali def. Kaynan Duarte by double collar choke from the back
Final (set for tomorrow):
Nicholas Meregali vs Rudson Mateus
