Another edition of Copa Pódio, one of jiu jitsu’s most prestigious events. The Heavyweight Grand Prix held in Sao Paulo – Brazil, was the final chapter in the promotion’s 4th season, gathering some of the sport’s top athletes including 5x world champion Leandro Lo, Rodrigo Cavaca , Alexander Tráns and Erberth Santos to name a few.
The event was not without controversy. On the final match of the green group, the injured Erberth Santos forfeited his match against Leandro Lo believing he would still get access to the semi finals (he had already secured his 2nd place during the previous matches by accumulating enough points). The injury on his knee, which happened during his match against Alliance brown belt Isaque Bahiense, had put him in check and he decided to spare it for the next rounds.
Erberth found out a few minutes later, that relinquishing the final group match had cost him his placing in the semis, which was then passed on to 3rd placed competitor Fellipe Trovo – a crafty brown belt under André Ushirobira. Santos was heartbroken and tried to get his gi back to make it to the mat, but the decision had already been announced and it was final. A sad moment for the Almeida JJ prospect.
Fellipe Trovo was a revelation in the tournament. One of the craftiest guard players in the brown belt heavyweight division, Trovo caught a few of his fellow competitors off guard. Putting on a real spectacle of transitions and submission attempts, that got him through to the semi finals.
Another big star to emerge from this heavyweight GP was the Portuguese: Nelton Pontes. The man from Setúbal brought his much improved ‘A game’ to Sao Paulo, putting on a serious performance against jiu jitsu superstar Leandro Lo, dragging the 5x world champion in deep waters, losing in the final moments of the semis match by 1 advantage. Pontes went on to win his 3rd place match, earning a spot on the podium.
But the true star of Copa Podio was once again Leandro Lo. Since his first title back in 2013, Lo has been trying to conquer all 3 weight classes of the organisation. He finally did it this year, doing so winning all his matches and without conceding one single point in this heavyweight division. Incredible year for the New School Brotherhood leader.
Venue:
GINÁSIO DO CLUBE SÍRIO
1 Ceci Avenue – Planalto Paulista
Date:
October 23, 2016
YELLOW GROUP
Rodrigo Cavaca drew with Diego Borges (0x0)
Nelton Pontes beat Gabriel Lucas by 2×0 pts
Diego Borges defeated Gabriel Lucas by 4×0 pts
Alexander Trans defeated Nelton Pontes by 6×0 pts
Nelton Pontes defeated Diego Borges by 2×0 pts
Alexander Trans defeated Rodrigo Cavaca 2×0 pts
Rodrigo Cavaca defeated Nelton Pontes by 1 advantage – 0x0 pts
Alexander Trans defeated Gabriel Lucas by 9×0 pts
Alexander Trans defeated Diego Borges by 6×0 pts
Gabriel Lucas defeated Rodrigo Cavaca by 3×2 pts
GREEN GROUP
Leandro Lo defeated I. Bahiense by 2×0 pts
Erberth Santos defeated Cassio Francis by advantages – 0x0pts
Leandro Lo defeated Cassio Francis by Toe hold
Fellipe Trovo defeated Isaque Bahiense by Mounted triangle
Erberth Santos defeated Fellipe Trovo by Toe hold
Isaque Bahiense defeated Cassio Francis by 5×2 pts
Erberth Santos defeated I. Bahiense by advantages – 0x0 pts
Leandro Lo defeated F. Trovo by 8×0 pts
Fellipe Trovo defeated Cassio Francis by WO (injured)
Leandro Lo defeated Erberth Santos by WO (injured)
SEMI FINALS
Alexander Trans defeated Fellipe Trovo by 2×0 pts
Leandro Lo defeated Nelton Pontes by 2×1 advantages – 0x0 pts
3RD PLACE MATCH
Nelton Pontes defeated Fellipe Trovo on ‘golden score’ (3×0) after a draw at 6mins.
FINAL
Leandro Lo defeated Alexander Trans by 2×0 pts
Mathiesen and Langaker from Norway paired up with Finland’s Tuukkanen for the viking team, against the Australian team. Results went as follows:
Espen Mathiesen defeated Ben Hodgkinson by 2×0 pts
Tommy Langaker defeated Vicente Cavalcanti by choke from the back (slide in collar choke)
Livia Gluchowska defeated Emilia Tuukkanen by 2×0 pts
