JANUARY 30, 2022, AUSTIN, TEXAS, USA marked the return of the IBJJF to American territory, the international jiu-jitsu federation’s first visit to American soil in the year 2022. Set in the current US capital state of grappling, the Austin Winter Open did not capture as much interest from the athletes as we would have expected for the first big tournament of the year. Nevertheless, despite the low numbers of challengers, we did get to see a few of the top gi-grapplers in the country perform.
OSAMAH ALMARWAI VICTORIOUS IN BLACK BELT DEBUT
One of André Galvão’s most entertaining new black belts, Mr. Osamah showed up in terrific form for the roosterweight division. Although with a tough challenge in his first match, where he faced the dangerous veteran Dustin Ordinario, Almarwai showed how prepared he is for his new rank with a very dominant win by 14 points to zero. Osamah went on to add another dominant win over Dean Lewis via submission for a flawless tournament debut.
MURASAKI FALLS ON ROUND 1 WHILE FORMER TEAMMATES MATHEUS GALVÃO & EDUARDO AVELAR DOMINATE
One of the rising stars of the Soul Fighters crew, Matheus Galvão continues to impress with another very strong performance. Galvão took out Victor Junqueira decisively, then the famous veteran Megaton, and João Bisnaga of Atos. All very worthy opponents. Also inspired was Eduardo Avelar, Matheus’ former teammate who took out a gold medal in the middleweight division.
The upset of the tournament’s 82-kilogram division was the loss of Andy Murasaki, one of the stars of the Atos squad, in the first round of the event. The Brazilian came up short against Cassio Francis’ student, Matheus Oliveira of Gracie Barra. Oliveira would later lose to the division’s champion, Eduardo Avelar via advantages.
HORLANDO MONTEIRO VICTORIOUS AFTER OVER 1 YEAR ABSENCE FROM THE TOURNAMENT SCENE
The submission machine that is Horlando Monteiro had a seriously long absence from competition, taking hiatus for all of 2021 (and a bit of 2020), but we were happy to see his killer instinct is still very much on point. After an absolute war with Lucas Lisboa of Cicero Costha, one where he had to dig deep to win, Monteiro went on to submit Juan Romero with his patented triangle.
DOUBLE GOLD FOR RONALDO JUNIOR & MELISSA CUETO
Dominant showings by both Atos’ Ronaldo Junior and Melissa Cueto of Alliance, two Brazilians currently stationed in San Diego, California. Junior had 5 matches, taking out all his opponents with double-digit points on the scoreboard, the exception was the open-weight final against Arthur Detânico. Ronaldo Junior also finished two of his adversaries. Melissa, on the other hand, had an easier afternoon. With no matches in her weight class, Cueto went on to have 3 very fun matches in the open-weight class, showing once again why she is widely regarded as one of the top competitors in the sport today.
MALE / BLACK / ROOSTER
#1 Osamah Almarwai (Atos)
#2 Dean Lewis (Alliance)
#3 Dustin Ordinario (Pablo Silva)
#3 Jorge Vasquez (LEAD)
MALE / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Carlos Alberto Oliveira (GF Team)
#2 Thiago Macedo (Rodrigo Pinheiro)
MALE / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Matheus Galvão (Soul Fighters)
#2 João Mendes “Bisnaga” (Atos)
#3 Arthur Detânico (JA)
#3 Wellington Dias “Megaton” (Gracie Humaita)
MALE / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Eduardo Avelar (Double Five)
#2 Celso Ricardo (Carlson Gracie)
#3 Matheus Oliveira (Gracie Barra)
#3 Rehan Muttalib (Alliance)
MALE / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Ronaldo Júnior (Atos)
#2 William Durkee (Fight Sports)
#3 Patrick Almeida (Patrick Almeida JJ)
MALE / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Horlando Monteiro (Kimura)
#2 Juan Romero (Gracie Barra)
#3 Brett Ueunten (CTA)
#3 Lucas Lisboa (Cicero Costha)
MALE / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Davi Cabral (GF Team)
#2 Jae McIntosh (Killer Bees)
#3 Antonio Zuazo (Six Blades)
#3 Charles Mcguire (ATT)
MALE / BLACK / ULTRA-HEAVY
#1 Orlando Baccino (Fight Sports)
#2 Robert Hatcher Jr. (316 BJJ)
MALE / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Ronaldo Júnior (Atos)
#2 Arthur Detânico (JA)
#3 Clay Mayfield (Pedigo SF)
#3 Matheus Galvão (Soul Fighters)
FEMALE / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Andreza Sousa (Ares)
#2 Patrícia Machado (BTT)
FEMALE / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Mônica Bezerra (Rodrigo Pinheiro)
#2 Rachel Nelson (Team Robson Moura)
FEMALE / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Danielle Alvarez (LEAD)
#2 Laurah Hallock (GF Team)
FEMALE / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Jordan Patrick (Triton)
#2 Silvia Araujo (Cicero Costha)
FEMALE / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Melissa Cueto (Alliance)
FEMALE / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Jessica Guedry (Paragon)
FEMALE / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Melissa Cueto (Alliance)
#2 Jordan Patrick (Triton)
#3 Patrícia Machado (BTT)
#3 Silvia Araujo (Cicero Costha)
