LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES, this weekend, on the 13th of November 2021, Sin City was the capital of jiu-jitsu thanks to the International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) who held a true grappling celebration in the famous American city. The multi-faceted event, named the Jiu-Jitsu Convention produced three gigantic tournaments destined to celebrate the sport while also serving as a tune-up for the athletes who are currently gearing up for the IBJJF World Championships next month.
The aforementioned 3 events set for this weekend were nonother than the Masters’ World Championships (designed athletes above the 30-years-of-age), the IBJJF Grand Prix (see results here), and the Jiu-Jitsu CON tournament which we are reporting in this article. Set as a warm-up for the big world tournament the Jiu-Jitsu CON Championship was an open style tournament and it gathered many of our sports top competitors across all weight classes.
Out of many outstanding performances, one that truly stood out was that of Isaac Doederlein. Arguably the most underrated grappler in the world, Doederlein proves time and time again that he is destined for greatness. In a very tough featherweight weight class that featured names such as Samuel Nagai, Brian Mahecha, Damion Oranday, Matheus Onda, and Diego Pato, it was Doederlein who prevailed, beating the talented Diego Pato in the final on advantages.
Equally impressive was Mathias Luna of Checkmat La Habra whose flashy grappling style saw him through a tough middleweight tournament. Luna went through the very tough Caio Caetano (Leandro Lo black belt) via triangle, then a tough win over Double Five’s star athlete Eduardo Avelar via advantages, and finally another war against Unity’s Italo Moura won by 2 points.
On the heavier brackets, GF Team’s Max Gimenis continues showing a perfect mix of technique and power. The ultra-heavyweight closed his weight class with teammate Davi Cabral and then dominated the open-weight class with three matches. Two cross choke submissions and a guard passing class in the final against the superb guard player that is Italo Moura.
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT-FEATHER
#1 Jordan Vaisman (Gracie Barra)
#2 Carlos Alberto Oliveira (GF Team)
#3 Vincent Saenz (Six Blades)
#3 Yuta Shimada (Alliance)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Isaac Doederlein (Alliance)
#2 Diego Oliveira “Pato” (Unity / PSLPB)
#3 Matheus Onda (Barbosa)
#3 Samuel Nagai (Checkmat)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Johnatha Alves (AOJ)
#2 Pablo Lavaselli (Renzo Gracie Orlando)
#3 Arthur Detânico (JA Jiu-Jitsu)
#3 Daniel Diniz (CheckMat)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Mathias Luna (CheckMat)
#2 Italo Moura (Unity)
#3 Eduardo Avelar (Double Five)
#3 Lucas Valle (R1NG)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Rodrigo Lopes Martins (Double Five)
#2 Thiago Cesar (Unique Logic)
#3 Alexander Scott Lane (BJJ Revolution)
#3 Lucas Laet (GF Team)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Rafael Vasconcelos (Atos)
#2 Murilo Santana (Unity)
#3 Alika Angerman (Honeybadger)
#3 Marlon Tanaka (316 BJJ)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / SUPER-HEAVY
#1 Jackson Douglas (CheckMat)
#2 Arnaldo Maidana (CheckMat)
#3 Dany Gerard (Atos)
#3 Gabriel Araujo (GF Team)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / ULTRA-HEAVY
#1 Max Gimenis (GF Team)
#2 Davi Cabral (GF Team)
#3 Jose Inacio (SAS Team)
#3 Rhenan Silva (Carlson Gracie)
MALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Max Gimenis (GF Team)
#2 Italo Moura (Unity)
#3 Diego Oliveira “Pato” (Unity / PSLPB)
#3 João Matos (Gracie Humaita)
One of the most interesting weight classes at the JJ CON was the female, adult, black belt, medium-heavyweight division. A category won by the talented Fernanda Cristo. This was the first time we saw Cristo compete at the black belt level, and the first time we had seen the talented Brazilian-Japanese grappler fight since her gold medal performance at the purple belt division of the 2020 European Open. This weekend Fernanda won a tough medium-heavyweight division and went on to place 3rd in the absolute. Another talented medium-heavyweight to take note from the JJC was Chloe McNally, who also double-medaled with a bronze and a silver (open-weight). The future is bright at 74-kilograms (163.6 lbs).
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT-FEATHER
#1 Ann Kneib (Gracie Humaita)
#2 Lavinia Barbosa (CheckMat)
#3 Dorothy Dao (Ralph Gracie Berkeley)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / FEATHER
#1 Tammi Musumeci (Pedigo SF)
#2 Larissa Campos (Gracie Humaita)
#3 Raquel Torres (Gracie Humaita)
#3 Sophia Flores (AOJ)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / LIGHT
#1 Nathalie Ribeiro (CheckMat)
#2 Janaina Maia (Gracie Humaita)
#3 Talia Vaughan (Cascao)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MIDDLE
#1 Vannessa Griffin (Crazy 88)
#2 Claire North (TAC Team)
#3 Hannah Rauch (Gracie Humaita)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / MEDIUM-HEAVY
#1 Fernanda Cristo (Evox)
#2 Akeela Al-Hameed (Pedro Sauer)
#3 Chloé McNally (Unity)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / HEAVY
#1 Maria Malyjasiak (Abmar Barbosa)
#2 Fernanda Mazzelli (Striker)
FEMALE / ADULT / BLACK / OPEN CLASS
#1 Fernanda Mazzelli (Striker)
#2 Chloé McNally (Unity)
#3 Fernanda Cristo (Evox)
#3 Hannah Rauch (Gracie Humaita)
