Full Results from Copa Podium’s 2016 Lightweight Grand Prix. With a card filled with the top competitors in the division and the new generation of black belts, the big winner of he event were the fans, who witnessed impressive performances from all athletes. The event also supported the “Cabras da Peste” vs “Vikings”.
Suyan Queiroz is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Master Carlson Gracie, and one of the main lightweight competitors of the late 1990s/early 2000s era, having beaten big names of the sport such as Jefferson Moura, Leonardo Peçanha, Leonardo Santos, Raphael Abi-Rihan among many others. Queiroz is also revered for his work in Abu Dhabi, helping establish one of the most important grappling programs on the jiu jitsu world.
Luigi Mondelli is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under André “Deco” Almeida, being widely recognized as one of the top grappling instructors in the US. Mondelli has also been praised for his work with mixed martial arts (MMA) athletes from both American Top Team (ATT) and John Hackleman’s “The Pit”, with the mediatic Glover Teixeira being his most well known pupil. Luigi Mondelli is also the founder of Kore Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, an association that works to reintegrate jiu jitsu with the techniques of judo and wrestling.
Ricco Rodriguez is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Jean Jacques Machado, and an important figure in the history of the sport, being the first U.S. national to earn an ADCC gold medal (1998), and the 2nd American to earn a world title in Jiu Jitsu (1997). Rodriguez was also an important figure in the world of mixed martial arts (MMA) where he became the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Heavyweight Champion, though his career is also a controversial one, being the first MMA fighter ever to be suspended by the athletic commission for the use of cocaine.
Elan Santiago is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under the illustrious Mauro Chueng, being known in the world of grappling for his incredible work as a coach, where he developed competitors such as Lucas Lepri, Tiago Rocha, Gabriel Goulart, Rodrigo “Akilis” and many others. Santiago is also recognized as a pioneer in the Brazilian region of “Triângulo Mineiro” and for his involvement with the social project of “Sonho do Beija-Flor”.
Tanner Rice is a jiu jitsu black belt under “Cobrinha”, who became known as the first American born athlete to be promoted by the respected Alliance coach. Rice earned the rank at the age of 19, after winning the 2012 IBJJF world title, being at the time the youngest US native to achieve this deed. Later that year, in his black belt debut, Rice defeated two of the sport’s biggest names cementing his name as one of the most talented athletes in his division.
Hiago George is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under the illustrious Cícero Costha as well as Fabio Medeiros, being also one of the most accomplished featherweight competitors of his generation. Hiago made a name for himself competing mainly in the Brazilian grappling circuit, where he conquered numerous important titles.
Karen Antunes is a jiu jitsu black belt under Mayko Araújo, being also one of the top athletes in the sport’s female lightweight class. Antunes paved her way to the big leagues of the sport in the lower belt divisions, where she conquered 3 IBJJF world titles among many other important placements. However, it was her performance at the prestigious Five Super League tournament on August 2015
Knowing the UFC as the gold standard in MMA, we decided to strip down a few of the organization’s stats – particularly those regarding grappling, displaying them here for the grappling audience to analyse.
After an amazing year where he won two black belt world titles, we got together with Gabriel “Fedor” Lucas and asked him some questions about his jiu jitsu life.
A take on some of the struggles of female athletes in the sport of Brazilian jiu jitsu, from lack of sponsorship to advice from some of the leading figures of the sport regarding the subject.
The “Jiu Jitsu Dirty Dozen” is a name often used to describe the pioneers of the Brazilian grappling style outside its country of origin. Find out who these extraordinary gentlemen were here.
Garry Tonon reigns supreme once again at the Eddie Bravo Invitational, this time stealing the lightweight crown of the popular grappling tournament. After winning the welterweight title on two occasions (2013 & 2014), the famous Tom DeBlass & John Danaher pupil displayed his versatility and his willingness to push the boundaries of jiu jitsu with a variety of submissions, from chokes to upper and lower limb finishes.
Full results of the black belt adult divisions at the IBJJF Irvine Open, a jiu jitsu tournament that gathered the interest of some of the top grapplers in the sport.
Isaac Doederlein is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt under Rubens Charles “Cobrinha”, who also trained extensively with Wellington “Megaton” Dias during his first years in the sport. Doederlein made a name for himself in the sport’s lower belt divisions, from blue belt onwards, making use of a highly dynamic ground game, one that earned him numerous medals and loyal fans across the grappling globe.
With our calendar approaching the end of 2015, and considering all the big tournaments are now behind us, we went back in time to rescue some of this year’s most incredible exchanges.
Mansher Khera, also known as “Munch” is a Brazilian jiu jitsu black belt of Sikh descent, being the first grappler produced from white to black belt by the legendary Marcelo Garcia. Khera arrived at the black belt division midway through 2015 being already regarded as one of the hottest prospects in the sport, mainly due to his incredible lower belt campaigns where he earned four World No-Gi titles (2013 and 2014 weight + absolute). He immediately cemented his status as one of the top lightweights in the world with solid performances at tournaments such as the IBJJF Boca Raton Open and the World No-Gi Championship.
Since the 2014 IBJJF World Championship the “word on the street” was that we had seen the last of of Rodolfo Vieira in a gi. Unfortunately for us, the fans, the prophecy was not wrong and as expected the 5x World Champion has finally set his mixed martial arts (MMA) debut for the fall of 2016 with the Japanese promotion Real Fight Championship (RFC).
We just finished watching the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tour, and it is safe to say it has been everything we had hoped for. …
Wander Braga is a Brazilian jiu jitsu (BJJ) black belt under Jorge Pereira, being one of the most well known competitors in the BJJ and vale-tudo (NHB) circuit during the mid 1990’s and early 2000’s decades. Wander Braga is also revered for his coaching success, having co-founded the famous Big Brother team and formed high calibre grappling competitors such as Gabriel Gonzaga.
