Unless you are very plugged into the tournaments going on in Brazil right now last weekend featured the 2015 Brasileiro tournament which is kind of a big deal. Unfortunately unless you were there or have been able to see some of the posted matches it's a bit difficult to stay on top of the results. One match that jumped out at me as very impressive is that of fairly new Black Belt Luan Carvalho (Nova Uniao) over Alliance powerhouse Michael Langhi! Note this was a semifinal and a real nail biter but most did not expect this result. Luan would go on to win the division and I can imagine this is the biggest win of his career. I would definitely keep an eye on this prospect in the Leve (Light) division at future events!
After taking a year off from doing any big tournament articles I got the pre-Pan excitement. I am really looking forward to the tournament that seems to get bigger every year with each division getting more stacked from lower belts all the way through black belt. Tournament info can be found here: http://ibjjf.org/championship/pan-jiu-jitsu-championship/
This preview will focus on divisions that interest me and/or I feel like I know enough about the competitors to make comments.
Brown / Adult / Male / Light Feather 2014 Champ - Andris Brunovskis (Atos)
This is actually a pretty stacked division with some exciting guys to watch and picking a winner is difficult. Michael Musumeci, Ostap Manastyrski, Woolf Barnato, and Darson Hemmings are my personal favorites in this division. Woolf came up short and finished second in 2014.
My prediction: Woolf Barnato (Ralph Gracie)
Brown / Adult / Male / Feather 2014 Champ - Fabio Caloi (Alliance)
Watch for Isaac Doederlein and Rick Slomba (Atos) will be big contenders. Slomba is coming off a big year but Doederlein is likely to claim the title this year. My pick: Isaac Doederlein (Alliance)
Brown / Adult / Male / Middle 2014 Champ - Dillion Danis (Alliance)
Marcelo Garcia protege has to be the favorite to reclaim his title this year.
Brown / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy 2014 Champ - Manuel Diaz (Brasa CTA)
Reigning champ Manny "Beats" Diaz was promoted to black belt late last year making way for some new blood this year. Another Marcelo Garcia protege, Matheus Diniz (Alliance) will be a big favorite this year. Don't overlook Cyborg's sutdent Hunter Ewald (Fight Sports) as he is a gamer. These two would make for a great final.
My pick: Matheus Diniz (Alliance)
Brown / Adult / Male / Super Heavy 2014 Champ - Erberth Santos de Mesquita (TLI)
Not familiar with many of the guys making up this division but one name stands out by a lot.
My pick: Jared Dopp (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu)
Brown / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy 2014 Champ - Pedro Henrique Moura (Ribiero Jiu-Jitsu)
This is a pretty small division with only 6 guys.
My pick: Ryan Sandhagen (Bruno Bastos Association)
Black / Adult / Male / Rooster 2014 Champ - Joao Rodrigues (CheckMat)
Seven competitors making up this division with Caio Terra returning after taking time off from health issues in 2014. He will have his hands full on the tougher side of the bracket with Fabio Passos (Alliance) likely in the semi-final. Bruno Malfacine (Alliance) has the easier path on the other side of the bracket. I'm going to predict a Passos / Malfacine final here as I'm not sure how healthy Caio is these days.
My pick: Bruno Malfacine (Alliance)
Black / Adult / Male / Light Feather 2014 Champ - Paulo Miyao (PSLPB Cicero Costha)
We will be treated to both Miyao's competing in the Light Feather this year and thankfully on opposing sides of the brackets.
My pick: Paulo Miyao (PSLPB)
Black / Adult / Male / Feather 2014 Champ - Mario Reis (Alliance)
This is probably my favorite division every year. The usual names are here minus Rafa Mendes, Tanquinho, and Cobrinha. Make way for Vitor Paschoal (Brasa CTA), Osvaldo Moizinho (Gracie Fighter), Gianni Grippo (Alliance) and Davin Maxwell (Cassio Werneck BJJ). My personal interest this year is to see how Gustavo Dantas (Nova Uniao) will fare competing with the younger guys.
My pick: Osvaldo Moizinho (Gracie Fighter)
Black / Adult / Male / Light 2014 Champ - Lucas Lepri (Alliance)
Usual favorites Lucas Lepri and Michael Langhi (Alliance) are not registered this year which should be a relief for the rest of the division. That said there is a lot of talented guys which should make for an interesting watch. Mario Reis (Alliance) has moved up a weight class, Jonathan Torres (Atos), Andris Brunovskis (Atos), Michael Liera Jr (Atos)...the list goes on. Lots of Atos guys here are likely to make some noise.
My pick: Jonathan Torres (Atos)
Black / Adult / Male / Middle 2014 Champ - Leandro Lo (PSLPB Cicero Costha)
Reigning champ Lo is back again this year and will be the favorite as usual. Otavio Sousa (Gracie Barra), Victor Estima (Gracie Barra), Magid Hage (Gracie Barra), Vitor Henrique Oliveira (GF Team), Tanner Rice (Amazonas), Sean Roberts (CheckMat) are just a handful of the superstars making up this group.
My pick: Leandro Lo (PSLPB)
Black / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy 2014 Champ - Gustavo Campos (Atos)
This will be a hotly contested division again with most of the big names returning including all of the medalists. Keenan (Atos), Gustavo Campos (Atos), Abmar Barbosa (Zenith BJJ), Murilo Santana (Barbosa JJ)
My pick: Keenan Corneilius (Atos)
Black / Adult / Male / Heavy 2014 Champ - Yuri Simoes (Brasa CTA)
Yuri has moved up to Super Heavy this year making way for Lucas Leite (CheckMat), Marcelo Mafra (CheckMat), and Timothy Spriggs (TLI).
My pick: Timothy Spriggs (TLI)
Black / Adult / Male / Super Heavy 2014 Champ - Luiz Panza (Barbosa JJ)
Guys to watch are Yuri Simoes (Brasa CTA), Bernardo Faria (Alliance) Joao Assis (CheckMat), Eduardo Telles (Brasa CTA), and Erberth Santos de Mesquita (Guigo JJ).
My pick: Bernardo Faria (Alliance)
Black / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy 2014 Champ - Andre Galvao (Atos)
First thing worth noting is no Galvao this year! Luis Panza (Barbosa JJ) has moved up in weight. Bruno Bastos (Bruno Bastos Association) will give it a run again with the younger guys. James Puopolo (Ribiero JJ) and Alexander Trans (UAE JJ Team). An interesting note is that Joao Rocha (Soul Fighters) has just recovered from cancer and will be in this division.
My pick: Alexander Trans (UAE JJ Team)
Black / Adult / Female / Light Feather 2014 Champ - Andrea Encarnacion (Elite BJJ Redmond)
With only 4 women in this small division this is a pretty easy pick for me. Michelle Nicolini (CheckMat) and Gezary Bandeira (ATT) are likely to meet in the finals.
Tammi is making her first big stage showing since suffering an awful elbow dislocation at the 2014 Worlds. I think we are likely to see a finals rematch with Mackenzie Dern and Musumeci (ATT).
Texan Lora Hallock (Atos) will be making her first attempt as a black belt this year. Fabiana Borges (Gracie Barra), Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaita), Angelica Galvoa (Atos), and Nyjah Easton (TLI) will be heavily favored here.
My pick: Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaita)
Wheeeeeeew that's about it. If you want to watch the Saturday & Sunday portion of the live stream go here: http://ibjjf.tv/
The IBJJF came to town last weekend and I was fortunate enough to be healthy and able to participate. I don't compete often but I do try my best to give it a go when the IBJJF is in town. The federation does get a lot of flack from some people in the sport but overall it is still the best and brings out the highest level competitors on average. I feel that they still set a high bar that others try to reach with running tournaments.
This is the 3rd Dallas Open I have competed in and all three have been at the same venue. I do think they have outgrown the venue a bit but the predictability of location is nice for me. This was my first real tournament as a brown belt. There were no competitors in the my age group (Master 2...yeah I'm old) so I decided to move down into Master 1 with 3 other guys already there. Unfortunately a few days out one of the competitors moved out of our division leaving us in a three man bracket. My preparation was probably better than any I have had leading up to the tournament. My cardio felt as good as ever so I felt confident I could at least just focus on NOT making mistakes and playing my game.
I drew the first match with a guy I have never competed against. The other competitor I was familiar with and had the 1st round bye. During training I had really focused on my closed guard game and felt great about my ability to chain submissions and sweeps from here. I was able to pull closed guard right off the bat and get to work. He did a good job of shutting down my first attacks and attempted to stand a couple times. I transitioned into De La Riva guard briefly then back into closed guard. I was able to secure an over hook on his right arm from the closed guard and immediately started to control his free hand. This allowed me to set up a triangle choke from this position. He did a good job of hiding the trapped arm which made finishing the choke difficult. I switched from a orthodox triangle to a reverse triangle a couple times trying to wear him down. I was able to eventually control the trapped arm and finished the match with a kimura from the triangle choke position.
Getting the win was a real confidence booster for me especially since I knew the fresh guy would have to go next against the person I had just defeated. About ten minutes passed giving me time to talk to my coach and discuss the upcoming final. After some time had passed the table called for me back on the mat which caught me off guard. I'm not sure if my previous opponent was injured or what but he didn't compete again so the final came up a bit unexpectedly for me. I had mentally prepared myself for this opponent and knew I had to avoid his closed guard. When the match started I was careful and managed to secure my own closed guard. The match was difficult and most likely boring to watch. He did a very good job of neutralizing my ability to attack controlling one of my lapels and using a stiff arm to keep me down. He used his other arm to jam my opposite side hip in order to open and create space. Some people were confused as to why I couldn't attack that extended arm but the hip pressure he applied made it very difficult and dangerous for me to open and attack without allowing him to move into a passing position. Most of the match was spent fighting for grips in this position. Neither one of us was very willing to open up and switch our game plans. There was at least one time that I did open and transition into half guard. He immediately started to use a leg weave attempting to pass. I was very fortunate to avoid the pass and not have an advantage awarded to the opponent here. I got back to closed guard and the same fight ensued working for grips. We were both hit with a stalling penalty with the score 0-0, 0-1 0-1 (negatives) around the 3 minute mark. I worked really hard in the final minute to sweep and avoid a referee decision. With only 00:17 remaining he was hit with another stalling penalty. Time in the match ended and I was lucky to win.
I hated to win the final in that manner but not every match or final for that matter are going to be the most exciting. I have found that finals tend to be more closely fought and this one played out just that way. I have a lot of respect for both of the guys that I competed against over the weekend and hope to have a chance to meet them again in competition. Huge thanks to all my teammates and friends from other gyms that helped me prepare for this competition. Five Grappling is coming up next!
