19.09.2007 From Atlantico Sul to the north of the PacificGet to know the connection between the Atlântico Sul Cup – one of the most remembered competitions by the Jiu-Jitsu community, which had its first edition 20 years ago, in Barra da Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro – and the US Open, the traditional American competition, held in California since 1996  Murilo Bustamante, long before becoming a UFC champion, was a talented refereeThe Atlântico Sul Cup had an indefinable something that no other Jiu-Jitsu competition was able to relive ever again. Held outdoors in a fancy address, under the magical sunset of Rio’s afternoon, CAS (initials in Portuguese) attracted an audience that had just left the beach and went directly to a luxurious set of buildings near the sea-shore in Barra. That group of buildings lent its name to the event and provided the venue for the stands and the fighting area.
You can say that the Atlântico Sul Cup is one of the main events of the pre-Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation era, founded in 1994. The matches promoted by CAS generate passionate comments to this day. “Wallid vs Jean Jaques, Royler vs Carlson Gracie Jr, Gordo vs Alexandre Paiva, André Pederneiras vs Renzo Gracie, Fábio Gurgel vs Leo Dalla,” enumerates black-belt Cláudio França, organizer of CAS alongside José Carlos (aka Joe Moreira) and Marcus Vinícius.
At the promoters’ desk, Cláudio França (to the left) and Marcus Vinícius.
“We loved Company Cup but unfortunately it ended leaving a void in Jiu-Jitsu competitions,” Cláudio “Cabelo” recalls. “That’s why we had the initiative to organize the first Atlântico Sul Cup, in the mid ’80s. It was three days of championship with the kick-off around 5pm and the lights out by 1am. We had a 1,000-people grandstand and about 500 competitors. Of course you can’t compare it with the present World Jiu-Jitsu Championship. The sport wasn’t as pervasive in those days; athletes did not think of fighting as a profession, they would all go there just to have fun.”
Wallid Ismail, one of the most popular fighters of the ’80s and ’90s, does not forget the tournament: “There were few graduated athletes and sometimes black-belts had to fight brown-belts. The fights would stop whenever it rained, it was all crazy. Was it glamorous? I was a country boy competing in a rich neighborhood such as Barra da Tijuca. I confess that I didn’t even know what glamor was in those days. I was a complete psychopath. It was do or die for me then.”
Jean Jacques Machado (sitting) tries to unbalance Wallid Ismail.
Second-hand mats from academies, volunteer referees, schedules and fights subject to change at any time, improvisations and lots of love for the martial arts. Those are ingredients that, once combined, result in the romantic and amateur way of doing things. A true school, so that the sport could get to the professionalism we see today and keep improving.
Renzo smiles at the top of the podium. In second, Adilson Bita. With his arms crossed, referee Sérgio Bolão.
From the year of 1992 on, Atlântico Sul Cup was held on the parking lot of Fisilabor gym, also in Barra da Tijuca, right next door to the old venue. Cláudio França has the opinion that it was in the new place that the two best editions of CAS were held: “We kept it outdoors and the view of Marapendi lagoon was even nicer. We also kept the strategy of having the Cup in December, the beginning of the summer. It was a hit. Unfortunately, it wasn’t as profitable as people thought it was. I would earn a little something but it was impossible to make a living out of that. I had to conciliate it with my career as a Jiu-Jitsu teacher.”
The last edition of CAS happened in 1994. França says that another cup (the soccer World Cup) would change his life. During a trip to Atlanta to cheer for Brazil, the black-belt found much better perspectives of living in the USA, to where he would move soon. Joe Moreira was already there. Marcus Vinícius would follow them later. It was the end of CAS.In the north of the Pacific“When we got to the USA, the public thought Jiu-Jitsu was MMA due to the success Royce had fighting in the Ultimate Fighting. I noticed that happened because they had a major lack of Jiu-Jitsu tournaments in the USA,” says França, who organized the first US Open of Jiu-Jitsu, in California, in 1996. With Marcus Vinícius as his right hand (“Joe Moreira also helps whenever he can”), França attracted fighters from several American states and even from other countries. “Werdum, Corleta, Rafael Gordinho, Garth Taylor, Rafael Lovato, Bj Penn, Daniel Thomas are only a few of them.”
To the right, Romero Jacaré raises the arm of a beginning competitor, Dedé Pederneiras had the mission of refereeing at Paiva vs Roberto Gordo, won by the latter.
Cláudio França says that the competition takes place every October, on the weekend before Halloween: “It’s still hot but the hotels are already offering low season prices,” he reveals. Within the attractions of the US Open is the venue it is held at: “It’s called Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. Bob Marley performed there once.”
Another attraction is the money prize, something that appeared in Atlântico Sul Cup from time to time when champions got checks from sponsors. França guarantees that this year’s teams challenge winner will get paid 5 thousand dollars. “My dream is to have prizes superior to 50 thousand dollars in the future and to bring an American team to compete in Brazil with even chances of winning. If we get to that, it’s going to be much easier to make our sport an Olympic sport.” GRACIE Mag gathered the fruits planted by CAS
Roberto Roleta is one of them. He lives in Atlântico Sul condo and recalls having competed at CAS still as a white-belt. He was then a pupil of the event’s producer Joe Moreira. The young athlete started then to develop a new set of techniques, mainly guard techniques that GRACIE Magazine would call “esqui-jitsu” (“weird-jitsu” in English) a revolutionary way of fighting.
Roleta became world champion in 1996 (the same year he became a black-belt) by defeating Wallid Ismail in the final of the light-heavyweight category, a historic fight. He even organized fighting events at Atlântico Sul.
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