It finally happened.
After two years of domination, the two best Jiu-Jitsu competitors of nowadays will face each other in the most important match of all.
Tomorrow, late afternoon, Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida and Rodolfo Vieira will decide who gets the title of black belt absolute world champion.
Rodolfo is the 2011 absolute champion and Buchecha was crowned last year.
The run to the final was not particularly rocky for neither of them.
Rodolfo finished all his opponents so far in the 2013 Worlds
Rodolfo had four fights and submitted all his opponents.
First he choked Lucas Sachs from the side control, then he choked Antônio Peinado from the back.
The third fight was against newcomer João Gabriel, finished with an armlock.
The semifinal presented Leo Leite as opponent. Rodolfo kept the pressure and passed guard, mounted and later on stretched Leite’s arm.
Buchecha will defend his title against rival Rodolfo
On his side, Buchecha also had four fights.
First he submitted Alessandro Ferreira, then he faced Bruno Bastos, tapped from the mount.
After the fight, Bruno handed his black belt to Buchecha, signaling that he will retire from the absolute division.
Almeida’s next opponent was Marcus Evangelista, also tapped from the mount.
The semifinal was against Bernardo Faria, the hardest of all of Buchecha’s matches.
With only 1:38 on the clock, Bernardo was ahead by two points and Buchecha had to sweep to win, once he had one advantage and Faria had none.
The sweep came and Buchecha secured his spot in the final match everyone wants to see.
GRACIEMAG’s Reporter Marcelo Dunlop asked Buchecha what he thought of the long awaited match that was finally going to happen: “It’s a real world championship black belt absolute final. The one we’re all waiting for”.
Rodolfo couldn’t agree more:”It’s gonna be awesome. Regardless the result, it’s gonna be a great show for the crowd. I’m gonna go in just like I did in everyone of my fights so far – to submit! We want to put this match in the roster of epic battles, like Roger vs. Jacaré, Roger vs. Xande and many others.”
The absolute also had some other great moments.
Leo Leite defeated Andre Galvão in the quarterfinals in a very nervous match decided by the referee, what caused some protest from Andre and the Atos JJ team.
Leandro lo got as far as the quarterfinals when he managed to sweep ultra-heavyweight Orlando Sanchez from the X -guard, a move that deserved claps from the crowd.
In the battle between wrestler DJ Jackson and judoka Leo Leite better for Leo Leite, who got a takedown and a guard pass.
Stick around for a photo gallery with the best moments of the male adult black belt open class.
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