Edmilson Conceição on the podium at Invicto Cup / Photo by Midian Almeida/publicity
Over a year without competing, ever since returning to Brazil, the black belt Edmilson Conceição did a splendid job on his sport-Jiu-Jitsu comeback. Following a two-year stint living in Abu Dhabi, Edmilson set his sights on the prize money up for grabs in the absolute division at Invicto Cup, a tournament in São Leopoldo, Greater Porto Alegre.
The Southern Brazilian struck gold with the BRL 3,000 prize for winning the open weight contest featuring a different sort of match format. To illustrate, the bouts were of six-minute duration, and purple belts, brown belts and black belts all competed against each other in some of the divisions. The promoters of the event now want to set up a second installment for December 1, and the prize to the winner of the absolute may be a motorcycle.
“Our aim is to at least double the prize money and also award cash prizes for the female and master divisions, as well as to make room for a juvenile division. The athletes are the stars of the show, and they should be treated as such,” said Valério Doca, a representative for 12 Polegadas, the company producing the event.
Some other competitors who earned some extra loot were Alliance representatives Fabio Pulita, a brown belt, and purple belt Daniel Reis, who earned BRL 1,500 and 1,000, respectively. The absolute champions from the white and blue belt groups won BRL 500 and 750, respectively.
“We want to make the South a hotbed for open professional Jiu-Jitsu for competitors from the entire country,” underscored Gabriel Tayeh, one of the founders of the event.
Check out Edmilson Conceição in action at a competition in the UAE back in 2009.
