Leandro observes the opponent while preparing the lunge from his feared open guard. Photo: Erin Herle/ GracieMag

Champion in the up to 76kg division of the WPJJC 2013 in Abu Dhabi held last weekend, Leandro Lo (Cicero Costha) didn’t have an easy time in the Emirates.

First, he needed to forget about the negatives, after leaving in the 2013 Pan in California without medals in his division nor in the absolute. After getting his head together, he made his game and won again in the land of sheikhs, in the final against old acquaintance Lucas Lepri. The gold came thanks to an advantage after he tried to pass the guard.

The guard player phenomenon, trained by Cicero Costha, commented on the feat in Abu Dhabi and what he has learned in the IBJJF Pan. Check this out:

GracieMag: How was the journey to the top in Abu Dhabi?

LEANDRO LO: I had a good performance; I think I fought the way I like it. Not taking points against me early in the fight has made a difference. Notice that all my opponents were able to try to sweep, but failed to execute the move. I balanced myself, I didn’t take points against me and it was good. Starting with two points behind in a six minute fight can be fatal.

How was being in the final with Lepri?

We know each other well, we have done several finals in the lightweight division. Lucas is a very tough and technical guy, you can’t make mistakes against him or start the fight behind in the score. It is very difficult to gain points against him, on top or on bottom. What has helped me a lot in the fight against him is that I have always managed to get my hands on the ground, it helps me with my base. He has a good guard and unbalances you a lot. I believe I won thanks to my base. I’ve been practicing my balance doing drills on the ball, in addition to base training with hands resting on the floor.

Did you apply any unexpected moves in Abu Dhabi? There was an interesting choke…

Right! I don’t remember who it was against, but I used a choke starting from the half guard. I love this submission, I am happy when I fit the position to perform it. After all, I don’t even need to pass the guard to win.

What has this achievement meant to you after a Pan 2013 performance below your potential?

I was happy with my second gold in Abu Dhabi, the conquest made me rethink a lot about myself. I did a self-assessment and now I will try to fix plenty of things for upcoming championships. Although I have lost in the Pan, the defeat gave me several lessons. I learned a lot about how to train better.

Training more?

Not exactly. For example, in the Pan, I was feeling pretty fast in middleweight, but I wasn’t as strong as when I was in the lightweight. I lost several positions during fights, and I didn’t like the way I fought. With all that, I learned that it is not how much you train that makes you win, but the right training. Now I won’t miss. For the Worlds, I will return to fight as a lightweight, but I can’t say I won’t go back to the middleweight later on. My friend and training partner Murilo Santana is going sharp for the middleweight. I don’t want to have to fight him if we are on the same side of the draw.

Marcos Souza in the final match against Victor Estima, in the Abu Dhabi WPJJC. Photo: Dan Rod/ GracieMag

The black belt Marcos Souza (Bonsai) won the up to 82kg division in the fifth edition of WPJJC in Abu Dhabi. Marcos applied a takedown on Victor Estima to bring dollars and the gold medal to Japan, where he lives with his brother Roberto Satoshi.

As he tells GracieMag, the professor went through difficulties with his enrollment and ticket to fly to the capital of the UAE, and in the end the victory smiled at him.

GracieMag: You did very well in this category up to 82kg in Abu Dhabi. What was the determining factor to your win?

MARCOS SOUZA: When I woke up on the competition day I felt something different inside of me, I can’t explain. I had good energy and a lot of will to fight. When I qualified for the final, I watched my brother lose the semifinal to Leandro Lo in his weight. It was interesting, because at the same time I got sad, that made me stronger. I wanted so much to win for him because I didn’t want to see him completely sad. I just did enough to be the champion. In other competitions, I always go for the submission or I win by a good margin of points, but this time I admit that I played not to make a mistake and I did just enough to be champion.

How was the final with Victor Estima, the “Carcarazinho”?

Estima is a fighter who needs no comment, he has some of the most dangerous legs in the category. He is able to submit in any position, you know? I couldn’t miss. I can be much better than shown during the final. If he had swept me, for example, I would probably open the game to lead the score again. And if we fought standing up, I’d try a takedown. Anyway, at the end of the fight I even apologized to him. Victor told me: “If I was in your place, I would do the same thing. You knew how to manage the fight and won.” It was a major title at stake and I wanted to win more than ever. Regarding the takedown, I thought about pulling guard or letting him pull on me. I didn’t arrange anything and just went for it and took him down.

What was your worst moment in Abu Dhabi?

Hitting the weight, I was eight kilos over and had to lose them in one day. It wasn’t easy. And also when I saw my brother lost, I got very sad.

What do you think your brother Roberto Satoshi could have done to beat Leandro Lo and try to win the championship for the second time?

Satoshi has less than a year and a half of experience competing in the black belt division. He only lost two fights by points so far, and has won almost all of the light weight. He is always among the best three in the category. He is skillful and has an impressive will to win. My brother fights forward and it is impressive that he never thinks of a strategy, he gets in there and fights. In my opinion, to beat Leandro Lo today you need a strategy, because he has a different Jiu-Jitsu, unusual even. It’s hard to beat him.

What difficulties did you have until the podium? What happened?

The greater truth is that the fear of losing made me the champion. I went through many complications before landing in Abu Dhabi. Organizers in Japan hadn’t allowed the Brazilians to fight the trial, they demanded permanent visa or a Japanese passport. It was a fight for me to enroll in the trial. With the help of my friend Douglas Santos, I enrolled on the last day. But my brother’s ticket was missing. We taught in seminars in Hawaii and raised the money. Even defending the championship, things weren’t easy for Satoshi. The result of it all is that there was a lot of running around, and we ended up fighting the tournament without training (laughs)! I was not prepared technically. On one hand, it reduced my pressure to win, at the same time I was with a huge fear of losing. In the end, the fear made me miss very little and made me more strategic.

What lessons have you learned?

None of this lasts long: the fights, the gold medal and the prize money. The medal will rust one day, the fights will be remembered by a few people and the money is almost gone (laughs). The most valuable in Jiu-Jitsu is the opportunity to live special moments forever. Whether at breakfast, a hotel, in practice all together and even in the sauna, in every corner you have fun. The friendship and the good times last forever. The rest is fleeting, there are people and moments in Abu Dhabi that I will carry in my heart forever. Some people don’t really know what Jiu-Jitsu can do in your life and give more importance to be the champion or to a simple gold medal. Another important lesson: if only a few believe in you, fight for the few who believe. It is for them that you should give your best, no matter what others say. The dream is yours, chase it.

Khalifa Murad Lal Nassrati and his professor, with the medal. Photo: Disclosed

Jiu-Jitsu constantly surprises and thrills us. In Abu Dhabi, a young orange belt with a disability in his hand understood what to be special really means.

In the fifth edition of WPJJC held last week, Khalifa Murad Nassrati Lal, 13, was the tournament champion after winning his four fights – three by submission. The four fingers missing on his hand weren’t a problem.

The student of Pedro Damasceno, black belt from BTT, had already won the WPJJC last year and begins to be recognized by peers and authorities of the country.

With nearly four years of Jiu-Jitsu training, Khalifa trains every day in the morning and afternoon with Professor Pedro at his school in the city of Al Ain, in Abu Dhabi.

Pedro recalls that early in his career in Jiu-Jitsu, the boy got a little discouraged until the black belt had an idea to motivate him:

“One day, I showed Khalifa a video of (professor and ADCC champion) Jean Jacques Machado, and he was very impressed to see that there was a great fighter with a reality like his,” he recalls.

“After seeing the video, he told me, “Professor, I will continue to train every day to become a black belt and become a great champion like Jean Jacques. And my nickname may be ‘Little Jean Jacques’,” says Pedro Damasceno.

Do you know other exciting stories with Jiu-Jitsu and the kids? Share with us and your community.

Augusto Tanquinho on top against Rubens Cobrinha, in WPJJC final. Photo: Erin Herle/ GracieMag

Augusto Tanquinho won the featherweight category in WPJJC Abu Dhabi 2013 last Friday, and confirmed again that he is on the same level of top division superstars like Rafael Mendes and Rubens Cobrinha.

It was precisely against Cobrinha, who had won the last two times they have fought, that Tanquinho made the final of the 70kg division. A sweep gave the gold medal to the Soul Fighters professor from Rio.

In an interview with GracieMag, Augusto Tanquinho listed what he learned in the tournament, analyzed his fight and highlighted the main recipe for success:

GracieMag: You and Rubens Cobrinha have fought several times and know each other very well. How do you analyze the WPJJC 2013 final, in Abu Dhabi?

AUGUSTO TANQUINHO: It was a strategic fight, in my point of view. I went in with a strategy and followed it until the end to win. Cobrinha is very dangerous when he takes the cross sleeve and I knew I couldn’t let him make this grip at all. Thereafter I went for it, I just didn’t let him take the fight to his game; after all, a dangerous guy like Cobrinha with his main move would be deadly. I know his game well and I know the danger when he grips the cross sleeve.

What was your strategy in details?

In a 6 minute fight, the main thing is not to start losing. My strategy was to get ahead, sweeping or taking him down. And when I was on top, the tactic was to break his cross grip all the time and look for spaces to pass. In the end, it worked out (laughs). Cobrinha has a very good base and it is also always difficult to sweep him. People are used to seeing me fighting more on top and think I have no guard, but at the gym I train much more bottom than on top. So I could sweep and win.

And you lost to him earlier in IBJJF Pan.

I think my star shines in Abu Dhabi (laughs). I believe that both in European and Pan I lost by detail. In European, I lost by 2-0, and in the last minute I attacked standing up, I was on bottom and took the points. In the Pan, I lost by advantages, I thought I had to get two points when I attacked the foot and we left out of the fighting area, but the referee didn’t give me the points. Anyway, I’m not complaining about the referee, but this time the win came by detail too, I missed less and took up the opportunities more. That made a difference in this championship.

Did you have other memorable fights in WPJJC 2013?

I’ve had some pretty tough fights; I had four until the final. I was happy because I evolved during the championship. In the first fight, I submitted Felipe Cavalcante with a wristlock. In the second fight, I won by decision against Gilson “Neném” Nunes. He surprised me a lot, and showed a very complicated guard to pass. Since I attacked from start to the end, I guaranteed a place in the semifinal. In the semifinal, I fought with Michel Maia, a Brazilian who has taught in Abu Dhabi, and it was a great fight. I was losing by an advantage but I got a takedown and won by 2-0. Michel is very technical and strong in featherweight.

Besides the gold medal and the prize money, what knowledge have you brought home?

I learned that you should believe in yourself from beginning to the end in all fights. And to have enough confidence in your game is essential to train and train. That is the simple secret of success.

The moment of the double DQ in Abu Dhabi

The fan side of almost all of us applauded the attitude of the referee to disqualify the two finalists of the brown belt adult absolute in Abu Dhabi, during the WPJJC 2013.

This is because, deep down, we all wanted to watch an electrifying fight, with comings and goings of these two great Jiu-Jitsu athletes.

It turns out that combats between two great fighters not always translate into big fights.

Does anyone remember the moments before the fight between B.J. Penn and Matt Serra in September 2002? Most of us awaited the greatest ground combat in UFC history! And what we saw was a battle fought standing up. I bet neither of these two champions consider that episode in the list of their best moments.

This is just one example. Fabio Gurgel and Amaury Bitetti fought countless times in the 1990s, and their contests were rarely decided by more than two points. The most interesting thing is that most people harshly criticized the technique of the winner (usually Amaury), but the reason for the restrained fight was the highest level techniques of both were equal, not by a lack of technique like it was suggested.

Even one of the greatest submitters of the late 1990s, Nino Schembri, found himself holding the fight during a match in which he opened five points ahead of another submitting monster, Fernando Margarida, in a fight held in São Paulo.

And even someone who is possibly the greatest submitter in the history of Jiu-Jitsu competition, Roger Gracie, spent a good amount of time “resting” in Marcus Buchecha’s closed guard during the confrontation of the two in Metamoris, simply because it was the most prudent thing to do at that moment.

We need to distinguish bravery from intelligence and strategy, not encouraging an immoderate courage, bordering suicide.

Again, our frustration as fans watching Keenan Cornelius and Paulo Miyao not coming to kill and die is easier to reflect a perverse side of celebrating the disqualification of both. 

But whether you agree or not with the attitude of the referee, it is not fair to judge the Jiu-Jitsu of these two athletes by the fight against one another, and use it to deconstruct the technical qualities of both.

Leveled and monotonous fights are not a privilege of the current generation; they always existed and will always exist. But if you want to analyze the techniques and momentum of two of the best brown belts today, it makes more sense to observe their fights against other opponents.

You will then notice that Paulo Miyao impresses, taming monsters far beyond his 61kg since he was a blue belt, and that the percentage of submissions performed by Keenan Cornelius is as high as his notable predecessors as “kings” of brown belt, such as Ronaldo Jacare, Marcio Pe de Pano and Fernando Margarida.

I don’t even know Keenan and Paulo personally. But I admire the Jiu-Jitsu they present far beyond what is perceived in the confrontation between them.

Referee punishes Paulo Miyao and Keenan Cornelius in Abu Dhabi. Phot by Dan Rod

By Breno Sivak, professor and black belt from Gracie Humaitá

There is an urgent need to understand that in order to grow and aim to become an Olympic sport, first we need to accept that on video many fights are hard to understand and ugly to watch.

Grand Master Helio Gracie has commented that: “Dancing is beautiful, fighting is supposed to be efficient and effective.”

Jiu-Jitsu, recreated in Brazil by the Gracie family, aimed for self-defense at first and it stayed like that for decades without the competitive connotation until they decided to write the rules of sportive Jiu-Jitsu and to initiate the official championships.

The fact is that in fights where there is no grappling, like boxing, muay thai, karate, etc., the most uninformed watcher understands quickly what is happening. With Jiu-Jitsu, the more efficient but less cinematic of the arts, it doesn’t happen.

The final turn of Jiu-Jitsu will happen on the day we understand that any sport that wants to survive in these new times needs to understand that dynamism is the key word. After all, watching the championships live via internet, smartphone, computer and television screens will be something as common as talking on the phone today.

The lack of combativeness is by no means a novelty in Jiu-Jitsu. In older championships, some fighters locked opponents in their guards or immobilized in side control for ages, and just when the audience shouted like crazy to the referee a punishment would often occur.

There has been tremendous development in the refereeing of Jiu-Jitsu fights, and the sport now has a group of professional referees and frequent refresher courses, which is essential. The crucial point, however, is the “feeling” of the referee to understand that it is a responsibility not to allow the lack of combativeness – this swamp where ever sank the claims of popularizing the gentle art on the planet.

As in any sport, new positions were created and perfected, like berimbolos, 50/50, with the initial intention of seeking efficiency, and perhaps even more dynamism. The fighter who uses them is then positioned so that if the opponent attacks, he or she will certainly be swept back and if he falls back, he will suffer the same two points. But this only worked when few knew them. Now, when the positions are used, no one moves, knowing that moving means losing points.

I’ve gone to Abu Dhabi as a guest, and saw up close the brown belt absolute final between Keenan Cornelius, 88kg, against Paulo Miyao, 61kg, who in the semifinal had defeated the great fighter and local hero Faisal Al Ketbi, a monster of 100kg and who has been trained by the best professors in the world for ten years and lives to fight. And me, who thought he was about to see a light featherweight become the absolute champion, saw something extraordinary instead, something even more unusual.
The main referee Luciano Mendes, who, I must say, respected exactly what is written in the rule book when it comes to punishing lack of combativeness. As both were tangled, each waiting for the other to move in order to sweep, they began to take warnings and punishments. Both continued without taking the initiative to attack; only simulating actions without purpose. After the fourth and final punishment, the black belt Luciano, as stated in the rule, stopped the fight, the two fighters were disqualified and sent them off the mat without the dollars, the medals and the champion belt, glory that went to the winner of the match for the third place.

For me, this was the highest moment in Jiu-Jitsu occurred since the professionalization of the referees, and may be a turning point. This episode can and should be used as an example so the fighters understand that the lack of combativeness or trying to deceive the referees with simulations don’t lead to the gold medal, but to the elimination. Only then we will take a big step towards dynamic and exciting fights to watch, very different from what we see in most championships.

Claudio Calasans Jr vs. Tarsis Humphreys in Abu Dhabi

GRACIEMAG brings another exclusive video of the 2013 WPJJC, recently held in Abu Dhabi.

This time, our reporter, Dan Rod, filmed the adult male open class 3rd place match.

Claudio Calasans, Jr. faced Tarsis Humphreys for a spot in the podium alongside champion Marcus Almeida and runner-up Rodolfo Vieira.

Watch how things went in this great duel between two of Jiu-Jitsu’s most valuable players.

Buchecha vs. Humphreys in Abu Dhabi. Photo by: Dan Rod

The thrills of the 2013 WPJJC are still fresh in everyone’s minds.

One of the big moments of the event was the male adult open class semifinal between Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida and Tarsis Humphreys.

Buchecha manages to impose his game to secure a spot in the final, which he also won to become the champion.

The video is a GracieMag exclusive and filmed in HD.

King and queen: Buchecha and Gabi conquer Abu Dhabi. Photo by Dan Rod

Below are the quick results on the most important divisions of the Saturday of open class divisions at the 2013 WPJJC, in Abu Dhabi.

Soon, you will have a full report and an exclusive photo gallery.

See the full coverage on our Google+ Page.

Buchecha tames Rodolfo to secure the absolute gold

MArcus Buchecha champion 2013 WPJJC Abu Dhabi

Rodolfo Vieira and Marcus Buchecha Almeida met again after the epic battle at the 2012 IBJJF Worlds. With only six minutes on the clock, both fighters knew that details were the key to the gold medal. Rodolfo started in full speed and after Buchecha pulled guard he almost mounted and took the back. Almeida held the pressure and swept with a bridge when his opponent was about to mount. Losing by two, Rodolfo bravely fought back and swept back, tying the match 2-2 but ended in Buchecha’s 50/50. With less than two minutes on the clock, Buchecha went for it and scored two more points with another sweep. Rodolfo tried to come back, but Buchecha’s balance prevailed and the current World Champion almost got a guard pass when the clock signaled the end and the scoreboard granted Marcus Almeida his first WPJJC absolute title.

Surprise! Gabi still undefeated in Abu Dhabi

Gabi Garcia champion 2013 WPJJC Abu Dhabi

Gabrielle Garcia claims her eighth WPJJC gold medal in the 2013 purple/brown/black female open weight division final against Beatrice Mesquita. She won by points via takedown and guard passes. “While other came here on tourism, I never left my hotel since I got here. I was focused to win”, said Gabi.

Double DQ stamps the Brownbelt open final

Keenan Cornelius Paulo Miyao 2013 WPJJC Abu Dhabi

Both Keenan Cornelius and Paulo Miyao are disqualified in the final of the brown belt adult absolute leaving Kaue Damasceno as the only one on the podium. The ref gave penalty after penalty until he gave two points to each and then made them stand and disqualified them. They were both in the double guard pull position threatening with footlock and berimbolos however the action was not enough for the referee. The gold for the adult brown belt open weight division now goes to Kaue Damascene of Nova União after both Keenan Cornelius and Paulo Miyao were disqualified in the final. Kaue placed third initially after he was disqualified in the semis by a slam on Keenan and then beat Faisal Al Ketbi in the match for third place.

Purple Belt

Teammates from GFTeam Brazil, Patrick Pontes Gaudio and Victor Honorio met in the final of the adult purple belt open weight division. They went back and forth in a playful match with Victor Honorio pulling the lead by a guard pass more. Marcio Andre placed third in the division.

Buchecha beats Tarsis and will face Rodolfo in the finals

If you are awake early in the morning or live in Europe or far East, you may be checking GRACIEMAG channels to know what’s going on during the final day of the 2013 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Well, the usual suspects Marcus Buchecha and Rodolfo Vieira will meet in the blackbelt open adult male finals, around 5:00am PST.

Rodolfo had a pretty smooth journey, beating Felipe Gargamel on quarters, and then on semis passing through Claudio Calasans by 9 points with a sweep, a pass and hardly having any trouble to reach the mount to assure his place in the final match.

His opponent, the current World Absolute Champion, Marcus Buchecha, had a tough match in the quarters. Roberto Cyborg opened a three-points lead by passing his guard right of the batch, but Buchecha managed to sweep, takedown and almost take Roberto Cyborg’s back, securing therefore the win by 4-3. Then he faced Tarsis Humphreys in the semi, and had not much hard time to pass, take the back and attack the arm of the Alliance representative, as the time finished.

Tarsis caused an upset in the quarters when he took Andre Galvao out of the bracket, after an even match decided by a minus point heavily questioned by an upset Galvao.

So the field is now open for the already expected decision confronting Rodolfo and Buchecha.

Gabi is one match shy to write more BJJ history

Gabi Garcia never lost a match in Abu Dhabi, taking so far all gold medals available since they created the female category, four years ago. She already took her division yesterday and now will face Bia Mesquita in the open, chasing another double gold.

Her opponent in the final, the Saquarema (a Rio de Janeiro state beach town) representative Bia Mesquita is however in a great momentum. She got to the finals after another win in a row over Luanna Alzuguir, who used to be Gabi’s partner for absolute close-outs. Will Bia finally be able to stop Gabi? We will see soon.

Keenan vs Miyao, once again

The Euros and the Pan already had this brownbelt open class final written: the American sensation Keenan Cornelius against the brave featherweight Paulo Miyao.

It’s not by the fact Cornelius has UFC and Jiu-Jtsu former champion BJ Penn in his corner that he’s favorite. It’s because he’s beating Paulo over and over, although it’s always tough. So the question to be answered soon is if Paulo is bringing something different in his sleeve to stop Keenan.

Victor Silverio wins his brown belt division at the 2013 WPJJC / Photo by Erin Herle

The third day of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship was a jam-packed day that decided a lot for many athletes. From the start at 9 a.m., the purple belt adult males entered the mats to make them come alive. From first match losses to submission wins to the finals, there was no destiny involved– only hard work prevailing here in Abu Dhabi.

The final divisions began at 1:30 p.m. starting with the master/senior male brown/black divisions moving to purple adult male, brown adult male, purple/brown/black female and finally black adult male.

The six minute matches were set for all divisions no matter the age, rank or gender, therefore pushing the athletes to finish their fights. Because there isn’t a lot of time and the referees will give penalties rather freely for stalling, the action is always in large demand. As much as it is a competition, it’s also a show. Here in Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu is a national sport so it is broadcasted on television and followed with coverage and lots of interest.

Keenan Cornelius takes the back in his brown belt final / Photo by Erin Herle

The purple belt and brown belt adult matches brought the excitement and when a leader of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu team Faisal Al Ketbi fought Luke Costello, the crowd went wild as he won by points. Submissions came from the back mostly, by Gianni Grippo in the -70kg division and the -88kg division by Keenan Cornelius but even the matches that were determined by points were enough action to call it a show.

Caroline de Lazzer celebrates her win / Photo by Erin Herle

The females came with some nice surprises as Beatriz Mesquita conquered Luanna Alzugiur, a native to the WPJJC top podium spot, when she swept her twice. Caroline de Lazzer cried when she won Fernanda Mazzelli on points as this win was a huge accomplishment for her. Gabrielle Garcia was able to submit Tammy Griego before time ran out with a choke to win her fourth title at the World Pro and Michelle Nicolini surprised the crowd when we swept Mackenzie Dern at the very last minute after being down by advantages.

Marcos Yoshi Souza wins by two points over Victor Estima / Photo by Erin Herle

The black belts were enticing because of some new faces in the finals. The -64kg division started it off right with Thiago Marques defeating Samuel Hertzog with a quick triangle choke. From Bonsai, Satoshi’s brother Marcos Yoshi Souza was able to gather two points from catching the leg as Victor Estima jumped guard then avoiding all of Estima’s many submission attempts from armbars to omoplatas to triangles.

Augusto Tanquinho Mendes on top after sweeping Rubens Charles Maciel / Photo by Erin Herle

Two matches that we’ve seen many times before came in the -70kg and -76kg divisions as both were determined by points or advantages. Augusto Tanquinho Mendes won Rubens Charles Maciel with a sweep and then Leandro Lo won over Lucas Lepri by an advantage due to a guard pass attempt deemed worthy of such.

Romulo Barral walks off the mats with medics / Photo by Erin Herle

In an unfortunate event, Romulo Barral quit his match against Andre Galvao early on after pulling a hamstring. Galvao jumped guard then immediately swept with a waiter sweep, putting Barral’s leg in great danger and ultimately causing him to forfeit the gold. Rodolfo Vieira defeated his opponent Pedro Peres in the -94kg division with some textbook moves by passing the guard, taking the back and choking with the lapels. Antonio Braga Neto pushed the pace of his -100kg division fight with a sweep and multiple attempts of passes and getting into mount, finishing 2-0 against Jose Junior.

The final match of the day left two people who were very unlikely to ever fight- but they did. Rodrigo Cavaca is the professor of Marcus Buchecha Almeida and they met in the +100kg division final and fought instead of closing out. Cavaca won the match 7-2 in a friendly yet competitive roll. Here’s what Buchecha had to say about it:

“For us it was like a dream come true to get to the finals together because we have dreamt about it since 2010 when I got my black belt. We never close out any tournaments so we’re happy that we have reached that goal. And we are happy to do a fight because we don’t like close outs– that’s why we decided to fight. We hope to do the same thing in the finals of the open weight tomorrow.

It wasn’t awkward because I have been training with him since 2004. This was just like a normal day in the academy, a tough roll with my master. It’s always a pleasure to roll with him because he taught me everything that i know in Jiu-Jitsu.

I would  like to say thank you to my father because he was the most important person for keeping me in Jiu-Jitus and because of him, Cavaca came to Abu Dhabi where we we’re able to accomplish this goal instead of flying to Pan Ams [where he was going to travel instead of Abu Dhabi].”

Cavaca and Buchecha after their final match / Photo by Erin Herle

 Full results from day 3: