The Open Class has drawn top names such as Gracie Barra’s Roberto “Tussa” Alencar and Nova União’s Bruno Bastos, as well as rising contenders like Guybson Sa, Marco Machado, Ryan Beauregard and ex-NFL wide-receiver, Michael Westbrook. Smaller fighters, such as Samir Chantre and Rafael “Barata” Freitas, have also stepped up to the challenge.

Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for updates over the weekend.

The brackets will be available on Friday at http://www.strongvon.com/azopen6/

Check out the highlights of the 5th AZ International Open:

Furão, Kron and Dantas. Photo: Many Weapons

Organized by black belt Gustavo Dantas, the Arizona International Open, held for the fifth time on the 13th and 14th of this month, stands out as one of the big events on the Jiu-Jitsu calendar. Check out this video for the reason why.

Kron Gracie, Robson Moura and Xande Ribeiro. Photos: Manyweapons.com

Stand-Outs:

Black belt
In the highly-anticipated middleweight match-up between Kron Gracie (Rickson Gracie) and Philipe “Furao” Della Monica (Gracie Barra), both fighters came ready to put their game plans into effect. The well-prepared Furao looked to exploit holes in Kron’s game by quickly pulling guard and working from deep-half, but a calm and collected Kron had a simpler strategy in mind: to submit Furao. And that’s exactly what he did. In 3 minutes, Kron was able to dismantle and pass Furao’s half-guard, establish an immovable mount, and quickly submit Furao with an armbar in textbook fashion.

The featured international face-off between Robson Moura (Nova Uniao) and Nobuhiko Kitahara (Axis Jiu-Jitsu) showcased why “Robinho” is widely regarded as one of the best Jiu-Jitsu players in the World. When Robson was asked about his plan of attack for the Japanese National Champion, he answered with an air of confidence that only comes after years of experience: “I’m just going to fight. I’m not focused on pulling first, but if he decides to pull guard, I’ll pass.” Robinho put that confidence to work, nullifying
Kitahara’s guard and ending the match with a collar choke from the back in less than 5 mintues.

Guybson Sa (East West) flew over from New York to defeat the 2009 AZ State Champion, Carlos Farias (Lion’s Den) by Armbar in the Ultra Heavyweight division.

Female
Kristina Barlaan (GD Jiu-Jitsu) made a clean sweep of her competition by using her dangerous guard game and submitting her opponents to win the Female Blue Belt Featherweight division and putting in a dominant performance to win the Absolute.

White belt
The White Belt, Middleweight Division was the largest bracket of the 5th AZ Int’l Open and the victor would be the product of a hard-fought win. Jeremy Larsen (GD Jiu-Jitsu)
was able to fight his way up through the bracket to meet his teammate, Mark Garland (GD Jiu-Jitsu), in the finals. Despite the relationship, the two did not hesitate
to face each other, and Larsen found himself victorious.

Blue belt
Despite being Adult Division, the explosive Blue Belt Featherweight final was between two talented, up-and-coming teenagers. Isaac Doederlein
(Team Megaton) defeated Christopher Broadnax (Nova Uniao LV) in a very close, back-and- forth battle for the gold. Determined to find redemption, Christopher entered the
absolute with fire in his heart and was able to close out with his teammate Issa Able (GD Jiu-Jitsu), winner of the Middleweight Division, in the finals to claim the win.

Purple belt
The Purple Belt, Middleweight Division set the stage for two of the most exciting Jiu-Jitsu matches of the weekend. WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson (MMA Lab)
defeated Giacomo Zanini (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu) with an aggressive double-leg takedown just seconds before the end of the middleweight final match. But it was Zanini who would
have the last laugh as he left no room for Henderson to set his pace in the absolute final, surpassing the MMA Champion 17-0.

Brown belt
The 5th AZ Int’l Open marked the return of undefeated (6-0) Bellator fighter Jacob McClintock to Jiu-Jitsu competition. The hot MMA prospect submitted all his opponents to win the Brown Belt, Medium-Heavyweight Division (the largest bracket at Brown), despite his 2-year hiatus from competing in the Gi.

Prize Winners:
PSP – Giovanna Jaure (Yuma BJJ)
Flip – Maria Magana (MMA Lab)
TV – Alex Richard (Tigers Lair AZ)

Kids Division:
1st – Team Megaton 77 pts
2nd – Rey Diogo/De Brazil 59 pts
3rd – Lion’s Den 55 pts
4th – Yuma BJJ 48 pts
5th – Siege MMA/Lotus Club 45 pts

Adult Division:
1st – Team GD Jiu-Jitsu 201 pts
2nd – MMA Lab 91 pts
3rd – Team Megaton 70 pts
4th – Rey Diogo/De Brazil 69 pts
5th – Siege MMA/Lotus Club 66 pts

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Photos: Manyweapons.com

Kron gets the mount, at the 2009 European Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

The established aces didn’t make way for the lesser-known names in the supermatches at this weekend’s 5th Arizona International Open, in Mesa, Arizona.

The son of legendary Jiu-Jitsu icon Rickson Gracie, Kron Gracie dispatched Gracie Barra’s Philipe “Furão” Della Monica with an armbar, after having mounted the up-and-comer.

In the other supermatch, Nova Uniao’s 7-time world champion Robson Moura overcame Japanese champion Nobuhiko Kitahara (Axis JJ) via choke.

Check back with GRACIEMAG.com later for complete results and pictures from the 5th Arizona International Open.

Philipe’s coach at Gracie Barra America Marcio Feitosa is confident in his student. “Training is going off!  Furão is sharp and wants to make some noise!” he fired off as soon as he answered GRACIEMAG.com’s call.

The Jiu-Jitsu community in Arizona will come together to watch the match. In the end the Gracie family and Jiu-Jitsu come out winners; it’s good for everyone” Marcio Feitosa

“Ttraining was great. He trained here with Romulo Barral, Kayron Gracie, Flávio Cachorrinho, Otávio Sousa, Lucas Rocha and a lot of other tough guys. Every Monday and Wednesday are hard-core training days, Master (Carlos Gracie Jr.) shows up, too, to polish up his game and the physical conditioning work is going strong. Aside from all that, he’s going to open his own academy on April 1,” he said.

Philipe Della Monica also trains with the Professor Marcelo Arroz. Photo: GRACIEMAG archives

Of course, the opponent in this challenge is regarded with great respect. However, without giving any clues, Feitosa says their strategy is already in place.

“Kron has a weight advantage. But I took a look at his game and I think there’s a hole that we can exploit, neutralize that advantage, and Furão wins the fight. ”

About his being from Gracie Barra and training an athlete to face a Gracie, Marcio believes competition can only add positive things.

“Everybody wins with this fight, because they’re two top athletes and they’ll make some noise. It’s very likely the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community in Arizona will get together to watch this fight. In the end the Gracie family and Jiu-Jitsu come out winners; it’s good for everyone. Moreover, the Gracie family always had this type of culture. When not fighting some MMA fight or competing in some championship, the stories I hear are about really intense competitiveness between them, which always kept them sharp. And that’s what the Master is teaches us and that’s what I teach Furão ,” concluded the coach.

To learn more about the event, which also features a supermatch between Robson Moura and champion of Japan Nobuhiko Kitahara, click  here.