Alexandro sinks the golden ezequiel.

Held last weekend, the IBJJF’s Austin Winter Open had in veteran fighter Alexandro Ceconi one of its standouts. Even though he qualifies to fight among masters, Alexandro chose to take part in the adults’ age group and walked away with two gold medals.

Besides the absolute title, which he won by beating lightweight champion Thiago Macedo (Rodrigo Pinheiro), Alexandro won the super-heavyweight title over  Charles Mcguire (ATT) with a powerful play.

Alexandro charged and, upon being pulled, advanced straight for the choke using the lapel. He didn’t finish right there, but went to the back and set up the ezequiel attack. With patience and continuous pressure, Alexandro gradually squeezed until forcing the tap-out.

See how it all played out here:

Alexandro Ceconi com o ezequiel de ouro no Austin Open. Foto: Reprodução

Realizado no último final de semana, o Austin Winter Open da IBJJF teve como um dos destaques o faixa-preta veterano Alexandro Ceconi. Mesmo com bagagem suficiente para brilhar na divisão master, Ceconi se jogou no adulto e mordeu dois ouros.

Além do título absoluto, conquistado ao vencer o campeão peso leve Thiago Macedo (Rodrigo Pinheiro),  Ceconi havia vencido, minutos antes, o atleta Charles Mcguire (ATT) na final do superpesado, em um lance potente de finalização.

Ceconi partiu para cima e ao ser puxado avançou direto para o estrangulamento usando a lapela. A fera não finalizou, mas foi para as costas e armou o ataque derradeiro no ezequiel. Sem desespero e com pressão contínua, Ceconi apertou o adversário gradativamente até conseguir os três tapinhas.

Confira o lance no vídeo abaixo!

Leonardo Nogueira was stripped of medal due to doping. Foto: Gallerr

Alliance’s Leonardo Nogueira has had his 2016 BJJ world championship rescinded after failing a drug test done by the USADA (U.S. Anti-Doping Agency) following his campaign in June of last year.

Leonardo Nogueira, 29, tested positive for clomifene, a drug used for raising one’s testosterone levels. Clomifene is listed among the substances banned by the WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) and the USADA.

Nogueira was handed a two-year suspension, starting June 5, when the sample was collected. He will not be allowed to compete in IBJJF contests and will have every result achieved following his test revoked, including the 2016 world title he won over Alexandro Cecconi, who is expected to be declared the rightful champion.

Leonardo Nogueira is the fourth BJJ athlete caught in a drug test since 2013, when the IBJJF started doing such tests. The other three are Gabi Garcia (2013), Bráulio Estima (2014) and Felipe “Preguiça” Pena (2014).

Léo Nogueira, com o braço erguido, e Alexandro Ceconi, que agora se torna campeão mundial. Foto: Gallerr

A agência americana antidoping USADA anunciou, nessa segunda-feira 27 de março, que o lutador Leonardo Nogueira, de 29 anos, foi testado positivo por uma substância considerada proibida no último Mundial de Jiu-Jitsu da IBJJF, no ano passado.

Léo, que havia se sagrado tricampeão mundial no peso superpesado, vai pegar dois anos de suspensão dos torneios da Federação Mundial.

O período de dois anos de gancho para o atleta começou em 5 de junho de 2016, data em que sua amostra foi coletada. O faixa-preta foi desqualificado de todos os resultados competitivos, obtidos em eventos da IBJJF, desde o dia 1º de junho, data de início do Mundial, e perde com isso medalhas e premiações conquistadas.

Com esse resultado, o então vice Alexandro Ceconi vai herdar a medalha de ouro de Léo e tornar-se campeão mundial pela primeira vez.

Léo testou positivo para a substância clomifeno, no teste realizado em 5 de junho de 2016, logo após o fim do Campeonato Mundial de Jiu-Jitsu da Federação Internacional de Jiu-Jitsu brasileiro, a IBJJF, realizado em Long Beach, Califórnia.

A USADA foi contratada pela IBJJF para realizar testes para o torneio e coletou a amostra de Nogueira de acordo com o Padrão Internacional de Testes e Investigações da Agência Mundial Antidoping (WADA). Leia a nota traduzida abaixo ou clique aqui para conferir na fonte.

“A USADA anunciou hoje que Leonardo Pires Nogueira, de Dunwoody, Geórgia, faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu, testou positivo para uma substância proibida e aceitou uma sanção de dois anos por sua violação de regras antidoping.

Nogueira, de 29 anos, testou positivo para clomifeno como resultado de um teste de drogas em competição realizado em 5 de junho de 2016, na Federação Brasileira de Jiu-Jitsu (IBJJF),no Campeonato Mundial de Jiu-Jitsu realizado em Long Beach, Califórnia. Apesar da IBJJF não ser signatária ao Código Mundial Antidoping, a USADA foi contratada pela IBJJF para realizar testes para o evento e coletou a amostra de Nogueira de acordo com o Padrão Internacional de Testes e Investigações da Agência Mundial Antidoping (WADA).

Clomifeno é uma Substância Especificada na Classe de Moduladores Hormonais e Metabólicos na Lista de Proibição da WADA e proibido em todos os momentos pelo Código Mundial de Antidoping e o Protocolo USADA para o Teste de Movimento Olímpico e Paraolímpico, que se aplicou aos campeonatos mundias de Jiu-Jitsu da IBJJF em 2016.

O período de dois anos de inelegibilidade de Nogueira começou em 5 de junho de 2016, data em que sua amostra foi coletada. Além disso, Nogueira foi desqualificado de todos os resultados competitivos obtidos em competições sancionadas pela IBJJF, ou qualquer signatário do Código, em 1 de junho de 2016, data de início do Campeonato Mundial de Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF 2016, incluindo a perda de qualquer medalha , Pontos e prêmios.A IBJJF concordou em impor esta sanção.

Em um esforço para ajudar os atletas, bem como todos os membros da equipe de apoio, como pais e treinadores, na compreensão das regras aplicáveis a eles, USADA fornece instruções abrangentes em seu site sobre o processo de teste e substâncias proibidas, como obter permissão para usar uma medicação necessária e os riscos e perigos do uso de suplementos, bem como drogas de reforço de desempenho e recreativas. Além disso, a USADA gerencia uma linha de referência de medicamentos, a Global Drug Reference Online (www.GlobalDRO.com), realiza sessões educacionais com os Órgãos Nacionais e seus atletas e distribui proativamente uma infinidade de materiais educacionais, como a Lista Proibida, Cartões de carteira de referência, boletins periódicos e documentação de referência de protocolo e política.

A USADA é responsável pelo processo de testes e gerenciamento de resultados para atletas no Movimento Olímpico e Paraolímpico dos EUA e dedica-se igualmente à preservação da integridade do esporte através de iniciativas de pesquisa e programas educacionais.”

Lovato, who heads a school in Oklahoma City, is an avid competitor and at the 2014 World Championship he faced Alexandro Ceconi. Here is how the match went down:

Check out more of Rafael Lovato Jr. and his academy at www.okbjj.com

Felipe Preguica takes the back of Diogo Moreno in the final. Photo: Gustavo Aragao

The Copa Podio Middleweight Grand Prix was held Sunday, September 8 with various athletes thrown into a mix of talent for one trophy. Brown belts, judokas, new black belts, seasoned competitors, Australians, Americans, featherweights, you name it. The amount of differences between each opponent left the predictions scattered.

The event lasted many hours at the famous Tijuca Tenis Club in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil with two superfights intertwined as well. The two groups faced each of their group members to earn points based on how the match was won. A win earns three points, a draw earns one point for each opponent and a loss is zero points. Whoever has the most points in their group will go on to face the person who has the most points of the other group. A third place match is set for the second place athletes from each group. In the case of a tie-breaker, overall submissions and aggressiveness will determine.

Felipe Preguica won the grand prix while Leandro Lo and Clark Gracie both won their matches.

The full results:

Copa Podio Middleweight GP

Tijuca Tennis Club, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sunday, September 8, 2013

Challenge of Cities: Clark Gracie (San Diego) took the back of Diego Borges (Manaus) and finished with a choke 22:37 into the no time limit match

ROUND 1 OF GP

Green Group: Renato Cardoso (Checkmat) defeated Travis Stevens (Renzo Gracie) with a triangle 1:11

Green Group: Paulo Miyao (Cicero Costha) swept Manuel Diaz (Caio Terra) and won 2-0

Yellow Group: Felipe Preguica Pena (Gracie Barra) won Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team) by 7-0

Yellow Group: Diogo Moreno (Soul Fighters) swept Davi Ramos (Atos) and won 2-0

ROUND 2 OF GP

Green Group: Paulo Miyao (Cicero Costha) drew with Jaime Canuto (GFTeam) with 0-0

Green Group: Travis Stevens (Renzo Gracie) defeated Manuel Diaz (Caio Terra) by 1 advantage

Yellow Group: Diogo Moreno (Soul Fighters) beat Kit Dale (Checkmat) by 5-2

Yellow Group: Davi Ramos (Atos) finished Alexandro Ceconi with a toehold in 31 seconds

ROUND 3 OF GP

Green Group: Manuel Diaz (Caio Terra) defeated Renato Cardoso (Checkmate) by 2-0

Green Group: Travis Stevens (Renzo Gracie) defeated Jaime Canuto (GFTeam) with an armbar from omoplata

Yellow Group: Felipe Preguica (Gracie Barra) choked Davi Ramos (Atos) from the back

Yellow Group: Kit Dale (Checkmat) swept Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team) and won 2-0

ROUND 4 OF GP

Green Group: Paulo Miyao (Cicero Costha) turned the fight and defeated Travis Stevens 2 advantages to 1

Green Group: Jaime Canuto (GFTeam) defeated Renato Cardoso (Checkmat) by 3 advantages to 0

Yellow Group: Diogo Moreno (Soul Fighters) swept Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team) and won 2-0

Yellow Group: Felipe Preguica (GB) swept and won Kit Dale (Checkmat) by 2-0

ROUND 5 OF GP

Green Group: Manuel Diaz (Caio Terra) finished Jaime Canuto (GFTeam) with an armbar

Green Group: Paulo Miyao (Cicero Costha) took his back and choked Renato Cardoso (Checkmat)

Yellow Group: Kit Dale (Checkmat) drew with Davi Ramos (Atos) by 2-2

Yellow Group: Felipe Preguica (Gracie Barra) defeated Diogo Moreno (Soul Fighters) with a triangle

SEMIFINALS:

Diogo Moreno won Paulo Miyao by 4-2 in sweeps

Felipe Preguica won Travis Stevens by 9-2

SUPERFIGHT (no-gi):

Leandro Lo (Cicero Costha) won Calasans Claudius (Atos) by 7-0 (two sweeps and a pass)

DISPUTE THIRD PLACE:

Paulo Miyao beat Travis Stevens after draw at 2-2

THE FINAL GP:

Felipe Preguica took the back of Diogo Moreno and won by 4-2

The second edition of the Copa Podio Middleweight Grand Prix will be on Sunday, September 8 in Rio de Janeiro. The ten athletes, who are separated in two groups, will match-up against each opponent within their group. Whoever earns the most points will move on to compete against those who earned the most points in the opposite group.

Check out where the athletes are before the big show in a few days:

Travis Stevens made his way from Boston to the Graciemag headquarters in Rio with CEO Luca Atalla and team. Photo: Alan Teo

Kit Dale traveled from Australia and is around Rio training at major academies like the one here, Checkmat Copacabana. Photo: Kit Dale

Paulo Miyao competed in a local tournament and closed out with his brother Joao. Photo: Paulo Miyao

Davi Ramos won his most recent MMA fight with a guillotine in the first round. Photo: Davi Ramos

Felipe Pene trained with his instructor Draculino as the Gracie Barra Texas leader visited Brazil. Photo: Felipe Pena

Manny Diaz flew into Sao Paulo and trained with Leandro Lo who will be facing Claudio Calasans in a superfight. Photo: Manny Diaz

The full schedule for the event in PST or LA time is as follow:

City Challenge(No time limit to submission) – 1:00 pm (LA)
Manaus (Diego Borges) x San Diego (Clark Gracie)

ROUND 1 GP – 2:00 PM (LA)
Verde Renato Cardoso x Travis Stevens
Verde Paulo Miyao x Manuel Diaz
Amarelo Felipe Preguiça x Alexandro Ceconi
Amarelo Diogo Moreno x Davi Ramos

ROUND 2 GP – 2:35 pm (LA)
Verde Paulo Miyao x Jaime Canuto
Verde Manuel Diaz x Travis Stevens
Amarelo Diogo Moreno x Kit Dale
Amarelo Alexandro Ceconi x Davi Ramos

ROUND 3 GP – 3:10 pm (LA)
Verde Manuel Diaz x Renato Cardoso
Verde Travis Stevens x Jaime Canuto
Amarelo Davi Ramos x Felipe Preguiça
Amarelo Alexandro Ceconi x Kit Dale

ROUND 4 GP – 3:45 pm (LA)
Verde Travis Stevens x Paulo Miyao
Verde Jaime Canuto x Renato Cardoso
Amarelo Alexandro Ceconi x Diogo Moreno
Amarelo Kit Dale x Felipe Preguiça

ROUND 5 GP – 4:20 pm (LA)
Verde Jaime Canuto x Manuel Diaz
Verde Renato Cardoso x Paulo Miyao
Amarelo Kit Dale x Davi Ramos
Amarelo Felipe Preguiça x Diogo Moreno

SPECIAL MATCH (NO GI) 5:30 pm (LA)
Leandro Lo x Cláudio Calasans

Catch the livestream by going to www.copapodio.com

Alexandre Souza sets a course for Tarsis Humphreys’s back at the 2012 WPJJC Trials in the Southern Brazilian town of Gramado (Photo by Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG).

Now in the final stretch of training for the Jan. 13 Copa Pódio Heavyweight GP, Alexandre Souza has taken to studying his opponents.

The native of the Southern Brazilian city of Florianópolis was placed in the Green Team alongside Bruno Bastos, Antonio Braga Neto, Lucio Lagarto and the brown belt João Gabriel.

GRACIEMAG: What about your game changes when doing six-minute matches?

ALEXANDRE SOUZA: In my opinion, in a match like this, the first thing you have to do is take the lead at the outset and avoid stall positions like the half-guard, 50/50 and closed guard. I’m really focused in training and am doing a good job of studying my opponents’ games in order to impose my Jiu-Jitsu at will in the GP.

What’s your assessment of your group?

It’s really strong. Most of them have great competition experience and broad techniques repertories, as well as plenty of titles on their CVs. It won’t be easy. I’ll come up against a variety of different games, but I feel that deep down it’s more important to have your head in the right place and a mental strategy than to have “physical” tactics. And to tell you the truth, I’m brushing up on my takedowns a lot, since there are some opponents against whom I want to play from top position.

In your very first match you’ll be facing Gracie Barra’s Lucio Lagarto, according to the Copa Pódio draw. How do you see that match going?

I know he has an excellent guard and is really effective with his attacks, so intend to avoid getting caught in his game.

Rodolfo Vieira takes Xande down in the Worlds 2012 heavyweight final. (Photo by John Lamonica/ GRACIEMAG)

With three world championship titles under his black belt, one of them coming for winning the absolute, Rodolfo Vieira will be in the opening match of the Copa Pódio Heavyweight Grand Prix coming up January 13 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Hebraica Club.

The opening stage of the GP begins with fighters divided into two groups—the Green and the Yellow groups—and the GFTeam representative landed in the deeper of them alongside Xande Ribeiro, Léo Nogueira, Alexandro Ceconi and brown belt phenom Keenan Cornelius.

The current heavyweight champion of the world had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com during the final stretch in training before the big event. “You can expect a Rodolfo with plenty of desire to win and on the attack,” he says in the following interview.

GRACIEMAG.com: How are your preparations for the six-minute Copa Pódio matches coming?

RODOLFO VIEIRA: Six-minute matches are complicated because a lot of guys stall. There’s no getting tired, but I’m going to fight the way I always do: trying not to make any mistakes; otherwise, you’re through. Training went great. I didn’t stop for Christmas or New Year’s. The gang at GFTeam banded together for this event. I’m feeling really good in every aspect of the game.

Did you pay special attention to any one technique in particular—takedowns, guard…?

Man, if you go check out GFTeam you’ll see that there’s no problem with any of that; we do everything: half-, hook-, spider-guard, closed guard, passing guard at a distance and close up, takedowns. There’s no way to not be tip-top at a tournament after training with so much variety. I make the most of having all that. I’ve got to thank my team for that.

What’s your take on your group?

Deep down I knew I was going to end up in the toughest group. It’s always like that, isn’t it? I’m used to it.

Who’s the favorite to take the title, in your view?

It’s tough to name a favorite for a competition like this one, but there are some guys who can surprise you—like me! You can expect a Rodolfo with plenty of desire to win and on the attack.

You’re set to face Alexandro Ceconi in the opening round of the Heavyweight GP. What do you expect in that first match?

What can you say about [Alexandro] Ceconi as an athlete and person? He’s a great friend of mine, and he’s beat me before and I’ve beaten him. He’s always a tough guy to face. I know his game well. He’s good at takedowns, passes well and has a slick guard, too. You can see how lucky I am just by the first match, huh (laughs)?

Anything you’d like to say to the fans?

I’d like to thank God; my team, GFTeam; my conditioning coach Gabriel Marinho, who always does a fantastic job with me; and my sponsors. I want to thank all my fans for the support they’ve shown and all the messages they send me—there’s no shortage of them. Thanks, gang, from the heart!

Roberto Satoshi against Michael Langhi at 2012 European Open (Photo by Raphael Nogueira)

While everyone else is waiting around for the Heavyweight GP to come, the promoters of the Copa Pódio Jiu-Jitsu tournament are toiling away in putting together the April 28 event, when the Lightweight (under-77 kg) Grand Prix rolls into the city of Belo Horizonte, in the Brazilian State of Minas Gerais.

Among the athletes previously brought in for the Lightweight GP are Michael Langhi of Alliance and Roberto Satoshi of Bull-Terrier/Bonsai. But now there’s a heap of news to add: the promoters are putting together an unprecedented triple match-up, an idea the relentless president of the organization, Jeferson Maycá, came up with.

“The triple match will be along the same lines as the Couples Match: the first match ends, and the next match picks up with the score from the first match. The advantage over the couples match is that there’s no risk of it ending in a draw, since there will always be a tie-breaker, should one match apiece end with a submission. We haven’t decided on the teams yet, but it’s likely the teams in the triple match-up won’t have fighters competing in the Lightweight GP, forewarns Maycá.

Check out the timetable for the Heavyweight Grand Prix set for 5pm January 13, 2013, in Rio de Janeiro.

Copa Pódio – Heavyweight GP
Clube Hebraica, Laranjeiras, Rio
January 13, 2013

Fabiano Boi working on balance on a tightrope at the beach / Personal archive photo

At the South American Jiu-Jitsu Championship, held last November 25 in the Southern Brazilian city of Florianópolis, Alliance black belt Fabiano Boi stood out for the performance that overcame a game Alexandre Ceconi in the heavyweight final.

“To me winning this gold medal was redemption. The highlight for me was in the second match—I pulled guard and went for the omoplata, flipping my opponent right away. It was just what I wanted, and I went for the armbar and finished—all in 30 seconds,” recalled Fabiano, who sent GRACIEMAG.com the breakdown on how to do the position.

Besides intense Jiu-Jitsu training (at Bragança Paulista with Fabio Gurgel in São Paulo City), Boi innovated with a different sort of, outdoor, workout, as he explains:

“For the South American Championship, I did a sort of workout you call slackline. I gained a lot of strength in my legs and extraordinary balance, not to mention the concentration we gain with each training session. And this exercise helps prevent injury, since it strengthens the deep-lying and stabilizing muscles,” he explained.

What do you say, gentle reader? What outdoor exercise have you done to turbo charge your Jiu-Jitsu? Share your experience with the other practitioners.

Caio Magalhães joins the card for the January 19 UFC in São Paulo. UFC publicity photo.

The Copa Pódio Heavyweight GP suffered a setback not at all unwelcome to the one dropping off the lineup. Brazil’s Caio Magalhães, aka Monstro, was added to the card for UFC São Paulo, to take place January 19 at Ginásio Ibirapuera arena.

Caio steps in for his injured countryman Thiago Bodão against the hard-nosed Michael Kuiper (12v, 1d), who is riding a knockout win over Jared Hamman at UFC 150, in August of this year.

The opportunity serves as a second chance for the Jiu-Jitsu black belt who lost his promotional debut via unanimous decision to Buddy Roberts las June at UFC on FX 3, marking the Brazilians first loss since kicking off his MMA career with five back-to-back wins.

For the January 13 Copa Pódio event Jiu-Jitsu, Caio was set to compete in the yellow group alongside the likes of Rodolfo Vieira, Xande Ribeiro, Alexandre Ceconi and Léo Nogueira. The promoters of Copa Pódio are already looking for a substitute.

What do you say, gentle reader? Who would you like to see join the Heavyweight GP fray now? Comment!

UFC São Paulo
Ginásio Ibirapuera, São Paulo, Brazil
January 19, 2012

Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping

Daniel Sarafian vs. CB Dollaway

Gabriel Napão vs. Ben Rothwell

Tiago Tavares vs. Khabib Nurmagomedov

Under card

Godofredo Pepey vs. Miltinho Vieira

Andrew Craig vs. Ronny Markes

Diego Nunes vs. Nik Lentz

Justin Salas vs. Edson Barbosa

Michael Kuiper vs. Caio Magalhães

Iuri Marajó vs. George Roop

Roger Hollett vs. Wagner Caldeirão

J. Keith vs. Francisco Massaranduba