Photo: IBJJF/Facebook

Nivaldo Oliveira, also known as Nil, has lots of history in BJJ. A black-belt since 2007, when he was promoted by Leo Vieira, Nil has won important titles like the absolute in the CBJJ’s Brazilian Nationals, and the IBJJF’s European Championship – two of the toughest competitions on the calendar.

With wins over Rômulo Barral and Murilo Santa, in a recent interview Nivaldo remembered his important triumph from 2012, a landmark in his career as an athlete.

“The title of Brazilian champion in my weight and in the absolute was incredible to me,” he said. “The Brazilian Nationals are the biggest championship in Brazil, and I was able to write my name in the history of the sport. It was a title I had been seeking for some time, and I got it. I was coming off good results in previous years, reaching consecutive finals in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the year I became champion. I gained confidence upon beating tough athletes and world champions; that’s how I knew I was on the right path.”

Now, at 38, Nil resides in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, where he helps propagate the benefits of BJJ, the sport that changed his life from the moment he first stepped on a mat at the age of 16.

“Fortunately, today, I can say that I make a living 100% off Jiu-Jitsu,” said Nil. “I have a comfortable life and a very good quality of life. Yes, I feel fulfilled, but I still have other goals that I want to reach. I want to have my own gym. Here, in Abu Dhabi, it’s incredible how the sport and the professionals are valued. We have big competitions with prize money.” He added: “I’m always training and studying.”

An avid follower of the competitive scene, Nil is keeping an eye on BJJ Stars, the Brazilian organization, in particular. “I always watch these superfight events. It’s super-important for the growth of the sport, especially now, because of the pandemic that struck and we were left without frequent championships. Since I’m already a master, it would be cool to fight again in this event. I hope to have an opportunity to fight again.”

Cobrinha adds to his big medal collection. Graciemag.

BJJ Hall of Famer Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles has nothing left to prove in the sport, but that doesn’t mean his performances are getting any less spectacular.

Recently the veteran fought in the adult featherweight division at the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship, and it came down to him and Rafael Mansur (NS Brotherhood).

Cobrinha got swept and was trailing, but then he achieved two reversals to give the scoreboard final numbers of 4-2. You can see it happen in this video.

Leandro Lo vs Erberth Santos: Foto: Flashsport.

Last Sunday Leandro Lo and Erberth Santos fought in two finals of the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship. The first one — the super-heavyweight final — went rather normally, with Erberth having a good start but ending up getting passed and losing 5-0.

The absolute final, however, was a totally different affair. It was tied at 2-2 (see the official fight video below) until a takedown was scored in Lo’s favor. When the match resumed with Lo in Erberth’s closed guard, the two fighters had a little chat (ten minutes into the video). This is Graciemag’s best lip-reading effort to bring you the content of the conversation.

“Get up,” Erberth said. “Let’s beat each other up so the people can get excited in this final minute.”

“Well, open your guard, then,” Lo replied. “Open up and see if I can pass.” They both laughed.

“Let’s get standing again, then!” said Erberth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KK_THZOozFM&feature=youtu.be

And stand up they did. A bit later, Lo pulled to guard, and the chat resumed. “Open up now, and I’ll pass, huh!” he said.

“No, you don’t,” said Erberth.

In the end Lo was champion, and his merit was acknowledged by Erberth, who remained the No. 1-ranked male of the season due to how prolific he’s been so far.

Bia Mesquita. Flashsport.

Sunday, May 30th, José Corrêa Gymnasium in Barueri held the 21st edition of the Brazilian Nationals. Beatriz Mesquita became lightweight champion and absolute runner-up, firing up the crowd throughout her five bouts — especially the lightweight final versus Bianca Basilio. This was the 26-year-old student under Letícia Ribeiro’s first national title, and she shared some of her thoughts with Graciemag afterwards.

“It was an excellent championship,” Mesquita said. “It seems to have been the biggest one in history. There were many tough girls, and I’m very happy with my result. It’s very good to continue to have good performances in the absolute, having opportunities to fight against high-level girls of all categories. About the lightweight final, it was great. This was our fifth fight, and again I managed to impose my game and win for the fifth time. This time I was able to mount and sweep a few times to walk out as the winner.

“Unfortunately, I couldn’t win the absolute this time around. Tayane [Porfírio] is also a young girl who arrived at the black belt doing great. What is important is to keep training and renew the strategies. They were three fights in the absolute and two in my category. In the absolute I got a submission in my first fight, which was against Carina Santi. Then I beat Claudia Doval by ten points. At the end I did the final with Tayane.

“I will take this week off for some active rest — recovering, but without losing focus. The World Championship is approaching, and before that I intend to compete at the San Diego Open, in California.”

So it seems we’ll get to see her again May 13th. Meanwhile, you can feast your eyes on Beatriz’s lightweight final win in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JesqUf30m-E

Lo victorious again. Flashsport.

All eyes were on him at José Correa Gymnasium, Barueri last weekend. Calm demeanor, neat gi, black belt around the waist and his NS Brotherhood patch on the back. Leandro Lo was the biggest name of the 21st edition of the Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

The former lightweight, who is currently a heavyweight, took a shot at the super-heavyweight division with two goals: to again test his fine BJJ, and to fight the No. 1-ranked IBJJF male, Erberth Santos.

Santos had impressive momentum, having won quadruple gold in most of his events this season. In this championship he would get to fight the man who took the Copa Pódio title from him. In the end, though, it turned out that Lo was on a historic streak, and, like everyone else in his way, Erberth was bound to fall.

Afterwards, Lo spoke exclusively to Graciemag about his two finals with Santos. “I started losing the first fight,” he said. “It’s very hard to do positions on him; he is very tough and explosive. In the second one, I took him down, but he swept me right after. I achieved the second takedown, but he’s in tremendous shape. I fought in these Nationals because the BJJ audience deserved to see this classic — not because it’s me, but because a fight between us two was so promising. Barueri became reminiscent of those times of Roger, Jacaré, Tererê, Margarida — everybody’s blood boiling.”

Just before leaving the gymnasium to celebrate, Lo opened up about his experience fighting in the second-highest weight class. “At the Worlds I’ll be back at heavyweight,” he said. “Fighting at super-heavyweight was too hard.”

The heat was on between Lo and Erberth. Flashsport.

Barueri Gymnasium in Sao Paulo was packed all of last week for the 21st Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu Championship. A total 5,750 athletes kept the 12 mats very busy. Sunday the 30th saw the black-belt adult finals. Leandro Lo and Tayane Porfírio confirmed their favoritism and each won double gold.

Last year’s absolute champion Erberth Santos defended his title against Lo, and also met him in the super-heavyweight final. In the super-heavyweight final, Erberth started out with plenty of pressure and won an advantage from a guard pass attempt. Lo stayed calm, and swept and passed towards the end, winning 5-0. After every other men’s final had played out, the pair returned to the arena for the absolute final. The loud crowd had clearly not had enough of the two.

It started with a fantastic takedown by Lo, granting him a two-point lead. His supporters were still busy cheering when Erberth neatly swept from the closed guard. They resumed the action standing, and, with two minutes to go, Lo charged Erberth while Erberth was jumping to pull guard. The ref didn’t immediately acknowledged it, but then a side referee signaled the takedown, and Lo was again leading by two.

Erberth complained, threatening not to return to finish the match, and was therefore punished. The fight that eventually went on had now become a different beast, with both fighters talking and being punished. At the end the score read 6-4 — Lo was the absolute champion, applauded by the crowd and even by his rival. For this BJJ season, now Lo has double gold in the Pan, Euro and Brazilian Nationals, as well as every intention to extend the streak in June.

Men’s results
Ultra-heavy: Victor Honório (GFTeam) def. Igor “Tigrão” (Ns Brotherhood)
Heavy: Dimitrius Souza def. Guilherme Augusto
Medium-heavy: Patrick Gaudio (GFTeam) def. Renato Cardoso (Alliance)
Middle: Jaime Canuto (GFTeam) def. Otávio Sousa (Gracie Barra)
Light: Michael Langhi (Alliance) def. Gabriel Rollo (Checkmat)
Feather: Rubens “Cobrinha” (Alliance) def. Rafael Mansur (Cicero Costha)
Light-feather: José Thiago (Cícero Costha) def. Cleber Fernandes (Almeida JJ)
Rooster: Aniel Candido def. Rodinei Junior

Tayane left no room for upsets. Flashsport.

Women’s

Alliance’s Tayane Porfírio won the first half of her double gold by defeating Luzia Fernandes (Gracie Barra) in the ultra-heavyweight final via americana from the mount. Then, in the open division, she collided with Bia Mesquita, who had won the lightweight final over Bia Basílio. Tayane put the pressure on and passed Mesquita’s guard to score three points. Tayane kept on pressing, and Mesquita’s resistance until the end only sufficed to leave the score unchanged.

Women’s results
Super-heavy: Talita Treta (Ns Brotherhood) def. Samela Lopes (Ribeiro JJ)
Heavy: Claudia do Val (De La Riva) def. Nathiely de Jesus (Cicero Costha)
Medium-heavy: Carina Santi (G13) won by default
Middle: Nívia Moura (Ribeiro JJ) def. Barbara Gomes (UCB)
Light: Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaitá) def. Bianca Basílio (Almeida JJ)
Feather: Andressa Souza (Barbosa JJ) def. Alliny Santos (Nova União)
Light-feather: Thamires (GFTeam) Aquino def. Vanderlucia Lima (Boca Team)

Lo in action in the Nationals. Flashsport.

Over 5,700 athletes of all belts signed up for the Brazilian Nationals, which this year returned to José Correa Gymnasium in Barueri, keeping all 12 mats very busy.

Saturday the 29th saw the open divisions kick off and play out all the way to the end of the semifinals. Leandro Lo and Erberth Santos made it in the men’s section. To get there, Lo first beat Moisés Junior with a choke from the back. Then he faced Rodrigo Ribeiro (G13), who fought well but lost 5-0 due to a takedown and a pass. Then Lo scored 8-0 on the giant Otávio Nalati (Guigo JJ) after unbalancing and taking his back. Then, in the semifinal, Lo took on Renato Cardoso (Alliance). Lo swept at the beginning, then Renato sweept back. With 2-2 on the scoreboard, Lo swept again and passed, winning by 9-2. 

Erberth’s path to the final started with a fight against Eduardo Sarkissian (Barbosa JJ), who was choked from the back. Then Erberth managed to choke out Caio Freitas (Halavanca JJ) after getting taken down; he swept back, passed and took the back to finish. Erberth then faced Rodrigo Akillis (Alliance); the fight started out hot, but Erberth ended up with another choke. In the semifinal, Erberth faced his old rival Victor Honório (GFTeam). Erberth got a takedown to lead, then attempted an arm submission and saw Honório seize a gap to reverse the position. The bout then slowed down, leading the refs to punish both and threaten a double disqualification. Victor reacted by pulling; on top, Erberth slipped and almost passed and mounted right before the whistle — the win was his by advantages on top of a 4-4 score.

Women’s open division

Bia Mesquita made her way to the final by first defeating Carina Santi (G13) via choke from the back. Then she scored 10-0 over Cláudia do Val (De la Riva), passing her guard. On the other bracket, Tayane Porfírio first faced brave guard player Bia Basílio (Almeida JJ), who managed to close and control her for a while, until Porfírio started scoring, stopping only at 15-0 by passing and mounting a few times.

Alex Aparecido started training when he was 20 years old, quite late for regular standings.

Born in Itumbiara, he revealed a competitive drive since very soon as a student at Atrium academy, under Professor Rodrigo Castro.

In 2010, he almost won his first Brazilian National title, in a final against a certain Marcus Buchecha, but an injury prevented him from competing.

He then endured almost four years aways from competitions, but returned full throttle in 2015, with titles at the Floripa Open, Brasilia Open, among other accolades.

In Barueri, this past weekend, he finished his first two matches at the superheavy division. Then, in the quarterfinals, an attack to his foot almost ended his run.

Hurt, he thought about quitting, but NS Brotherhood leader Leandro Lo gave some valuable advice. “Don’t even tape it, Alex! Just walk it off and go for it. If you want to be a champion, you need to fight hurt.”

The semifinal would be against Erberth Santos, open class finalist that recently had beat Felipe Pena 7-2 in Abu Dhabi. “I went for an omoplata attack and he defended, but the triangle fell in place. i heard the crowd cheering as I tightened. It was one of the craziest moments in my life,” remembers Alex.

In the final, one advantage was enough to beat Rodrigo Martins and conquer the title.

For the future, Alexa is focusing on a spot for the 2017 WPJJC, once visa problems will prevent him from competing at the 2016 Worlds.

With reporting by Carlos Arthur Jr.

Erberth Santos

The 2016 Brazilian National championship just wrapped up its black belt open calss divisions for both the female and male adult black belt.

Among the men, Erberth Santos repeated his result from 2015 and secured the gold medal once again.

In the final the Ryan Gracie Team athlete beat Zenith BJJ’s Rodrigo Cavaca 11-8, with a guard pass in the beginning and a series of sweeps.

Andresa Correa

In the female division, Andresa Correa met Mackenzie Dern once again for another thrilling match.

After a takedown early on, Andresa was able to put the breaks on Mackenzie’s bottom game and secure the 2-0 lead for the win.

The full adult black belt division results are as follows:

BLACK / Adult / Male / Rooster

First – Rodnei Barbosa Gabriel Junior – Zenith BJJ

Second – Juan Lopes da Silva – PRM Team

Third – Felipe Rodrigues Giarolla – Zenith BJJ – Brasil

Third – Rafael Augusto Santos de Oliveira – CheckMat

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light Feather

First – José Tiago da Silva Barros – PSLPB Cicero Costha

Second – Hiago George Santos Silva – PSLPB Cicero Costha

Third – Marcos Suel Silva Santos – Alliance

Third – Magno Mota Vieira – Brigadeiro Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

BLACK / Adult / Male / Feather

First – Paulo Henrique Bordignon Miyao – PSLPB Cicero Costha

Second – Isaque Alberto de Oliveira Paiva – Saikoo Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Fabio Murat Caloi – Alliance

Third – Luciano Queiroz de Araujo – GF Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light

First – Michael Alexandre Langhi – Alliance

Second – Juan Caio Kamezawa da Silva – Alliance

Third – Sandro Gabriel Vieira – CheckMat

Third – Theodoro Gabriel Canal Almeida – GF Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Middle

First – Jhonny Loureiro Sigallis Souza – Alliance

Second – Luan de Carvalho Alves – Nova União

Third – Claudio de Mattos Cardoso – Gracie Barra

Third – William Ferreira Dias – Nova União

BLACK / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy

First – Renato Guimaraes Cardoso – Alliance

Second – Patrick Pontes Moura Santos Gaudio – GF Team

Third – Ruan Marques de Oliveira – Soul Fighters BJJ

Third – William Martins Morais de Lima – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Male / Heavy

First – Guilherme Augusto Soares Santos – Alliance

Second – Miguel Angel Alderete – Nova União

Third – Dimitrius Soares Souza – Alliance

Third – Cássio Francis da Silva – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Male / Super Heavy

First – Alex Aparecido Soares – Ns Brotherhood

Second – Rodrigo Martins Ribeiro da Silva – G13 BJJ

Third – Erberth Santos de Mesquita – Ryan Gracie Team

Third – Felipe Menezes Bueno – Alliance

BLACK / Adult / Male / Open Class

First – Erberth Santos de Mesquita – Ryan Gracie Team

Second – Rodrigo Henrique Cavaca – Zenith BJJ

Third – Victor Hugo Honório P. da Silva – GF Team

Third – Renato Guimaraes Cardoso – Alliance

BLACK / Adult / Female / Light Feather

First – Rayanne Amanda Carmo dos Santos – Attack JJ Team

Second – Anna Carolina Carmo Correia – Halavanca BJJ Brasil

Third – Amanda Mercini Senna Valle – Gracie Barra

Third – Alliny Karen Silva Santos – Nova União

BLACK / Adult / Female / Feather

First – Michelle Zonato Nicolini – CheckMat

Second – Andressa Lídia de Souza – Barbosa JJ

Third – Glaciane dos Santos Axt – Gracie Humaita

Third – Bianca Andrade Barreto – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Female / Middle

First – Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa – Ns Brotherhood

Second – Barbara Gomes dos Santos – Universidade Católica de Brasília

BLACK / Adult / Female / Medium Heavy

First – Andresa Correa – Alliance

Second – Tania Mabel Andrade Barrêto – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Female / Heavy

First – Samela Shoham Lopes Leite – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Fernanda Mazzelli Almeida Maio – Striker JJ

BLACK / Adult / Female / Super Heavy

First – Fabiana Pereira Santos – Zenith BJJ

Second – Andréa Mc Comb Pereira – Zenith BJJ

BLACK / Adult / Female / Ultra Heavy

First – Talita Andrea Nogueira – Ryan Gracie Team

Second – Carina Curvelo Santi – G13 BJJ

Third – Júlia Cristina Mayworn – GF Team

BLACK / Adult / Female / Open Class

First – Andresa Correa – Alliance

Second – Mackenzie Lynne Dern – Gracie Humaita

Third – Fernanda Mazzelli Almeida Maio – Striker JJ

Third – Samela Shoham Lopes Leite – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

In the teams competition, results were:

Adult Male

1 – Alliance – 116

2 – Nova União – 66

3 – PSLPB Cicero Costha – 46

Adult Female

1 – GF Team – 66

2 – Alliance – 54

3 – Ryan Gracie Team – 50

Click here for the full results.

Luan Carvalho at the 2015 Brazilian Nationals

The 2016 Brazilian National Jiu-Jitsu championship takes place this week (April 27-May 1), once again in Barueri, São Paulo.

One more time, the event broke all records in terms of athletes’ registration.

Here are 5 reasons why the Brazilian Nationals are such a big deal for Jiu-Jitsu.

Brazilian Nationals in 1998

1. It is the longest running Jiu-Jitsu event still going strong

The first Brazilian Nationals took place in 1994, making this year’s edition the 23rd. It has seen multiple generations come and go with each and every one of the greatest names of the gentle art showing their talent and fighting hard to take home a gold medal. Just signing up to compete is being a part of one of the gentle art’s richest stories.

2. It is the biggest event ever

The CBJJ just announced that 4406 athletes have registered to compete in Barueri this week. From kids to master 6 athletes, the event is an annual celebration of the power of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil. Last year, the event had 3447 athletes, which means an increase of more than 20% for 2016.

3. It’s where new talents from the most dominant country in Jiu-Jitsu come to light

If you want to get a sense of who the next big stars in Jiu-Jitsu will be, take a look at the lower belt divisions of the Brasileiro. Despite the growth in quality in countries all over the world, it is still undeniable that Brazil holds firmly the honor of most dominant nation in terms of new talents.

Leo Nogueira at the 2007 Brasileiro as a brown belt

4. It’s the last big tournament before the Worlds

With the Europeans, Pan and WPJJC gone, the Brasileiro is the last big one before the biggest one in June. World champions will use the event to sharpen their weapons for the big stage in Long Beach and to try new tricks.

5. It has some pretty big names in the black belt division (as usual)

Hiago George, Ary Farias, Paulo Miyao, AJ Agazarm, Jhonny Souza, Michael Langhi, Luan Carvalho, Cassio Francis, Erberth Santos, Luiz Big Mac, Rodrigo Cavaca, Michelle Nicolini, Mackenzie Dern, Luiza Monteiro, Andresa Correa, Fernanda Mazzelli, Talita Nogueira. These are just the most recognizable faces that will be on the mats in Barueri. Look out for all the others too.

He won double gold in the superheavy and open class black belt division of the Brazilian Nationals.

The superheavy final was maybe his finest moment, when he was able to choke world champion Rodrigo Cavaca.

See how he did it.

The latest one to make the headlines is Luan Santana, Brazilian Nationals black belt lightweight champion.

He got there after four tough matches and the semifinal against two-time world champion Michael Langhi was the one that caught everyone’s attention.

Watch how things went down and know why there’s a new Brazilian guy you have to worry about.