Paul Schreiner, Felipe Pena, Marcelo Garcia, Leandro Lo, Bernardo Faria. Photo: Erin Herle

While in town for the IBJJF NY Pro and/or seminars, the two Copa Podio stars Leandro Lo of Cicero Costha and Felipe “Preguica” Pena of Gracie Barra have stopped into the famed NYC academy of Marcelo Garcia.

The two stars took a class under Bernardo Faria who is also competing in the NY Pro and won the IBJJF Pro League last weekend in Long Beach.

Blending in as visiting students, they drilled the technique and sparred with other students in the class.

You can check out a quick video of the training:

Leandro will be competing in the heavyweight division in a round-robin with Keenan Cornelius and Tim Spriggs for a prize of $4,000 on Saturday, Oct. 25

The group of instructors, students and visitors discuss techniques. Photo: Erin Herle

Telles vs Preguiça at the 2013 Worlds No-Gi. Photo: Ivan Trindade

The 2014 IBJJF World Jiu-Jitsu No-Gi Championship is nearing. This weekend the event will be held at a new location on the campus of Azusa Pacific University in Azusa, CA.

The event will take place on Oct. 4 & 5. Last year’s edition gave us exciting matches that can provide inspiration, motivation and anticipation for the many matches to come this weekend.

Do you remember the black belt adult medium-heavy final between Felipe “Preguica” Pena and Eduardo Telles? Preguica’s constant berimbolo attacks against Telles’ turtle guard and the constant scrambles made the match one to watch all the way until the very end.

Check it out:

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

Leandro Lo tries to choke Alan Finfou at the Rio Open. Photo: Gustavo Aragão / GRACIEMAG

Last weekend, the gymnasium at Tijuca Tennis Club hosted the sixth edition of the IBJJF’s Rio Open, an event that occurs parallel to the charming International Masters and Seniors.

More than that, it also served as the stage to a great fight between a skinny fighter and a super-heavyweight, a type of duel that has always been part of the essence of Jiu-Jitsu.

Leandro Lo, the lightweight world champion, signed up this time at middleweight, and the tactic worked: he won the absolute at the end of a final versus João Gabriel Rocha.

After passing through the light heavyweight Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra) in the semifinal of the open, Lo beat João Gabriel by one advantage. After the match, he commented on his victory with GRACIEMAG: “The decisive point in this fight was again my guard; I had to take my spider guard to its limit to win this [laughs]! After many years of training, I feel good under my opponent, regardless of whether he is a big guy like João or a smaller guy. I use this game of spider guard and it has always worked – I always control one sleeve and hold tight there near the bottom of the pants, and I drill it in the gym. And it worked in the absolute final,” said the Cicero Costha student.

That same afternoon, Leandro won gold at middleweight with an arm submission against Alan Finfou (Checkmat) in the final. He told of what changed for him in this new category: “I prepared myself better than for the Pan, when I fought also among the middleweight and did not do well. Now I am doing weight training and preparation! I think that was key for me to get good at middleweight. I did not really like working out, but now I’m picking up the weights and feeling much stronger,” said Lo, who praised the runner-up.

“The fight with Alan Finfou was good; I had fought with him in Sao Paulo before the Rio Open. He is very tough on top, he applies good takedowns and is fast. Finfou threw me down, but I adjusted myself and got back at him with a sweep. Then I got his back and applied the choke, but my arm was a little over his mouth and ended up slipping. So I made the correct grips on his arm and found an armbar at the end.”

Before leaving the venue, GRACIEMAG wanted to know about Lo’s stamina, which seems to have no end during fights. To which Leandro replied with this nugget: “It’s what I always tell people, teammates and fans: in fact I do not have a lot of stamina. What
I do is pace myself very well during fights, holding my grips fast. It looks like I’m attacking all the time, but sometimes I pretend to attack – some of those times I rest… You need to know how to pace yourself.”

Leandro Lo working a pass over Felipe Preguica Pena in the absolute of Rio Open. Photo: GRACIEMAG

The black belts took to the mat of the Tijuca Tenis Club in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and fought through their weight divisions. The end of the day was marked by the male black belt absolute final.

The middleweight Leandro Lo of Cicero Costha, who fights at lightweight for most tournaments, accomplished double gold at the 2013 IBJJF Rio Open on Sunday. Teammate Luiza Monteiro secured her own double gold as well winning the lightweight and absolute divisions.

The final between Leandro Lo and Joao Gabriel Rocha of Soul Fighters boiled down to one advantage made by Lo from his guard. The female black belt absolute was ended by the time limit with Luiza Monteiro in the lead 9-2 over Vanessa Oliveira of GFTeam.

Male black belt weight divisions

GFTeam closed out the ultra-heavyweight division between Ricardo Evangelista and Igor Silva.

Joao Gabriel Rocha finished his opponent in the final of the super-heavy division by choking Grimaldo Son of GFTeam from the back.

Heavyweight final was made by GFTeam’s Leonardo da Costa Maciel and Nova Uniao’s Andre Bastos with Leonardo earning the gold.

Felipe Preguiça Pena of Gracie Barra secured gold in the medium-heavyweight division by defeating Rodrigo Farjado also of Gracie Barra by 7-0 in points.

Leandro Lo won his first gold of the day in the middleweight division by submitting Alan Finfou of Checkmat with an armbar finish.

Claudio Caloquinha of Gracie Barra defeated American A.J. Agazarm of Gracie Barra by 3-2 in advantages to claim the lightweight gold.

Featherweight final was determined by a referee’s decision with no points and no advantages with Leonardo Saggioro of Brazilian Top Team earning the favor and the gold over Isaque Paiva of Saikoo.

Joseph James of Cicero Costha won the light-featherweight gold by defeating Checkmat’s Leandro Silva with a 14-0 in points and an armbar finish.

Roosterweight was won by Brasa’s Felipe Costa by taking the back and earning 4-0 in points over Checkmat’s Igor Rodrigues.

Female black belt weight divisions

Gracie Barra’s Luzia Fernandes defeated Talita Treta of Ryan Gracie Team by 2-0 in advantages of the heavyweight division.

Middleweight gold was earned by Vanessa Oliveira of GFTeam over Behring’s Delcia Enricone by a footlock.

Luiza Monteiro won the lightweight final against Renata Pimental of SAS by 4-0 in points.

Juliana Nogueira of Brazilian Top Team defeated Aline Paula Coelho of C.E. Irmao Felix JJ by 18-0 in points for for the featherweight gold.

For the full results from white to black, click here.

Light-featherweight final was closed out by Angelica Vieira of Atos and Ana Michelle Tavares of Nova Uniao with Ana Michelle earning the gold.

Leandro Lo vs. Leonardo Maciel. Photo: Instagram

The IBJJF Rio Open is underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this weekend and tomorrow marks the day of the absolute finals in the Tijuca Tenis Club.

Male black belt absolute final will be Joao Gabriel Rocha of Soul Fighters vs. Leandro Lo of Cicero Costha

Out of four pages of brackets, it dwindled down to two superstars. Super-heavyweight Joao Gabriel was able to choke three of this four opponents from the back on his way to the final. In the semi-final he finished Ricardo Evangelista in 3:25 of the match. Middleweight Leandro Lo had four matches as well and in the semi-final he defeated Gracie Barra’s Felipe Preguica Pena with 8-0 in advantages.

Leandro with a kimura on Diogo Almeida:

Female black belt absolute final will be Vanessa Oliveira of GFTeam vs. Luiza Monteiro of Cicero Costha

In the semi-final, middleweight Vanessa Oliveira submitted Talita Treta with a triangle to advance to the finals with lightweight Luiza Monteiro.

For full results so far of the Rio Open, click here.

Ginásio Amadeu Teixeira em Manaus, palco da Seletiva para Abu Dhabi. Foto: Carlos Ozório/GRACIEMAG.com

Neste fim de semana, em Manaus, mais de 400 atletas vão brigar por 13 das últimas vagas para lutar no WPJJC, com todas as despesas pagas, incluindo a passagem aérea, hotel e alimentação em Abu Dhabi, nos dias 13 e 14 de abril.

Organizada pelo nosso GMA Fabio Holanda e com apoio da secretaria de esportes de Manaus, a seletiva será realizada no ginásio Amadeu Teixeira.

A pesagem rola hoje, sexta-feira, e entre as feras estão Felipe “Preguiça” Pena, Renato Cardoso, Gilson Nunes Neném, Carlos Holanda, Isaque Paiva, Diego Borges, Paulo Ledesma, Abraão Amorim, Caio Almeida, Leonardo “Cascão” Saggioro, Thiago Reinaldo, Hugo Britto, Bia Mesquita, Luiza Monteiro, Talita Nogueira e Jéssica Oliveira, além de alguns novatos que prometem surpreender os favoritos.

Não perca a cobertura no seu site predileto de Jiu-Jitsu, o GRACIEMAG.com.

Para conferir quem está dentro, clique aqui.