Women first competed in the World Jiu-Jitsu championship in 1998. First they all competed in the same division, without any separation of belts.

In 2007, the first open class division took place and Michelle Nicolini grabbed the gold medal. Only in 2012, black belt women had a division exclusive to them, without the presence of brown belts.

In 2014, the IBJJF inducted its first ever Hall of Fame class and six ladies received the highest honor in Jiu-Jitsu: Gabrielle Garcia, Kyra Gracie, Michelle Nicolini, Bianca Andrade, Leticia Ribeiro and Hannette Staack.

As we approach the 21st edition of the Worlds, we look back to see who are the most accomplished female competitors in the history of Jiu-Jitsu’s most important event.

Michelle Nicolini 

With 8 gold medals as a black belt since 2006, Nicolini leads the pack in terms of appearances on the top of the podium. She is also the lightest competitor to win a black belt open class belt, which she took home in 2007. Michelle announced that the 2016 Worlds will be her last one, as she transitions to MMA. We will sure miss her.

Beatriz Mesquita

With six gold medals, Bia competes in the black belt division since 2010. She won the lightweight division four times (2012-2015) and topped the podium at the open class in 2013 and 2014. A black belt under Leticia Ribeiro, Bia was not in the first class of the IBJJF Hall of Fame, in 2013, but should be in the second one.

Gabrielle Garcia

With six gold medals at the black belt division at the Worlds, Gabi also has two open class titles. She’s been competing in the black belt division since 2008, when she won the heavyweight division for the first time. Gabi’s last appearance at the Worlds was in 2013, as she is now dedicating herself to a successful MMA career at Rizin FF.

Hannette Staack

A seven-time world champion, Hannette Staack built an impressive career on her way to the hall of fame. She won her first gold medal in 2002, when black belts competed with brown belts and purple belts. After that, she lined up titles in 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011. The only thing missing was an open class gold medal, but that does not make Hannette’s run less amazing.

Letícia Ribeiro 

Another seven-time world champion, Leticia Ribeiro kept on top of the game between 2000 to 2012, with three titles in the featherweight division and four in the light-featherweight. Leticia built her legacy and is also responsible for the formation of talents like Bia Mesquita, Ana Carol Lebre, among others.

Bianca Andrade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQIpVdC9C5E

Six-time world champions, Bianca Andrade (later Barreto) is another of the original hall of fame members in the female division. She won six world titles from 2001 to 2009, become the athlete with the most titles in the female featherweight division.

Luanna Alzuguir

With five world titles from 2009 to 2013, including an open class title in 2010, Luanna is definitely part of the team of great champions in the female division. She was one of the most consistent competitors of her generation. She had thrilling battles with Kyra Gracie and Michelle Nicolini, just to name two.

Kyra Gracie

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9spWHoBx8uA

With four titles including one open class gold medal, Kyra Gracie also made to the hall of fame. Her greatest year was 2008, when she walked out of the Long Beach Pyramid with two gold medals. She almost repeated the feat in 2009, but Michelle Nicolini and Lana Stefanac got in her way. Kyra made her final appearance at the Worlds in 2010, closing a five-year run at the podium with another gold medal at the lightweight division.

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 World Jiu-Jitsu championship.

The registration deadline is May 24.

Click here to sign up now!

It was one of the best matches of the year. Mackenzie Dern and Gabrielle Garcia met at the 2015 European female black belt open class final. Fierce as always, Dern did not shy to put her bottom game to work and gave a lot of trouble to heavier Gabi.

One of the most thrilling moments of the match came when Mackenzie managed a sweep to come on top and almost take Gabi’s back. Garcia had her defense ready and worked her way back to the top. Watch the match and get thrilled once again and se how the match ended.

After you do that, don’t forget to register today for the 2016 European Championship. The registration fee changes this Tuesday, so you have until 11:59PM (PT) to register and pay less. Next year’s event will be the first one in a new venue in Lisbon after almost a decade at the Casal Vistoso Gymnasium.

Click here for more info and to register now.

Gabi Garcia

The 2016 European Jiu-Jitsu championship is still more than three months away, but you can start making plans for your trip to Lisbon right away.

The event changed venues for the first time in a long time and in 2016 it will be held at the Pavilhão de Oldivelas, north of the Portuguese capital city.

The new venue is larger than the Casal Vistoso Gymnasium and should fit the ever growing Jiu-Jitsu crowd more comfortably.

The 2016 European is scheduled Jan. 20*-24 and you can already register to compete.

Click here to register now.

While you do that, check out the female black belt open class final between Gabi Garcia and Mackenzie Dern.

*Fights will be scheduled on January 20 if the number of athletes registered exceed capacity for four days.

Teams getting ready for the 2015 ADCC

Scheduled August 29-30 in São Paulo, the 2015 ADCC is less than 10 days away.

Many athletes already made their way to Brazil, as their training camp wrap up around the world.

We did a round up to see how the competitors prepared for the most important submission grappling event of the season.

Here’s what we found out.

Cyborg’s army in Miami

Roberto Cyborg shocked the world two years ago when he beat Marcus Buchecha for the open class gold medal in Beijing. In 2015, his mission is to stop André Galvão in the superfight and add another title to his career. To be ready for his extremely difficult mission, Cyborg put together one of the strongest camps for the 2015 ADCC. João Gabriel Rocha, Rodolfo Vieira, Abraham Marte, Vagner Rocha, among others, are some of the beasts training in Miami. Rocha summed the feeling of getting ready in such a strong camp: “The wrestling training here is awesome and Cyborg is the best in the world in no-gi. I wouldn’t have a camp like this one in Brazil.” Here’s a video with Cyborg talking about the camp itself, by Stuart Cooper.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9yVLAk6RHb4

Galvão leads Atos JJ troops in San Diego

André Galvão wants to join a very select group of champions after the 2015 ADCC. If he beats Cyborg in São Paulo, he’ll be one of two athletes to have a weight class gold medal, an open class title and two superfight wins at the ADCC. Zé Mário Sperry is the only fighter to have that in his record. To get ready for such a great accomplishment, Galvão is taking his preparation very serious. Alongside his impressive team of black belts, he has one of the strongest camps for the 2015 ADCC. Keenan Cornelius, JT Torres, Mike Perez, Dean Lister are some of the names training together in San Diego to compete in Brazil. Here’s a video with some images of the camp, by Patrick Flores.

No teams, just grind at Calvary Chapel

Wrestling coach Jacob Harman made a name for himself recently with awesome results from athletes that trained with him. Two years ago, he had three 2011 ADCC champions and a second place finisher training with him: Marcus Buchecha, João Assis, Romulo Barral and Otavio Sousa. For 2015, the list grew and his classes at the high school in Costa Mesa are packed. Gabi Garcia, Barral, Lucas Rocha, Edwin Najmi, AJ Agazarm, among others go there weekly to improve on their wrestling techniques and also take advantage of the insane physical conditioning included in each session with coach Harman. Gabi talks about how hard it is to train at Calvary Chapel: “It’s certainly one of the hardest session I’ve ever done. I feel like a monster for being the only woman among such strong beasts. It makes my mind even stronger. I’m all bruised up, but I’m sure nothing can be harder than training there.”

Training at Calvary Chapel

Lovato is back and he wants his first gold medal

Rafael Lovato Jr. started competing again last June after more than a year away healing a serious shoulder injury that required surgery to be fixed. With his eyes on the ADCC, he put a strong training camp at his academy in Oklahoma City. The presences of Justin Rader, Jared Dopp, James Puopolo, Xande Ribeiro and even a visit by Braulio Estima made the camp specially hard for the 2015 ADCC. Lovato talks about how prepared he is for going all the way in São Paulo: “I’m feeling awesome. We’ve had Braulio with us and I learned a lot of great technical details from him. Also training with Xande and all the others here. I’m so happy to have this quality of training for my ADCC camp.”

Dopp, Xande, Lovato, Rader

DeBlass, Tonon, Cummings lead the east coast crew 

In New York, Tom DeBlass, Garry Tonon, Ed Cummings, Jason Lees will do their best to keep the legacy of their lineage, which comes from two-time ADCC champion Renzo Gracie. DeBlass talked to Open mat radio about the importance of the ADCC for the grappling community: “It’s our Olympics. It doesn’t get any better. It’s the pinnacle. It’s where everybody wants to be. We want to go there and test ourselves against the absolute top guys in the world. So, our team will be there to prove we are here to stay.”

In Brazil, Burns, Calasans, Cavaca and Frazatto working hard to represent the home team 

Brazil’s supremacy throughout ADCC history is clear, as the country produced the largest number of champions by far. So, as the main event lands in São Paulo for the second time, the home team wants to be ready to represent the tradition once again. Gilbert “Durinho” Burns, Claudio Calasans, Bruno Frazatto and Rodrigo Cavaca joined forces to prepare for the war at the end of august. Durinho talks about the hard work they are putting in to compete: “I’m ready! It’s been a war. I’ve been training with Calasans for the past month and with Cavaca and Frazatto for the past two weeks. We’re going there to win!”

Cavaca, Burns, Calasans and Frazatto

Keeping Marcelo Garcia’s legacy alive

Gianni Grippo, Dillon Danis and Bernardo Faria have some pretty big shoes to fill. Training under Marcelo Garcia, the only 4-time ADCC champion in a single weight division, they have to put on a good performance in the same venue their professor first awed the grappling world, back at the 2003 ADCC. Gianni talks about the camp: “It’s only Danis, Bernardo and myself. The training has been great. Marcelo helps a lot with this one. More than anything he tells us that the best way to approach this event is to play our game and look to attack throughout. I’ve asked him what he thinks about the rules and how it’s best to approach it but he always keeps it simple saying just to look to finish the match- don’t worry about the points and time.”

Grippo and Danis

Cobrinha wants to repeat what he did in China

Rubens Cobrinha pursued his first gold medal at the ADCC for four years. He nearly made it in Barcelona (2009) and Nottingham (2011), when he had to settle for two silver medals after being stopped in the final by Rafael Mendes. In 2013, he had his redemption when he made it all the way after another tough final match with his biggest rival. In São Paulo, Cobrinha’s birth state, he wants his second gold medal to tie the count with Mendes and be just one behind the -66kg division titles record-holder, Royler Gracie. Cobrinha decided to have his camp at home in Los Angeles and with the help of Fabio Passos, Lucas Lepri, Gabi Garcia and others, he’s been training hard for the 2015 ADCC. Here’s a video with some of his training routine.

Libório and Sperry sweating bullets to relive old rivalry

One of the biggest attractions of the 2015 ADCC will be the masters super-match between living legends Zé Mário Sperry and Ricardo Libório. As both were bred by the same master, Carlson Gracie, there’s a lot of history in that match. Libório, 48, prepared for the match with the ATT crew in Florida. He tells how hard the sessions were: “My mother asked me to stop rolling with the young guys from ATT. She said I was going to get hurt. Zé Mário may win as he is one of ADCC’s greatest champions, but he’ll have to work hard to beat me.”

De La Riva, Libório, Bustamante and Jaoude. Photo Clever Barbosa

Zé Mário is training in Rio de Janeiro, at X-Gym, and also sharpening his Jiu-Jitsu with Roberto Gordo. He told GRACIEMAG how he is feeling for the super-match: “I love training, so It’s all good. Libório was one of the best training partners I’ve ever had. He’s good in all aspects of the match. It’s going to be a huge challenge.”

José Mário Sperry

The 2015 ADCC kicks off August 29, in São Paulo, Brazil. Don’t miss GRACIEMAG’s full coverage on all our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Periscope).

World champion and Jiu-Jitsu superstar Gabi Garcia teaches one of her favorite ways of passing the guard when the opponent is mixing the spider guard with the De La Riva guard.

This is the first video of GRACIEMAG’s new weekly How-to series.

Share and suggest other techniques.

Gabi Garcia training MMA at Kings MMA, in Huntington Beach, CA

Gabi Garcia has finally an opponent in sight.

The Jiu-Jitsu black belt will debut in MMA against a Chinese judoka on a big event in Japan, at the end of 2015.

This is what she confirmed to GRACIEMAG in the morning of this Wednesday, July 15.

The new moment in the career already motivated a lot of changes in Gabi’s life.

She moved from São Paulo, Brazil, to Huntington Beach, CA, where she is living with her mother.

“She came to help me stay in the diet and also to help me deal with all those changes.”

Gabi practicing her striking at Kings MMA

Gabi’s new routine makes her drive to three training grounds in Southern California.

She goes to Rafael Cordeiro’s Kings MMA to train striking, then she’s off to Cobrinha BJJ for her ground work and finally she joins the ranks of Jacob Harman’s Calvary Chapel wrestling camp.

“I’m going to change my ticket and go back to Brazil. I can’t take it anymore,” she jokes about the intensity of the training she’s been doing.

Before the MMA debut, Gabi has a commitment with grappling at the end of August, the 2015 ADCC.

Champion in 2011, in Nottingham, UK, and in 2013, in Beijing, China, Gabi wants her third title in the +60kg division.

“The MMA training is so hard that the other day when I went to train at Cobrinha’s it was like I was in heaven. It really takes a while to get used to get punched in the face.”

Gabi can’t give out the name of the organization she’s going to compete in MMA yet, but she guarantees it’s going to be a huge event.

She told GRACIEMAG she still does not know the name of the opponent, but she knows it’s a Chinese judoka.

“There are four other girls in my division. This first opponent is bigger than me!” says Gabi, who told us she will compete at the 93kg (205lb) division.

After winning his division, Miyao entered the open class and made his way to the final, where he faced GF Team’s Carlos Faria.

The result of the match you can watch in the video below.

In the female black belt division, Gabi Garcia returned to competitions and won the open class division when she defeated Luiza Monteiro.

For the full results, click here.

The Long Beach Pyramid

The registration period for the 2014 World Jiu-Jitsu championship is now closed.

There are 345 male black belts competing and 49 female black belts registered, adding to an overall total of 394 black belts.

The most crowded black belt division is the male middleweight, with 67 athletes.

A quick look into the divisions is enough to predict amazing battles in the Long Beach Pyramid.

Male

With 18 competitors, the male black belt roosterweight features favorites Caio Terra and Bruno Malfacine and a little spice in the form of João Miyao, in his first Worlds as a black belt. There’s also strong contenders such as Fabio Passos, Milton Bastos, João Pedro Somália, Koji Shibamoto and Ivaniel Cavalcante.

In the lightfeather division, which gathers 32 athletes, Gui Mendes is going for his forth title in six years. This time, the biggest threat should be Paulo Miyao, also debuting as a black belt in the Worlds. Rafael “Barata” Freitas, Bernardo Pitel, last year’s champion Gabriel Moraes, Carlos Holanda, Samir Chantre and the Japanese battalion also make this one of the hardest light-feather divisions of all times.

Rafael Mendes vs. Cobrinha, in 2012

Since 2009, they meet at this time of the year in the featherweight division of the Worlds. Rafael Mendes and Rubens Cobrinha, holders of seven titles, are once again in collision course in a bracket that adds up to 45 athletes. Last year’s champion, Augusto Tanquinho, kept his promise and did not register to dedicate to MMA. Nevertheless, two-time champion Mario Reis, debuting black belt Gianni Grippo and always dangerous Osvaldo Moizinho, Theodoro Canal, Denilson Pimenta and Leonardo Saggioro can easily create a lot of trouble for the favorites.

Leandro Lo climbed one weight division and will be competing as a middleweight in 2014. With that, the lightweight is another bracket lacking the 2013 champion. The truth is that it does not matter a bit once there are other 56 beasts hungry for gold. Michael Langhi, Lucas Lepri, JT Torres, Roberto Satoshi, Francisco Iturralde, Rodrigo Caporal, Philipe Della Monica and AJ Agazarm are all a guarantee that thrills will be abundant in the bracket. If all that was not enough, three-time world champion Celso Venícius decided to interrupt his BJJ retirement (he’s been more than active in MMA) and jump in once again.

With 67 athletes, the male black belt middleweight is an universe by itself. The sitting two-time champion Otavio Sousa will have to work the hardest he ever worked to keep his post. Completely adapted to the new weight, Leandro Lo wants his third gold medal in a row (he won in 2012 and 2013 as a lightweight). Claudio Calasans Jr, Lucas Leite, Victor Estima, Vitor Oliveira, Clark Gracie and Marcelo Mafra are the usual suspects to threat the two favorites.

Lo vs. Otavio in the 2014 Pan

Romulo Barral almost gave up competing in 2011, but changed his mind and came back stronger than ever. The 2013 champion is after his fifth title overall and third in a row in the Worlds. To get to that, Barral will have to fight through a jungle of 45 competitors in the medium-heavyweight division. GB’s teammate Braulio Estima is his ally for another close out, just like in 2013. Guto Campos, Keenan Cornelius, Murilo Santana and Renato Cardoso will do their best to prevent that from happening again.

The heavyweight division is liberated. After three years of complete domination, Rodolfo Vieira decided to go to super-heavy, an strategy to have more pressure against Marcus Buchecha in a possible face off in the open class division. Relieved, the 36 competitors will go at each other to see who comes out on top in the end. Andre Galvão stands out as a possible favorite, but is closely followed by strong names such as Rafael Lovato Jr, Jackson Sousa, Yuri Simões, Tarsis Humphreys, Luiz Panza, Tarcisio Jardim, Felipe Pena and Roberto Alencar.

The superheavy division has 18 competitors and Rodolfo Vieira. The three-time world champion (not counting the 2011 open class gold) is clearly the favorite here, but that doesn’t mean he will have any kind of easy path to the gold. Two-time world champion Bernardo Faria and world champion Leonardo Nogueira are the biggest stones in Rodolfo’s metaphorical shoe (once no one wear shoes in Jiu-Jitsu). Igor Silva, Gustavo Pires, James Puopolo and Lucas Sachs cans also present some kind of trouble for the favorites.

Rodolfo is now in the superheavy and Buchecha sticks to ultra-heavy

The ultra-heavy division has 27 competitors. Obviously, Marcus Buchecha is the man to be beaten, as he goes for his third title in a row. Rodrigo Cavaca will work hard to be in the final again with his pupil, just like last year. Alex Trans will also work hard to spoil the party and secure a place in the final. Abraham Messina, Ricardo Evangelista, Thiago Gaia and Bruno Bastos are in the mix and hope to be around Sunday, for the quarterfinals.

Female

The division itself is a debutant in the Worlds. With that, Melissa Danforth, Marcela Lawton and Shiho Yaginuma will fight for the glory of becoming the first ever female black belt roosterweight champion.

Absent last year, Leticia Ribeiro is back to the light-feather division aiming for her eighth (that’s right, eighth!) title as a black belt. After her performance in Abu Dhabi, last month, newly-promoted black belt Ariadne Oliveira is Leticia’s big obstacle to reach the impressive mark.

Michelle Nicolini competed and won the medium-heavy division of the 2013 Worlds. This year, she is back to featherweight and should have Mackenzie Dern as her main opponent for the gold medal. Nadia Melo and Pan champion Tammi Musumeci are also in the mix.

The lightweight division should be yet another Bia Mesquita vs. Luiza Monteiro affair. The two could have Fabiana Borges as a party spoiler, but that’s unlikely.

Last year’s champion Luanna Alzuguir, went up to medium-heavy, so the middleweight crown is up for grabs. Vanessa Oliveira, 2013’s runner up wants it, but Janni Larsson, Shanti Abelha and Sophia Drysdale will not make it an easy task for the Brazilian.

After six years, Ana Laura is back to the competition circuit

The medium-heavy division has all the ingredients to be “the division” of the female black belt in the 2014 Worlds. The plot has it all. Luanna Alzuguir wants her fifth world title in a weight division, now in a heavier category. Hannette Staack is also after her eighth gold medal. To make things even more dramatic, Ana Laura Cordeiro makes her comeback after almost six years away from competitions due to a severe back injury. Who’s gonna take it? I don’t know!

The girls at heavyweight are a happy bunch in 2014. For the first time in a long time, the name Gabrielle Garcia does not appear in the bracket. With the creation of the super-heavy division, the star from Alliance had to leave the heavyweight division. With that, last year’s champion Andressa Correa, Luzia Fernandes, Fernanda Mazzelli, Tammy Grieggo and others will have the chance to compete with real chances to win gold.

The super-heavyweight division should be a warm up for Gabi Garcia to go after her third black belt open class gold medal.

For more info, go to http://ibjjf.org/championship/world-jiu-jitsu-championship/

Gabi Garcia after she won the open weight division. Photo: Erin Herle

The women competitors of the 2014 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship accomplished yet another year of great fights. Going into the April 17-19 competition, they hit a milestone as the first year the purple belt females competed in their own division. The growth in numbers drove the United Arab Emirates Jiu-Jitsu Federation to split the categories and this year only the brown belts and the black belts remained together. The males earned all separate categories for their belts in 2013 and by next year we hope that the same will happen for females next year.

But for this edition, brown and black belts went against one another in the same brackets. Here are the results of the weight categories:

-60kg

There were many promising athletes in this division including the champion of 2013 Michelle Nicolini. But this year she met her match, brown belt Adriadne de Oliveira of Mestre Wilson. Armed with a threatening loop choke, she submitted her first, second and third opponents with the submission. The first match of the division was a deja vu of last year as Michelle Nicolini faced Mackenzie Dern and submitted with an armbar leaving Dern out of the competition. In the final, Adriadne competed against Nadia Melo who defeated Nyjah Easton in the semi-final. Adraidne submitted Nadia by a triangle armbar for the gold.

1- Adriadne de Oliveira
2- Nadia Melo
3- Michelle Nicolini

-66kg

Similar to the -60kg division, the first match of the bracket was one fit for a final as Luanna Alzuguir and Luiza Monteiro, who competed in the 2012 WPJJC final, competed against each other. Luiza was able to earn the win with points and also beat Fabiana Borges on her way to the final. Beatriz Mesquita accomplished a win over Marina Ribeiro and Shanti Abelha to make her way to the finals. Fabiana Borges was able to overtake Marina Ribeiro with advantages to win the third place spot. In the final, Luiza maintained the dominant positions against last year’s champion Beatriz and earned the gold via points.

1- Luiza Monteiro
2- Beatriz Mesquita
3- Fabiana Borges

-72kg

New black belt from Sweden by way of Denmark, Janni Larsson proved her promotion once again since receiving her belt last August. In her first match she defeated brown belt threat Monique Elias by points then went on to defeat Fernanda Mazzelli. She faced Polyana Lago in the final. Janni was able to win on points and jumped for joy with the outcome.

1- Janni Larsson
2- Polyana Lago
3- Fernanda Mazzelli

+72kg

The prior champion, Gabrielle Garcia, was able to win her division once more alongside two other Alliance members. Brown belt eighteen-year-old Dominyka Obelenyte was the contender in the final. Dominyka faced Andresa Correa and defeated her by points to go into the final against Gabi. During the final Gabi earned two points by taking Dominyka down and another three by passing. Dominyka recovered her guard a few times but was not able to submit or gain points against the champion and Gabi won via 5-0 on points.

1- Gabrielle Garcia
2- Dominyka Obelenyte
3- Andresa Correa

OPEN WEIGHT

There were 27 brown and black belts who competed in the open weight division. The bracket was created but not all showed up creating byes within the line-up. Here are the full results of each match:

Vanessa Nascimento defeats Michelle Nicolini by 3-0 advantages.
Jackeline Rodrigues defeats Vanessa English by 2-0 advantages.
Jessica Santos defeats Morena Cuba by 7-0 points.
Shanti Abelha defeats Suelen Dos Tobias by 2-2 points, 1-1 adv, 1 penalty for Suelen.
Beatriz Mesquita defeats Dominyka Obelenyte by 2-0 points.
Monique Elias defeats Fabiana Borges by loop choke.
Mackenzie Dern defeats Nyjah Easton by 4-0 points.
Viviane Gomes defeats Andrea Souza by referee decision after 2-2 advantages.
Janni Larsson defeats Marina Ribeiro by 3-1 advantages.
Gabrielle Garcia defeats Maryanne Mullahy by 5-0 points.
Nadia Melo defeats Talita Nogueira by armbar.
Polyana Lago defeats Ida Hansson by knee injury early on as Polyana jumped guard.
Sijara Eubanks defeats Eirin Nygren by 3-0 advantages.

Luanna Alzuguir defeats Nadia Melo by 4-0 points.
Monique Elias defeats Shanti Abelha by 6-0 points.
Mackenzie Dern defeats Jackeline Rodrigues by 2-0 points.
Sijara Eubanks defeats Viviane Gomes by bow and arrow choke.
Janni Larsson defeats Polyana Lago by armbar.
Beatriz Mesquita defeats Jessica Santos by 2-0 points.

QUARTER-FINALS
Monique Elias defeats Sijara Eubanks by 1-0 advantages.
Gabrielle Garcia defeats Vanessa Nascimento by 3-0 advantages.
Janni Larsson defeats Mackenzie Dern by 5-0 points.
Beatriz Mesquita defeats Luanna Alzuguir by 2-0 advantages.

SEMI-FINALS
Gabrielle Garcia defeats Monique Elias by armbar.
Janni Larsson defeats Beatriz Mesquita by 2-1 advantages

THIRD PLACE MATCH
Beatriz Mesquita defeats Monique Elias by 2-0 advantages.

FINAL
Gabrielle Garcia defeats Janni Larsson by arm lock from side control.

For a full photo gallery of all the matches, click here.

Check out a quick photo gallery of the open weight division finals:

The picture above shows the new official standings for the adult female black belt division at the 2013 World Championship.

Gabi Garcia’s name was scraped both from the heavyweight division and the open class.

With that, the open class division remains without a champion and the heavyweight division shows no second place finisher.

The action was taken by the IBJJF following the USADA announcement that Gabi tested positive for Clomiphene after the 2013 Worlds.

The USADA accepted Gabi’s arguments and determined she had not fault or acted negligently in any way to  contribute to the result being positive.

Gabi was not suspended from the sport, but as an automatic sanction lost the results for the 2013 Worlds.

Here you can read the announcement from the USADA.

Here you can read Garcia’s statement on the matter.

Here you can read the IBJJF’s statement on the case.

Gabi Garcia entre jovens alunas: “Alcancei o mais importante: provar minha inocência para a minha família, para os meus fãs e para meu mestre”. Foto: DIvulgação

Na primeira ligação de GRACIEMAG, a faixa-preta Gabrielle Garcia, 28 anos (quase 20 de luta), não pôde nos atender: estava fazendo uma nova tatuagem, pagando uma espécie de promessa após oito meses de um vendaval jurídico.

Em junho, a peso pesado recebeu, da Agência Anti-Doping dos Estados Unidos (USADA), uma notificação de que uma substância ilícita, o clomifeno, constara em seus exames no Mundial de Jiu-Jitsu de 2013. A atleta mandou todos os remédios e suplementos que tomara para novas análises em laboratórios, procurou os maiores especialistas em antidoping no Brasil, contratou bons advogados e, hoje, passou a respirar aliviada.

Em nosso segundo telefonema, Gabi atendeu e contou o que passou, do Mundial até agora, fim de março. Ela queria apenas se concentrar na estreia no MMA, modalidade em que deve debutar em agosto, no Brasil ou no Japão. Em vez disso, ficou deprimida, sem dormir e pensou em largar o esporte. “Foi quando um anjo apareceu na minha vida, um especialista em antidoping no Brasil. Através dele contratei os melhores advogados nessa área, tirei do bolso o que eu nem tinha e agora fui inocentada: recebi da USADA a carta atestando que tomei um medicamento contaminado, e que eu não tive culpa alguma. Nem advertência eu tomei, e o caso nem foi para a corte. Eu não seria burra de tomar isso e jogar meu nome no lixo”.

Hoje, a lutadora da Alliance parece com vontade renovada: “Se eu pensava em deixar o Jiu-Jitsu, agora tudo mudou. Quero lutar MMA e Jiu-Jitsu juntos, e pelo menos nos próximos cinco Mundiais vou estar lá para tentar ganhar tudo de novo”.

Confira a entrevista completa com a campeã, e confira o que ela aprendeu com o vendaval, e com as pedradas que levou.

GRACIEMAG: O resultado do exame chegou para você em junho e foi detectada essa substância, certo? Oito meses depois, a sua inocência ficou provada? Você não teve culpa na ingestão do tal clomifeno, foi isso?

GABI GARCIA: Exato. O que há é que tenho um problema hereditário no útero, coisa que minha mãe também tem, e tomei um remédio, uma pequena pílula para isso. Conseguimos provar que esse medicamento estava contaminado com aquela substância, o clomifeno. No exame apareceu 0,2 mg disso. Após um processo caríssimo, em que gastei quase o preço de um apartamento, provei que não tive culpa nenhuma. Se essa substância servisse para melhorar o desempenho de mulheres, ou servisse para mascarar alguma coisa, ficaria difícil provar minha inocência, mas não é o caso. Fiquei deprimida e sem dormir por meses, mas consegui provar, com muito custo e em francos suíços!, que sou inocente. Não fui sequer advertida pela USADA, o que é raro. Em outros esportes olímpicos, meus advogados só viram isso acontecer outra vez, com um atleta alemão. No fim foi uma luta, mais uma fase, e um aprendizado.

E também não teve suspensão. Mas as medalhas serão perdidas?

Mesmo que não haja dolo ou intenção do atleta, a presença de qualquer substância invalida o título. Mas, no fim do julgamento, não ganhei nem uma advertência da USADA. A coisa não avançou, o caso nem foi para a corte. Recebi uma carta dos meus advogados dizendo que eu estou totalmente absolvida. Quando há a leve suspeita de doping, há um gancho, suspensão, como o Brasil viu em diversos casos, como o nadador Cesar Cielo e outros que continuam aí. Foi então mais uma vitória sofrida na minha vida, entre tantas outras.

Gabi Garcia durante o Mundial 2013: a atleta deve fazer sua estreia no MMA em agosto, no Brasil ou no Japão. Foto: Dan Rod

O que aprendeu com este vendaval de suspeitas?

O Jiu-Jitsu nos ensina que se hoje a gente perde, amanhã a gente vence. Conquistei tudo com muito sacrifício. As pessoas precisam parar de pré-julgar os outros e condenar quem quer que seja por preconceito. Sou uma lutadora grande, mas não tenho culpa disso. Como eu gostaria de ter 60kg, para poder lutar no UFC hoje! Fui uma gordinha que sofria bullying na escola, e construí minha carreira graças ao Jiu-Jitsu. O Jiu-Jitsu feminino ganhou muito mais atenção depois que apareci, pois a torcida quer ver quem pode me vencer, e como. Sou alta, mas não é por isso que venço campeonatos. Venço porque treino machucada, cruzo a cidade para treinar. Decidi largar emprego e faculdade para viver do Jiu-Jitsu. Sabia que viria pedrada, mas hoje sou uma lutadora que vive só do Jiu-Jitsu, e sou bem-sucedida. Eu nunca faria nada para arruinar minha fama. Não quero que tenham pena, só quero que sejam justos e respeitosos comigo. Meu nome é tudo que tenho. Não vou medir esforços para manter meu nome limpo.

Sua imagem de atleta agora é o mais importante. Quando essa novela acaba de vez?

Com a USADA já está tudo resolvido, fui 100% absolvida e já está tudo certo. Mas vou seguir lutando pela minha imagem em outras instâncias. Vou deixar tudo esclarecido agora, inclusive na justiça. Tudo tem de ficar mais claro para nós lutadores, e quero batalhar pelo profissionalismo para que isso não ocorra de novo, comigo ou outros atletas. Vou levar meu caso de sucesso adiante para lutar pelos meus direitos como atleta. Fomos mal instruídos. Como no site da USADA ainda não constava o Jiu-Jitsu, os atletas ficaram sem respaldo nesses primeiros exames.

O que poucos sabem é que seu professor, Fabio Gurgel, é um dos caras no Jiu-Jitsu que mais condena o uso de qualquer anabolizante, certo?

O Fabio sempre nos disse, na academia, que quem fosse pego por substâncias ilícitas nos exames nem precisaria se preocupar com a punição oficial, porque a dele seria pelo menos três vezes maior. Eu então alcancei o mais importante: provar minha inocência para a minha família, para os meus fãs e para meu mestre. Eu não poderia nem olhar para a cara do Fabio se tivesse feito algo errado Eu precisava provar para ele que eu não era aquilo que todos estavam me apontando. E ele entendeu e se pôs do meu lado.

Qual é o seu sentimento ao perder o ouro absoluto de 2013?

Tranquilo, não me abate. Se eu pensava em deixar o Jiu-Jitsu, agora tudo mudou. Quero lutar MMA e Jiu-Jitsu juntos, e pelo menos nos próximos cinco Mundiais vou estar lá para tentar ganhar tudo. O mais complicado foi lutar o ADCC na China com a cabeça ruim, pois o processo estava rolando, mas venci lá também. Agora a minha ideia é lutar de pano e nos ringues também. Estou amando os treinos de MMA.

Quem fica com a medalha que era sua?

A medalha deve ficar vaga, porque quem ficou como vice não foi testada. Mas minha preocupação é outra, é em relação aos fãs que me seguem todos os dias, que se inspiram e me mandam mensagens que perderam dezenas de quilos porque começaram a treinar. E houve um lado legal nisso tudo: recebi centenas de mensagens de carinho de muitos astros do Jiu-Jitsu e do MMA, companheiros da Atos, Gracie Barra, Lloyd Irvin, de todas as academias. Isso eu não esperava e me deixou realmente emocionada e feliz.

The IBJJF has posted an official statement on its website regarding the USADA announcement that Gabrielle Garcia was found at a no-fault positive test result for Clomiphene after the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu championship.

The statement confirms that Gabi will lose her results for the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship (open class gold medal and heavyweight silver medal).

The statement also confirms that Garcia is eligible for competition.

Read the statement

ANTI-DOPING RESULTS UPDATES FOR 2013 WORLD JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP

27/03/2014

While we are not a WADA Code signatory, IBJJF recognizes the importance of clean competition, and has taken an unusually proactive stance in implementing an anti-doping program on behalf of clean athletes and the integrity of our sport, which includes adherence to the WADA Prohibited List. 

No one ever wants to see a rules violation, but we are all committed to, and fully stand behind, the anti-doping program and what it represents for fair and honorable competition, and for clean athletes.

In this case, it was determined through the full and fair legal results management process that there was a credible explanation for the presence of clomiphene in Ms. Gabrielle Lemos Garcia’s sample, and that the athlete was found not to be at fault.

She has accepted the findings, and the loss of results will be carried out by the IBJJF. Her eligibility for competition has not been affected.

We are committed to ensuring that our athletes, our sponsors, our fans, and all of those who love Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu can have the confidence that we will carry out the highest level of professionalism and integrity.

Read the statement at IBJJF.com