Vanessa Oliveira vs. Janni Larsson. Photo: Erin Herle

As if winning the 2014 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship during her first year at black belt wasn’t enough for Swede Janni Larsson, she also earned the 2014 World Championship black belt middleweight title–all while studying as a medical student.

The one thing about Janni that stands out against most black belt competitors is her excitement when she wins. While most would be proud of their accomplishment and celebrate with the idea that a goal was accomplished, Janni allows those in the audience to join in on her excitement. As the clock showed the seconds wind down in her final match against Vanessa Oliveira on Sunday, June 1, she looked at the score as the advantages were in her favor and her eyes grew wide and her smile took over her entire face. It looked like someone had just told her she won the lottery. She was surprised, excited, grateful and in awe that she overcame the top females in the sport to earn her place at the top of the podium. And her jumps for joy (which she doesn’t even remember doing) were true showings of emotion.

Perhaps even more impressive with Janni is that her time in Copenhagen, Denmark, away from her family in the neighboring Sweden, is spent mostly on her studies. The medical student attends the University of Copenhagen and her time spent training at Arte Suave is less of a priority than the training she completed to earn her world title.

Learn more about her impressive wins, the injury she had to overcome during her matches at the Worlds and the real priorities in her life:

GRACIEMAG: Tell me about your run at the worlds, both in open weight and in your weight.

JANNI LARSSON: I was really happy for getting the opportunity to fight in the open weight at black belt. In my first fight I met Vanessa Oliveira. It ended up being a sweep-sweep match that went back and forth. I won on points after full time. In my second fight in the open I met Beatriz Mesquita. I had fought her in Abu Dhabi, so I thought I knew what I was in for, but boy was I surprised. Bea had such sharpness to her techniques at Worlds that I did not stand a chance. She danced past my guard and as I turtled to avoid the passing points she caught my arm.

Janni against Sophia Drysdale. Photo: Erin Herle

In my weight class I won my first fight with a foot lock after a few minutes. My second match was against Sophia Drysdale. I pulled guard and swept her. My arm was hurting after the armbar, so I didn’t feel safe in Sophia’s guard, especially not when she was gripping my bad arm. When I backed away from Sophia’s guard she stood up, and I could pull again. I managed to do this throughout the fight and won with three sweeps and a few advantages from sweep attempts that ended outside the mat area. In the final I fought Vanessa Oliveira again. This fight was less exciting than our fight in the open, because I was playing it very safe. We double-guard pulled and she came up for the advantage. I worked my x-guard and got advantages for a foot lock and a sweep attempt. When I was ahead on advantages, I tried keeping Vanessa out of balance until time ran out.

What’s the scoop on your arm and how did it affect your performance mentally and physically?

I didn’t want my run at the open class to end as early as it did, so I ended up tapping too late to Bea’s armbar. I have had an operation on the arm Bea caught before and when I heard “CRACK CRACK CRACK”! I knew it was a bad decision not to tap earlier. My elbow grew to twice its original size and the swelling resulted in that I couldn’t bend or straighten the elbow. I had the elbow taped in a 90-degree angle in my fights in the weight class. During the fights up to the final I couldn’t use the arm, so I was very happy that I got an early submission in the first match and that the second girl stood up between sweeps, so I didn’t have to work from the top.

I personally feel that the final would have been much more exciting to watch if I hadn’t hurt my elbow. I was scared of standing up in Vanessa’s spider guard with one unusable arm, so there were situations were I most likely could have swept, but ended up staying on the bottom.

The injury had quite an effect on me mentally. Before I stepped on the mat, I had already lost the fight in my head. When I made it to the final I was sure that I was going to lose. Vanessa and I had a close fight in the open, so I knew my odds weren’t good when I had to fight her with an injured arm. I was happy for making it to the final and was already imagining a silver medal as I stepped onto the mat.

What went through your mind when you realized that you were going to win a black belt world title?

Disbelief. I did not think that I had it in me to win that fight. When there was ten seconds left of the fight I realized that I would win. It was an amazing feeling. A few months ago I never would have dreamed of this. It would have felt like an unreachable fantasy.

What other priorities takes up your time off the mat?

I am studying medicine at the University of Copenhagen, so BJJ is something I only do in my spare time. When I got home after Worlds this year I had less than two weeks to prepare for my exam, so after I landed in Denmark I forgot everything about Jiu-Jitsu and I locked myself in my apartment to study. I am done with my exam now, so I have summer holidays.

How will this world title change your training moving forward?

Janni reacts to winning the world title. Photo: Erin Herle

I don’t think it will have much impact on my training. There are many factors to life that will affect me more than this title. Next semester at university I will start working in the clinic, so I will have less time to train than I have had before. I have come to terms with the fact that Jiu-Jitsu is something I do in my spare time and that there are many things that must be prioritized higher. I will enjoy it for now and in the future winning a world championship will be a good story to tell.

Any new opportunities arisen since the worlds?

I have been offered a few seminars in Europe, which is a great opportunity for me to travel and see new countries.

Beatriz Mesquita earns open weight gold. Photo: Dan Rod

The female black belts at the 2014 World Championship completed their matches on Sunday, June 3. The finals came with some calm moments and some completely insane moments.

Rooster

Shiho Yaginuma vs. Marcelo Lawton. Photo: Erin Herle

The roosterweight final came between Marcela Lawton of New England United BJJ and Shiho Yaginuma of Nexusense. Both came out of a round robin as there were three in the division. Marcela pulled guard and as Shiho attempted to pass, there were no advantages or points made. The referee decision went to Shiho Yaginuma.

Light-feather

Ariadne de Oliveira vs. Gezary Bandeira. Photo: Erin Herle

The light-featherweight division came down to Gezary Bandeira of American Top Team and new black belt Ariadne de Oliveira Mestre Wilson. The match was one of the most aggressive of the day as both females were dynamic and as competitors are submission-oriented. Ariadne earned two points for a takedown and Gezary worked her spider guard. Gezary swept and passed and then was able to get another two points for knee-on-belly ending the match at 7-2 in Gezary’s favor making her the world champion.

Feather

Michelle Nicolini vs. Tammi Musumeci. Photo: Erin Herle

The featherweight category ended with Michelle Nicolini of Checkmat and new black belt Tammi Musumeci of Atos. As Tammi worked the berimbolo position, she neared the backtake but Michelle recovered two times and attempted to attack Tammi’s feet and knees in the meantime. On the third attempt, Michelle recovered again but Tammi went for the omoplata. Michelle defended, sat back as Tammi swept and Michelle was able to go to her guard and attacked the arm of Tammi with a spider guard hook on the far side. Michelle pulled the far arm of Tammi who remained in a seated position and defended the armbar instead, leaving her left arm extended over her back which then dislocated the shoulder and elbow. Michelle let go and Tammi continued fighting in the match and Michelle swept, went into mount and as Tammi reversed back into Michelle’s guard, the time ran out. Michelle won 13-6 in points and the crowd stood in a standing ovation for Tammi’s heart and perseverance.

Light

Beatriz Mesquita vs. Luiza Monteiro. Photo: Erin Herle

The lightweight division came down to Luiza Monteiro of Cicero Costha and Beatriz Mesquita of Gracie Humaita. Bia earned a sweep to earn her two points and the match mostly stayed in this position. Near the end of the match Luiza was able to earn a sweep however Bia bounced back and Luiza only earned the advantage. Time ran out and Bia earned another world title with a 2-0 point lead.

Middle

Vanessa Oliveira vs. Janni Larsson. Photo: Erin Herle

The middleweight final was between Vanessa Oliveira of GFTeam and new black belt Janni Larsson of Checkmat. They both pulled guard and Vanessa came up for an advantage and the majority of the match stayed in this position. Janni was able to threaten a sweep and try for a footlock to earn the 2-0 advantage lead that gave her the first world title of her career.

Medium-heavy

Hannette Staack vs. Ana Laura Cordeiro. Photo: Erin Herle

The middleweight category was between veteran Hannette Staack of Brazil-021 and Ana Laura Cordeiro of Gracie Barra who was out of competition for years due to a serious back injury. Hannette jumped guard and Ana Laura pushed to half guard. Hannette waited patiently and was able sweep but Ana Laura reacted quickly and recovered to her feet. She then pulled and swept adn went back into top half to work the pass. Hannette swept and went into Ana Laura’s closed guard but was unable to earn the points or advantages for the win. Ana Laura remained undefeated in her career winning with a 2-2 point and 2-1 advantage lead.

Heavy

Andresa Correa vs Fernanda Mazzelli. Photo: Erin Herle

The heavyweight final was between Fernanda Mazzelli of Striker JJ and Andresa Correa of Alliance. Andresa pulled guard and was able to sweep to earn two. While she attempted a pass Fernanda Mazzelli recovered but Andresa pushed to half earning another advantage. At the end, Fernanda was able to sweep but it wasn’t enough and the final score was 2-2 points, 5-2 advantages with 2-0 penalty giving Andresa the world title.

Super-heavy

Andrea McComb Pereira vs. Venla Luukkonen. Photo: Erin Herle

The super-heavyweight final was between Andrea McComb Pereira of Gracie Humaita and Venla Luukkonen of Hilti BJJ Jykaskyla. Venla took Andrea down, passed her guard and mounted. She was able to secure the armbar for the world title.

Open weight

The open weight division was between two gold medalists, Beatriz Mesquita and Michelle Nicolini. The two pulled at the same time and stayed in double guard position for enough time to earn two penalties each. Michelle came up to get an advantage and Bia swept Michelle for two points. Michelle attempted a quick triangle and went straight for the arm but Bia recovered and worked a pass until the end of the match as Michelle worked constant sweep attempts. In the last thirty seconds Bia passed Michelle’s guard and almost took her back as time ended. The final score was 5-0 points, 3-2 advantages and 2-2 penalties. Bia earned her double gold.

See the full results here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000272/en-US/Results.pdf

See a full photo album here.

Ana Laura Cordeiro is still undefeated and she’s in the finals. Photo: Erin Herle

The last day of the 2014 World Championship will unfold on Sunday, June 1 and the female black belts will determine their champions. On Saturday the open class division and the weight divisions went down to the finals, which will happen on Sunday.

With four new black belts in the finals, the females will show their new and old school moves on the big day. Marcela Lawton from Maine, Janni Larsson from Denmark, Ariadne de Oliveira of Brazil and Tammi Musumeci of Florida were all promoted between the 2013 Worlds and now with some of them finding success even during that time.

Here are the finals for Sunday:

Rooster – Marcela Lawton vs. Shiho Yaginums
Light-feather: Ariadne Oliveira vs. Gezary Bandeira
Feather: Tammi Musumeci vs. Michelle Nicolini
Light: Beatriz Mesquita vs. Luiza Monteiro
Middle: Vanessa Oliveira vs. Janni Larsson
Medium-heavy: Hannette Staack vs. Ana Laura Cordeiro
Heavy: Andresa Correa vs. Fernanda Mazzelli
Super-heavy: Andrea Pereira vs. Venla Luukkonen

Check out a full photo gallery here.

You can watch the finals on the livestream at www.ibjjftv.com

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:

Janni after winning the final of the brown belt female absolute at the 2013 World Championship. Photo: Erin Herle

We have a new female on the black belt roster today as Janni Larsson earns her final belt rank. The Checkmat team member won double gold at the World Championship two years in a row at both purple then brown belt. After she devoted herself more to Jiu-Jitsu nearly three years ago when she moved to Denmark from Sweden for medical school, her competitive skills were unmatched.

In 2012, Janni won the Europeans in purple belt adult lightweight and the absolute division then achieved the same result at the Worlds after bumping up to middleweight. She began this year as a new brown belt winning the absolute at the Europeans, her division at the Pan American Championship with second in the absolute, and then achieved another pair of gold medals at the World Championship in June.

Janni with her coach at the graduation ceremony. Photo: Arte Suave

She was granted her black belt from her instructor Shimon Mochizuki in Copenhagen, Denmark. This fall she focuses her efforts back on her studies at university but as long as she is studying, her freedom garners much training and competition. We will be sure to see her next year at the Worlds.

Showing off all of her medals from 2013 alone. Photo: Personal Archive