Karen jumps to stretch Kristina Barlaan’s arm.

Karen Antunes, a sitting IBJJF world champion, has once again shown her refined technique. This time it was at the Los Angeles BJJ Pro, held last weekend in Azusa.

Before entering the absolute division to compete for the 1,500-dollar prize, Karen fought in the featherweight division, whose final she reached opposite the experienced Kristina Barlaan. The duel didn’t last too long — within 15 seconds, Karen had jumped with an attack on her opponent’s arm.

Kristina, upon trying to pull guard, had left her arm exposed. Karen, with a confident jump, caught that arm and lay down with the armbar already set, just an adjustment away from achieving the golden submission.

Watch it here:

Karen salta para pegar o braço de Kristina no LA Open. Foto: Reprodução

Atual campeã mundial de Jiu-Jitsu pela IBJJF, Karen Antunes mostrou mais uma vez todo o refino da sua técnica no Los Angeles BJJ Pro, realizado no último final de semana, em Azusa.

Antes de se jogar no absoluto para disputar o prêmio de 1.500 dólares, Karen batalhou na divisão de peso-pena até chegar na final, contra a experimentada Kristina Barlaan. O duelo não durou muito, pois nos primeiros 15 segundos de luta Karen pulou com seu ataque no braço.

Kristina, ao tentar puxar para a guarda, deixou o braço exposto. Karen, em salto confiante, pegou o braço e já deitou com o armlock encaixado, faltando apenas o ajuste para definir a finalização pelo ouro peso-pena.

Confira o lance plástico no vídeo abaixo!

Dillon Danis def. Murilo Santana. Photo: Dan Rod

Dillon Danis was the big winner at the Pan No-Gi, held last Saturday at the Nat Holman Gym (CCNY), in New York. Dillon beat the medium heavyweight field and then the open as he closed out the final with his Alliance teammate Jon Satava.

At medium heavyweight, Dillon subbed Gottrell W King Jr. (Gracie Barra) via leg lock and then beat Murilo Santana (Barbosa JJ) 2-0 with a takedown. In the absolute division, he first subbed Todd Mueckenheim via guillotine, which he used again vs. Aaron Johnson in a semifinal before meeting Satava, who had won the middleweight title.

Jonathan Satava def. Cássio Francis da Silva. Photo: Dan Rod

Checkmat’s Karen Antunes stood out amongst the women. She beat the field at lightweight and then absolute, finishing Alison Tremblay (BTT) with a choke from the back. “This was a title I did not have, and I’m very happy to have gotten it. All the hard work was worth it. I’m feeling fulfilled,” said Karen to Graciemag.com.

Karen Antunes def. Alison Tremblay. Photo: Dan Rod

One triumph worth pointing out was that of Ricardo “Cachorrão” at master-2 heavyweight. The black-belt under Renzo Gracie defeated Radji Bryson-Barrett for the gold.

“I went many years without competing in IBJJF tourneys,” said Ricardo. “I moved to the U.S. in 1997, and my first worlds here was in 2007. When the championship came here, I was already fighting at Pride and the UFC, so I did not get the chance to fight in those events. Then, when I stopped fighting in the UFC in 2011, I already had it in my head that I was gonna grab my first opportunity to fight in the IBJJF. I fought at the Pan No-Gi in 2012 and the No-Gi Worlds in 2013. I took a break and came back this year. To me it’s very good. It’s inspiring, keeps me in shape and is fun.”

Ricardo Almeida def. Joseph Oppedisano. Photo: Dan Rod

In the overall teams’ competition, Alliance got first at adult men’s and masters’. Team Lloyd Irvin’s women came out on top. At juvenile, Art of Jiu-Jitsu was victorious.

Click here for the complete results, and see teams’ results below.

Adult Male Division
1st: Alliance (119)
2nd: Unity Jiu-Jitsu (62)
3rd: CheckMat (24)

Adult Female Division
1st: Team Lloyd Irvin (32)
2nd: CheckMat (21)
3rd: Alliance (20)

Master Division
1st: Alliance (130)
2nd: Gracie Elite Team America (65)
3rd: Gracie Barra (50)

Juvenile Division
1st: Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy (36)
2nd: Gracie Elite Team America (30)
3rd: CheckMat (18)

It’s a last minute call, but worthy having a go because of the quality of the program.

Hannette Staack, Michelle Nicolini and Karen Antunes will band together for a charity seminar this Saturday, March 12.

It’s going to be a 3-hour seminar with the three black belts followed by a superfight between Karen and Michelle.

The event will take place at the Ajax Budokan Judo Club, on 75 Centennial Rd., Ajax, Ontario, Canada.

The proceeds will go to Up With Women, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gap from homelessness and deep poverty to economic and social empowerment for women and girls.

Click here to buy tickets.

Tim Spriggs, Mackenzie Dern are the champions of the Five Grappling Super League

The first edition of the Five Grappling Super League took place this Sunday, in Solana Beach, CA.

Tim Spriggs and Mackenzie Dern were the big champions in the two invitational tournaments.

Spriggs used his wrestling and powerful top game to beat Bruno Bastos (ref decision), Lucas Rocha (5-0) and Yuri Simões (2-0) for the belt and the $10K prize.

Mackenzie Dern had an impressive showing and finished all her three matches for the belt and the other $10K prize..

She caught Tammi Musumeci with a choke from the back, Fabiana Borges with a leg lock and Karen Antunes with a foot lock.

In the two super-matches, Keenan Cornelius outscored Otávio Sousa 4-0 with two takedowns and Garry Tonon beat João Miyao by one penalty after a 0-0 tie in 16 minutes.

Click here for the complete coverage of all the matches and interviews with the champions.

Here are the best images of the day.

No combate contra Karen Antunes, Mackenzie usou um ataque no pé para sair vencedora. Reveja!