Dillon and Mansher arguing at the ADCC Trials.

Dillon Danis and Mansher Khera have been suspended from the school of five-time BJJ world champion Marcelo Garcia. Garcia says this is not definitive — it will only last the time necessary for the two athletes to regain their focus on the gentle art.

Dillon Danis is one of the biggest names in BJJ nowadays. A training partner of Connor McGregor, he has not only picked up some striking tricks from the Irishman, but perhaps a trash-talking tendency as well. Khera, an inseparable friend of Danis since the colored belts, was Garcia’s first white-belt to be promoted under him all the way to black.

Do you think Garcia acted properly in punishing his athletes? Watch this video to hear his thought process.

Dillon e Mansher em discussão que rolou na seletiva do ADCC. Foto: Reprodução

O ar corretivo do professor de Jiu-Jitsu deve ser aplicado não só do tatame para dentro, mas em boa parte dos aspectos, para que a arte forje não só campeões, mas grandes pessoas num contexto geral. A bomba da semana veio com a notícia de que os faixas-pretas Dillon Danis e Mansher Khera foram suspensos da academia do cinco vezes campeão mundial Marcelo Garcia. Segundo o professor, a separação não é necessariamente definitiva, apenas pelo tempo necessário para os atletas refletirem e recuperarem o foco na arte suave. Mas o recado já foi dado.

Dillon Danis é um dos grandes nomes do Jiu-Jitsu da atualidade. Companheiro de treino de Connor McGregor, o faixa-preta não só pegou as manhas do irlandês na trocação, mas junto com elas vieram por osmose as palavras afiadas do trash talking mais eficiente do UFC. Mansher, companheiro inseparável de Dillon desde o tempo de faixas-coloridas, foi primeiro aluno a ser graduado de faixa-branca à faixa-preta na academia de Marcelo Garcia.

E para você, amigo leitor, o corretivo de Marcelinho está certo? Confira abaixo o vídeo no qual Marcelo Garcia explica em inglês a situação que levou à suspensão dos atletas.

Tom DeBlass stood out by beating the field above 99kg, whereas Mansher Khera bagged a spot under 77kg. Notable absentees included Garry Tonon and Gordon Ryan — both injured. Find below the athletes who have guaranteed their right to fight in the world’s biggest grappling show next year.

66kg: Justin Rader defeated Jason Hayden by points (2-0).
77kg: Mansher Khera defeated Oliver Taza by points (3-0).
88kg: James Brasco defeated Mathew Tesla by points (2-0).
99kg: Elliot Kelly defeated Daniel O’Brien by points (2-0).
+99kg: Tom DeBlass defeated Jimmy Friedrich by penalty point.

Mahamed Aly at the 2015 Worlds

Every year the black belt division gets a boost of talent as brown belts get promoted and add even more hardship to the game.

The 2016 world championship will be no exception, as a bunch of the best brown belts in 2015 will be registered for the black belt division.

We have highlighted 8 of these newcomers, but there are many more out there.

Here we go.

Michael Musumeci Jr. 

Mike Musumeci

The 2015 brown belt light-featherweight world champion has already debuted in the black belt division in great fashion. Looking incredibly thin, he signed up for the roosterweight division at the 2016 Pan and made it to the top of the podium. For the 2016 Worlds, Mikey and his sister Tammi have moved to California to train with Gui and Rafa Mendes at AOJ Academy, which should generate some great results. Mikey is signed up for the roosterweight once again, but maybe going up to light-feather is his best chance to win another gold medal for Team USA, which doesn’t happen in the male division since 2007.

Edwin Najmi

Edwin Najmi

Just like Musumeci, Najmi won his division (lightweight) at the 2015 Worlds. After getting his black belt, he struck gold for the first time at the 2016 Pan, with a beautiful Estima lock on Francisco Iturralde. The 2016 Worlds black belt lightweight division will be a true mine field, with Lucas Lepri, Michael Langhi, AJ Agazarm, JT Torres, etc. Najmi is another big talent to make things even more complicated.

Yago Souza

Yago Souza

Another PSLPB Cicero Costha talent, Yago Souza closed out the brown belt middleweight division in 2015 with his teammate Manuel Ribamar Filho. Then, he got his black belt and already did great at the 2016 European and the 2016 Pan, wining the middleweight division both in Lisbon and Irvine. It should interesting to see Yago going against the likes of Otavio Sousa, Claudio Calasans Jr, Victor Estima and Vitor Oliveira, just to name a few.

Guilherme Soares

Guilherme Soares

The 2015 brown belt open class runner-up also transitioned to the black belt and has already made his presence felt. He finished third in the heavyweight division at the 2016 Pan and won the same division at the recent 2016 Brazilian Nationals. The heavyweight division with the likes of Tim Spriggs, André Galvão, Erberth Santos, Jackson Souza, among others should be a great challenge for the newcomer.

Mahamed Aly

Mahamed Aly

The double gold campaign at the 2015 Worlds puts some pressure on Aly for his first Worlds as a black belt. Already registered in the ultra-heavy division, Mahamed should encounter some big competition, including Alex Trans, Marcus Buchecha, Gabriel Lucas, João Gabriel Rocha, among others.

Gabriel Arges

Gabriel Arges

Another talent coming out of Romulo Barral’s lineage, Arges finished third at the brown belt middleweight division of the 2015 Worlds. As a black belt, he did great at the 2015 Irvine Open and then travelled to Lisbon for another great showing at the 2016 European, closing out the medium-heavy division with his Professor Barral.

Mansher Khera

Mansher Khera

Fresh out of Marcelo Garcia’s talent factory, Khera (and his teammate Jon Satava) will be making his first appearance at the Worlds as a black belt. They could have done it last year, but they did not have time to add up the 50pts necessary to qualify after being promoted. Khera is signed up for the lightweight division while Satava is registered for the middleweight.

Lucas Barbosa

Lucas Barbosa at the 2015 Worlds NoGi

The Hulk won the brown belt medium-heavy division at the 2016 Worlds. After getting his black belt, he jumped right into the mix and managed some big results. most importantly the medium-heavy division at the 2015 Worlds No-Gi. Just recently, he won the medium-heavy division at the 2016 Las Vegas Open. Lucas should be another big hurdle at the medium-heavy in Long Beach.

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 world championship before May 24.

Click here to sign up now.

Michael Langhi na final do Mundial Sem Kimono 2015, contra Mansher Khera. Fotos: Ivan Trindade

Campeão mundial de Jiu-Jitsu sem kimono pela IBJJF no último domingo, 8 de novembro, na Pirâmide da Califórnia, o astro da Alliance Michael Langhi manteve o bom retrospecto sem o paletó de algodão. Na final do peso leve, Michael venceu o duríssimo Mansher Khera nos pontos e ficou com mais um ouro para a coleção.

Em conversa com a equipe GRACIEMAG, Langhi lembrou que competiu muito pouco sem kimono na vida. Em compensação, ganhou todos os torneios que disputou, e não foram campeonatos quaisquer.

“É curioso, mas até hoje lutei só três campeonatos sem kimono: o Brasileiro, o Europeu e agora o Mundial. Graças a Deus ganhei os três, estou invicto no No-Gi”, riu a fera. “Agora vou me planejar para completar o grand slam, só falta o Pan Sem Kimono!”, dispara.

Se no ADCC Langhi ainda não teve chances – este ano o convidado da Alliance foi Lucas Lepri –, o professor comemorou muito o Mundial – nõo só o título, mas o aprendizado conquistado juntamente com o ouro.

“Aprendo em todas as lutas que faço, nas que perco principalmente, mas também nas que ganho. O macete é que jamais podemos nos dar por satisfeitos. Já estou estudando algumas coisas que tenho que mudar e mais uma outra que preciso melhorar para as próximas competições”, analisou.

Atual campeão mundial com e sem kimono, Langhi não vê tantas diferenças no quesito preparação:

“Na verdade não tem diferença, o caminho é o mesmo: treinar e trabalhar duro, e se dedicar o máximo possível, e ter a mente aberta pra aprender”, resume. “Para esse campeonato eu treinei muito, me dediquei bastante, e estava preparado para tudo, fosse raspar ou passar. O Rubens Cobrinha, que sempre me ajuda, traçou minhas estratégias a cada luta, o que foi decisivo”.

Ás na guarda-aranha no Jiu-Jitsu esportivo, Langhi contou como substitui sua guarda favorita nos treinos e torneios sem kimono.

“Eu passo a jogar por cima”, diz. “Mas quando caio por baixo uso a De la Riva invertida. O que gosto mesmo é de me embolar com o adversário, e assim luto pronto para jogar em qualquer área, como fiz nesse Mundial Sem Kimono 2015”, conclui a fera, que fez questão de deixar seus agradecimentos por mais um ano perfeito:

“À minha esposa Renata, minha família, meus professores, ao Fabio Gurgel pelo treino diário, e a Thomas Lisboa que me ajudou muito no treino e no meu jogo sem kimono, assim como todos os meus companheiros de equipe, por sempre extraírem o melhor de mim”.

The 2015 Pan No-Gi takes place this Saturday, Oct. 3, at the City College, in New York.

Featuring big names like Paulo and João Miyao, Gianni Grippo, Garry Tonon, John Satava, Otavio Sousa, Mansher Khera, Matheus Diniz, Dillon Danis and many others, the event should be thrilling from beginning to end.

The IBJJF has released both the schedule and the brackets and you can click here to check it out.

Even if you can’t attend the event in NY, you’ll be able to watch all matches through a PPV live stream provided by Flo Grappling.

Click here to buy the PPV.

Jonathan Satava and Mansher Khera have been training with Marcelo Garcia since they were white belts.

They are two of the most promising talents coming out of MG’s academy in New York.

Recently, they travelled to Canada to compete in a submission-only event called Submission Series Pro.

The matches were 15 minutes long.

See how they did.

Jonathan Satava vs. Kyle Sandford

Mansher Khera vs. Josh Presley

A posição começa com Mansher Khera usando o giro para cair no legdrag. Com as pernas de Dillon presas, Mansher tenta colocar pressão. Mas é nessa hora que Dillon escapa e ele explica como.

Num movimento ágil, o faixa-marrom da Alliance laça o pescoço do passador e foge o quadril para o lado direito. Para ajustar a pressão, Dillon posiciona a perna direita nas costas do oponente e finaliza.

Repare também como ele coloca a cabeça bem próxima do oponente, evitando que este faça postura.

Repare como Matheus não deixa o companheiro Mansher Khera fazer pegada no fundo da calça. Depois, Diniz posiciona o joelho esquerdo em cima do quadril do amigo e, por fim, rola para trás e finaliza.

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The ladies of the purple belt absolute. Photo: Erin Herle

The big winners of the lower belts came in the purple belt and brown belt open weight divisions at the 2014 IBJJF Boston Spring Open. Photos were captured by a few photographers other than Graciemag.

Horlando Monteiro redeems himself by winning the absolute. Photo: Erin Herle

In the purple belt male absolute, Horlando Monteiro of Nova Uniao had a redemption since getting submitted in the semi-final of his weight division by Devon Delbrugge. In the semi-final of the absolute, he returned the favor with a submission of his own. In the final he faced against another Team Lloyd Irvin affiliate student, Joseph Ruggiero. Winning with advantages, he secured his gold.

Maria Malyjasiak wins the absolute and gets promoted to brown belt. Photo: Erin Herle

For the females, Mario Malyjasiak took the gold after winning the heavyweight category as well. On the podium she received her brown belt from Abmar Barbosa of Drysdale Jiu-Jitsu.

The brown belt male absolute, the Mansher Khera of Alliance Marcelo Garcia also had a redemption.

Mansher Khera wins the absolute with a final against Tye Ryan Murphy. Photo: Erin Herle

After losing his first match in the weight division and still qualifying for the absolute due to placing third, he was able to win four matches in the open for the gold. His final against Tye Ryan Murphy of Team Lloyd Irvin was won by advantages with the use of his staple position, the x-guard.

Maxine submits with a triangle armbar in the final. Photo: Erin Herle

The brown belt female absolute was a round robin. Only three ladies were present in three different weight divisions. After the ladies all defaulted gold in their categories, Nathalia Azoff of BTT Boston, Maxine Thylin of Gracie Humaita and Ashley Proctor of Gracie Barra went against each other. Nathalia was able to defeat Ashley in the first round then Maxine faced Ashley and won on points. In the final, Maxine submitted Nathalia with a triangle armbar winning the absolute as a featherweight among a medium-heavyweight and a heayvweight.

Check out the full gallery found here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/graciemag/sets/72157643592798643/

The photos by Douglas Kline for the IBJJF can be seen in an album here.

Pictures by Boston BJJ Scene can be seen in an album here.

Mansher Khera in the final of the brown belt adult absolute. Photo: Erin Herle

Sunday, Nov. 3 was the day for brown belts to take the mats in the Long Beach Walter Pyramid for the World No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Some in the divisions were back from ADCC, some were new at their belt level and some were veterans hoping it was their time to shine.

The absolute division for the brown belt males held fifteen competitors in the bracket. Beginning as the black belt finals were coming to a close, there weren’t many around for the division final between lightweight Mansher Khera and ultra-heavyweight John Leslie Hansen. Mansher, also known as Munchi, pulled guard and swept with x-guard. He then passed multiple times and ended the match with a backtake making the score 18-0 for the new brown belt. Munchi has been training for four years and received his brown belt from Marcelo Garcia in July at GMA Marcelo Garcia Academy in New York City. It’s Marcelo’s style that helped him beat the bigger opponents. No points were scored on him in the four absolute matches he had and his weight division had four matches where he was only scored on by two points. After his win he attributed the huge double-gold victory to his teammates: “I train with some guys that push me to the limit every day. I think all my brown belt teammates can win worlds if I can,” he says. Looking towards the future, the black belt podium is his main goal; this was just a step up the ladder to get there.

Here are the winners of the divisions:

Male brown belt:

Rooster: Kristian R Woodmansee – Zenith BJJ
Light Feather: Brandon Woodly Walensky – San Diego Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy
Feather: Marcio Andre Costa Barbosa Jr. – Nova União
Light: Mansher Khera – Alliance
Middle: Arthur Dominick Sousa III – Team Popovitch
Medium-heavy: Matheus Oliveira Diniz – Alliance
Heavy: William Abreu – Fight Sports
Super-heavy: Evandro Nunes – Sampa BJJ Academy
Ultra-heavy: Bruno Santos M. Iglesias Lojo – Carlson Gracie Team
Open: Mansher Khera – Alliance

Female brown belt:

Light-feather: Melissa Biscardi Open Mat Mixed Martial Arts
Feather: Karen Deisy Antunes Souza – CheckMat
Middle: Leanna M Dittrich – Fight Sports
Medium-heavy: Alexis Du Fresne – American Top Team
Heavy: Maryanne Mullahy – Maromba Academia International
Open: Maryanne Mullahy – Maromba Academia International

To see the full results, click here.

To see the photo gallery, click here.

JT Torres. Foto: Mike Calimbas

A Seletiva de Montreal para Abu Dhabi ocorreu no último fim de semana, no Canadá. Por lá, o grande destaque foi “JT” Torres, que venceu a categoria leve. Abaixo, você confere a lista dos campeões que também vão lutar em Abu Dhabi em abril com tudo pago.

Antes, veja o confere que carimbou o passaporte de JT para os Emirados Árabes.

Absoluto – Branca
1. Brody Rawding (Brazilian Top Team)

Absoluto Leve – Azul
1. Hassan Salifu (Toronto BJJ)

Absoluto Pesado – Azul
1. Patrick Walsh (Wai Kru)

Absoluto Leve – Roxa
1. Mansher Khera (Marcelo Garcia Academy)

Absoluto Pesado – Roxa
1. Jonathan Satava (Marcelo Garcia Academy)

Absoluto Branca/Azul – Feminino
1. Yacinta Nguyen-Huu (Scott Schilling BJJ)

Absoluto Roxa/Marrom/Preta Leve- Feminino
1. Tammi Musumeci (Alliance)

Absoluto Roxa/Marrom/Preta Pesado – Feminino
1. Dominyka Obelenyte (Marcelo Garcia Academy)

Marrom/Preta – Pena
1. Darson Hemmings (Open Mat)

Marrom/Preta – Leve
1. Jt Torres (Lloyd Irvin)

Marrom/Preta – Médio
1. Paulo Azambuja (Avengers)

Marrom/Preta – Pesado
1. Lee Villeneauve (Brazilian Top Team)

Marrom/Preta – Super-Pesado
1. Dan Simmler (Renzo Gracie)