It is no surprise that both Marcus Buchecha Almeida and Gabi Garcia are leading their respective packs in the IBJJF rankings. The new numbers have been released with added points from their past performances, set for the 2014 season.

The points are earned based on rank, year earned, place, whether it is the weight division or open weight division and which tournament. The most important is the gi World Championship, which will multiply points by seven compared to the Europeans and the Pan Ams which are multiplied by four and so on.

The more prestigious the tournament, the more heavily weighted the points. Also, each year that passes gives a title less importance. Last year, 2013, will mean that a point total is multiplied by three while the same title earned in 2012 will only be multiplied by two. In this way, athletes can make their way to the top while their predecessors can lose their top spots should they not maintain a winning streak throughout the year.

Perhaps one of the most interesting factors is the type of athlete who competes only in the largest tournaments but does well enough to gather a lot of points at one time versus the athlete who chooses to compete in the IBJJF city tournaments throughout the U.S. and even internationally to rack up points every other weekend.

For lighter athletes, their likelihood of entering the open weight division at the main tournaments is rare so their wins, mostly coming from earning gold in their weight division at those tournaments, also come from the smaller tournaments around the country and sometimes even winning the open weights in those as well.

Anyway, check out the full results below:

MALE

1. Marcus Vinícius Oliveira de Almeida – CheckMat USA – 706.5 points

2. Bernardo Augusto Rocha de Faria – Alliance SP – 403.5 points

3. Caio Terra – Caio Terra Association – 393 points

4. Leonardo Pires Nogueira – Alliance SP – 358.5 points

5. Otavio Ferreira de Sousa – Gracie Barra America – 346.5 points

6. Rodolfo Vieira Srour – GF Team – 342 points

7. Vitor Henrique Silva Oliveira – GF Team – 314.5 points

8. Rômulo Claudio Barral – Gracie Barra Northridge – 312.5 points

9. Leandro Lo Pereira do Nascimento – PSLPB Cicero Costha – 297 points

10. Rafael Mendes Godoy – Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy – 240 points

FEMALE

1. Gabrielle Lemos Garcia – Alliance SP – 658.5 points

2. Luanna Alzuguir Marton Moraes – Alliance SP – 589.5 points

3. Michelle Zonato Nicolini – CheckMat – 451.5 points

4. Beatriz de Oliveira Mesquita – Gracie Humaita – 367.5 points

5. Luiza Monteiro Moura da Costa – PSLPB Cicero Costha – 365.5 points

6. Mackenzie Lynne Dern – Gracie Humaita Phoenix – 356 points

7. Marina Soares de Araujo Ribeiro – CheckMat – 321 points

8. Luzia Carmem Santana P. Fernandes – Gracie Barra Rio de Janeiro – 327 points

9. Fernanda Mazzelli Almeida Maio – Striker JJ / Góes – 226.5 points

10. Talita Andrea Nogueira – Ryan Gracie Team – 201 points

In response to the published ranking, Gabi released a statement on Facebook:

“Thrilled! …  This title is ours! My training partners thank you thank you thank you!! You guys make me every day a person and athlete! This title, most importantly I dedicate to my master Fabio Gurgel for teaching me everything I know. The alliance [team] for giving me the best training in the world! To my fans by fans! Excited and happy! Elected by the public, by magazines and now by the ibjjf the best in the world!”

Also in response to the news, fellow Alliance member Bernardo Faria made a statement publicly as well:

“Final result of IBJJF Ranking of 2013! I ended up in second place… Who trains a lot and dedicate all the life for Jiu-Jitsu, never wants to be second, and I always dedicate myself to be first, but when I think that this ranking is about all fighters of all BJJ divisions in all [the] world, I see that this is a very good result, and I’m very happy about it! Thanks everybody who cheer and support me to do my best everyday…”

You can learn all about the rankings by going here: http://ibjjf.org/info/ranking-information/

Who do you think will move up in the next months based on Europeans happening this weekend (don’t forget to keep track of our coverage on social media) and in the oncoming months given that most, especially the girls, are close in numbers to each other? Let us know!

Rodrigo Cavaca during his victorious campaign at the 2010 Worlds. Photo: Ivan Trindade

On the morning of Wednesday, October 2, Jiu-Jitsu champion Rodrigo Cavaca told GRACIEMAG, exclusively, about the new path his career will be taking.

Twenty-ten Worlds champion and professor of Marcus Buchecha, Cavaca sent us this message, translated below:

“I write to announce my departure from Checkmat BJJ along with my 120 affiliates. I’d like to thank team owner Leonardo Vieira for all this time we spent together, where I learned a lot – I’ll always be thankful, – and to also thank all the friends I made over these five years on the team.

“I take pride in having represented this team with all I had, where I achieved the greatest results in my career; and, even under another name, everything I experienced there will always have a special place in my heart. I’ll always be rooting for all my friends and wishing them all the best. I hope everybody can look at this act objectively, for it was done in the interest of professional growth.

“I’m going after professional fulfillment, always grateful to all who have helped me. Soon we’ll be making further announcements. Thank you very much — Rodrigo Cavaca.”

Cavaca’s plans, starting now, include launching a new team with over 200 affiliates to start with and about 10 thousand students. Good luck in your new endeavor, Cavaca.

The filming was completed but not without some seriously funny bloopers that were made into this compilation video. Not only will you laugh at the great chemistry between Cyborg and Buchecha but you can learn a lot about what goes into the making of these Jiu-Jitsu technique DVDs and how much much focus and patience is needed.

Enjoy:

Rodolfo Vieira subs Lucas Leite in the 2013 Worlds’ heavyweight final. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Gi season has reached its midpoint for some of Jiu-Jitsu’s biggest stars. After the 2013 Worlds, held this month in Long Beach, California, Rodolfo Vieira got some much needed rest. He got gold in his division and silver in the open, where he was stopped by none other than Marcus Buchecha (CheckMat).

“After our World Championship encounter I have done nothing but rest. I even fought in Metamoris Pro, but mostly I just rested. I did nothing, no seminars even. I’ve just been trying to relax. I’ll for sure give enough seminars when I get to Europe,” he told GRACIEMAG.

Even without the absolute title, Rodolfo secured a ticket to compete in the 99kg division of ADCC, which is scheduled for October 18-19 in Beijing.

“I went back to training yesterday. I put away all of my gis, now I’m all about the spandex shorts [laughs]. After the ADCC, I’m only fighting again next year – I’ll take that rest I deserve,” said the GFTeam black belt.

Vieira has no good memories regarding ADCC 2011, as he was submitted via knee bar in the quarterfinals by Dean Lister. The Júlio Cesar pupil talked to us about that duel and gave his forecast for a possible rematch.

“I believe I erred in the training,” he said. “I got to England knowing it would be a tough division. For every tournament I enter, I’m used to fighting the same way I fought the Worlds – not leaving anything to chance. If I lose it won’t be because of lack of practice or cardio. Last ADCC, I was already performing a little badly because I hadn’t done proper training, but it turned out great. I got to the quarterfinals and lost to eventual champion Dean Lister. I don’t think anyone expected that; the guy got there and kicked everyone’s ass. He fought amazingly well and he earned it.

“This year he’s in my division again, so we’ll see. I’m already dedicating myself. I went back to training yesterday very slowly. This week is for the transition. I’ll prepare myself and get to China in tip-top shape.”

With a nearly perfect World Championship in Long Beach, Vieira was able to absorb a few lessons.

“Apart from the loss to Buchecha, I think it was perfect,” he explained. “I won at my weight and got submissions in all but one of my open class bouts. I didn’t give up a single point in my division. It was great. A shame I didn’t win the open, but it wasn’t meant to be. On to the next one, let’s train even more.”

Rodolfo may have the opportunity of avenging his loss to Buchecha in the ADCC’s absolute class.

“It’ll be weird to fight Buchecha over there. We’ve never fought without our gis. But it’s gonna be a great fight anyway. With Dean Lister as well – they’re both gonna be tremendous bouts,” he concluded.

Bernardo Faria became a two-time super-heavyweight world champion in 2013. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

Black belt Bernardo Faria has a few reasons to be proud after the 2013 Worlds , which ended last Sunday.

He was the only man to defeat Leandro Lo, in the quarterfinals of the open, with a sweep.

It was he who, at the end of the day, came closest to beating Marcus Buchecha Almeida, before getting swept with but seconds left in the absolute semis (in his weight class, Buchecha had been even in advantages with Alexander Trans, but was never behind).

He nabbed his second super-heavyweight world title (2012/2013) in an exhilarating final versus João Gabriel Rocha, certainly one of the sport’s biggest hopes going forward.

Bernardo Faria was the king of the sweep from half-guard at the Worlds, a technique some have dubbed “dental floss sweep,” because he holds the lapel and rubs it on his opponents’ legs like floss on gums.

With this near-unstoppable sweep and some dangerous submissions, the Alliance fighter got the best of Lucas Sachs and Luiz Fernando Panza and arrived at the final opposite João Gabriel. First he had to foil the Soul Fighters giant’s attempts at taking his back. Then he swept, mounted and celebrated with his Alliance friends.

And that wasn’t even all of it, as he later got to see his gym win the team championship title for the eighth time with a whopping 94 points. CheckMat (53) and Atos (45) completed the podium.

Marcus Buchecha vs. Rodolfo Vieira 2012 Worlds absolute division. Photo: Dan Rod

As we come to a close with our eighteen reasons to support/follow/enter the 2013 World Championship May 29 – June 2, we ask you this question: Will we see the greatest match ever?

This motivation arrives from the match in 2012 between Rodolfo Vieira and Marcus “Buchecha” Almeida in the open weight black belt division. This match-up was highly anticipated being that Buchecha was a rising star and Rodolfo was the most popular name on the BJJ crowd’s tongue. With both gentleman making a scene in their own right, the clash was a beautiful sight to see on the mats of the Long Beach Walter Pyramid.

I won’t spill too much because if you haven’t seen the duel yet, it will get you to jump off your seat, find a gi and get to training right away. Full intensity, with a passion for submission is the driving force in this match and there were no stalling calls, no hesitations and no passivity. Therefore, it will always make you want to train, regardless of whether you’ve seen it before.

So be at the Worlds (or watching the livestream) to be there for perhaps the next big match to be considered the greatest match ever. Do you think this one can be topped? Let us know below!

And follow our live coverage at the 2013 World Championship by connecting with our Google + page!

Buchecha in the final of the black belt adult absolute at the 2013 Pan. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Now halfway through the 18 reasons to support the 2013 World Championship May 29 – June 2, this type of motivation is for the black belts — but watching what happens is intriguing for all.

Reason #9: See how the IBJJF black belt rankings change after all is said and done.

The IBJJF rankings for both male and female black belts is a fairly new concept. With the points structure in place, every IBJJF tournament from the Atlanta Open to the World Championship is important to a black belt’s ranking. They were implemented in 2012 as a way to determine who goes where in the black belt brackets as the top athletes hold precedent, accumulating points as far back as 2010. They are also used in determining who earns an invitation to the annual IBJJF Pro League event.

When the rankings began, Rodolfo Vieira was the leader in the male ranking and Gabrielle Garcia held the top spot on the female ranking with a 500-point lead.

Today, Gabi has yet to move from the No. 1 spot, now leading with a 900-point gap over teammate Luanna Alzuguir and Checkmat’s Michelle Nicolini respectively. The females tend to stay in their spots for the most part, as the point differences are rather large. Interesting, however, that Mackenzie Dern has made it to the tenth spot despite only competing as a black belt for less than six months.

For the males, the rankings today fluctuate as Marcus Buchecha Almeida has made his way to the top once again after Bernardo Faria was injured at the 2013 Pan American Championship in March. His match against Buchecha in the semifinals of the absolute not only caused him a rib injury but also a downgrade in the rankings as his teammate, Leonardo Nogueira, preceded him as well. Now in the third spot, it would take Bernardo at least two visits to the podium at this year’s Worlds to possibly move up.

The intrigue of the rankings is that all weight classes are combined into one point system. Roosterweights like Caio Terra, who is currently in the fifth position, and Bruno Malfacine in spot No. 11, prove that being consistent is key, regardless of competing in the open weight division where points hold much more weight. Featherweights like sixth place Rafael Mendes and his brother Guilherme in the eighth spot have ranked within the top 10 without ever competing in the open weight division at major IBJJF events.

Who do you think will be moving up in the black belt rankings after a trip to the podium this year? Let us know!

To see the full IBJJF black belt rankings for yourself, please click here.

If you have yet to sign up for the World Championship this year or you would simply like more information, you can go to:  www.ibjjf.org

2013 Abu Dhabi WPJJC: Buchecha and Rodolfo in Action During the Open Class Final; photo by Dan Rod

The last day of the 2013 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship came to a close after its fourth day. The Saturday open weight finals day was full of varied action from the very start. All divisions warmed up in their respectable bullpen mats and every division was represented on the competition mats throughout.

Instead of dividing the day by rank, gender or age, the organization chose to run all divisions at once, leaving every mat engaged with combat from young to old, beginner to expert. By the time the finals began, everyone in the crowd was ready to see who would be crowned for each division. You can see the full results below.

Keenan Cornelius and Paullo Miyao both confused after a double DQ in the brown belt open weight final / Photo by Erin Herle

The brown belt adult male open division ended in a very peculiar way. Paulo Miyao and Keenan Cornelius both made their way to the final as they usually do together. So far in this year alone, they have met in the open weight finals in the Europeans, the Pans and now the WPJJC. As with all of their matches together, they pulled double guard and worked from there. Keenan’s strategy revolves around the advantage from coming up in a double guard pull situation. Knowing that the Miyao brothers will avoid playing top with him, he can stay on bottom as well, avoiding their backtake and footlock attempts until the last moment where he scores. The referee was not in favor of this strategy in Abu Dhabi and gave penalties one after another to both. At about the four minute mark, after he saw they were not improving the level of action, both were disqualified. Visibly shocked and confused, they were out of the money prize and medal, allowing third place athlete Kaue Damasceno from Nova Uniao to take the top spot on the podium. Ironically, he was also disqualified in his match with Keenan in the semi-finals for a slam.

The black belt male adult open division came through after eight brackets leaving the semi-finals and the finals left. Marcus Almeida Buchecha made his way beating Roberto “Tussa” Alencar with a knee bar and then Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu in the quarterfinals by points. The semi-final match for Buchecha was against Tarsis Humphreys where he outscored Tarsis 7-0 for his spot in the final. Rodolfo Vieira made his way to the final with one of his matches by choking Lucas Rocha from the back and also beating Claudio Calasans by points in the semi-final. Tarsis and Claudio fought for third with the win by points going to Claudio Calasans.

Claudio Calasans on the back of Tarsis Humphreys as they fight for third place of black belt open weight / Photo by Erin Herle

Andre Galvao was cut short in the open weight division after a bout with Tarsis Humphreys. The runner-up of the 2013 Pan black belt open weight division was very distraught over the loss that came by penalty. Both Tarsis and Andre had one advantage but before the six minute match ended, the referee decided that Andre’s passing was not active enough and gave him a stalling penalty, voiding the existing advantage he had earned earlier in the match. This caused a 1-0 in advantage lead by Tarsis Humphreys over Andre Galvao creating a commotion by Galvao who asked for witnesses to support him in his objection. Unfortunately, the decision was final and Galvao was no longer in the running for double gold. He won the -88kg black belt adult division the previous day.

Gabi Garcia passing the guard and attempting a submission on Beatriz Mesquita / Photo by Erin Herle

Gabrielle Garcia counts her fourth year of winning at the Abu Dhabi WPJJC, winning her sixth gold medal today. She met Beatriz Mesquita in the final, just like at Pan Ams this year and again won her over by points. Beatriz Mesquita made her way to the final by beating Luanna Alzuguir for the second time in this tournament as she also defeated her in the division the day before. Gabi Garcia submitted Mackenzie Dern in the semi-finals repeating the same feat as she did at the Pan Ams this year as well. The third place was left for Mackenzie and Luanna to battle it out, where Luanna passed Mackenzie’s guard to secure enough points for a bronze medal.

The final black belt adult male open weight match can be seen below between two hungry athletes. Rodolfo Vieira took hold of the match in the first minute however Buchecha came back full force. Both fought until the very end getting into many different positions along the way, even 50/50 but always engaging in progressive action. See how the match between these two current champions below and let us know what you think:

Buchecha beats Tarsis and will face Rodolfo in the finals

If you are awake early in the morning or live in Europe or far East, you may be checking GRACIEMAG channels to know what’s going on during the final day of the 2013 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

Well, the usual suspects Marcus Buchecha and Rodolfo Vieira will meet in the blackbelt open adult male finals, around 5:00am PST.

Rodolfo had a pretty smooth journey, beating Felipe Gargamel on quarters, and then on semis passing through Claudio Calasans by 9 points with a sweep, a pass and hardly having any trouble to reach the mount to assure his place in the final match.

His opponent, the current World Absolute Champion, Marcus Buchecha, had a tough match in the quarters. Roberto Cyborg opened a three-points lead by passing his guard right of the batch, but Buchecha managed to sweep, takedown and almost take Roberto Cyborg’s back, securing therefore the win by 4-3. Then he faced Tarsis Humphreys in the semi, and had not much hard time to pass, take the back and attack the arm of the Alliance representative, as the time finished.

Tarsis caused an upset in the quarters when he took Andre Galvao out of the bracket, after an even match decided by a minus point heavily questioned by an upset Galvao.

So the field is now open for the already expected decision confronting Rodolfo and Buchecha.

Gabi is one match shy to write more BJJ history

Gabi Garcia never lost a match in Abu Dhabi, taking so far all gold medals available since they created the female category, four years ago. She already took her division yesterday and now will face Bia Mesquita in the open, chasing another double gold.

Her opponent in the final, the Saquarema (a Rio de Janeiro state beach town) representative Bia Mesquita is however in a great momentum. She got to the finals after another win in a row over Luanna Alzuguir, who used to be Gabi’s partner for absolute close-outs. Will Bia finally be able to stop Gabi? We will see soon.

Keenan vs Miyao, once again

The Euros and the Pan already had this brownbelt open class final written: the American sensation Keenan Cornelius against the brave featherweight Paulo Miyao.

It’s not by the fact Cornelius has UFC and Jiu-Jtsu former champion BJ Penn in his corner that he’s favorite. It’s because he’s beating Paulo over and over, although it’s always tough. So the question to be answered soon is if Paulo is bringing something different in his sleeve to stop Keenan.

Victor Silverio wins his brown belt division at the 2013 WPJJC / Photo by Erin Herle

The third day of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship was a jam-packed day that decided a lot for many athletes. From the start at 9 a.m., the purple belt adult males entered the mats to make them come alive. From first match losses to submission wins to the finals, there was no destiny involved– only hard work prevailing here in Abu Dhabi.

The final divisions began at 1:30 p.m. starting with the master/senior male brown/black divisions moving to purple adult male, brown adult male, purple/brown/black female and finally black adult male.

The six minute matches were set for all divisions no matter the age, rank or gender, therefore pushing the athletes to finish their fights. Because there isn’t a lot of time and the referees will give penalties rather freely for stalling, the action is always in large demand. As much as it is a competition, it’s also a show. Here in Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu is a national sport so it is broadcasted on television and followed with coverage and lots of interest.

Keenan Cornelius takes the back in his brown belt final / Photo by Erin Herle

The purple belt and brown belt adult matches brought the excitement and when a leader of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu team Faisal Al Ketbi fought Luke Costello, the crowd went wild as he won by points. Submissions came from the back mostly, by Gianni Grippo in the -70kg division and the -88kg division by Keenan Cornelius but even the matches that were determined by points were enough action to call it a show.

Caroline de Lazzer celebrates her win / Photo by Erin Herle

The females came with some nice surprises as Beatriz Mesquita conquered Luanna Alzugiur, a native to the WPJJC top podium spot, when she swept her twice. Caroline de Lazzer cried when she won Fernanda Mazzelli on points as this win was a huge accomplishment for her. Gabrielle Garcia was able to submit Tammy Griego before time ran out with a choke to win her fourth title at the World Pro and Michelle Nicolini surprised the crowd when we swept Mackenzie Dern at the very last minute after being down by advantages.

Marcos Yoshi Souza wins by two points over Victor Estima / Photo by Erin Herle

The black belts were enticing because of some new faces in the finals. The -64kg division started it off right with Thiago Marques defeating Samuel Hertzog with a quick triangle choke. From Bonsai, Satoshi’s brother Marcos Yoshi Souza was able to gather two points from catching the leg as Victor Estima jumped guard then avoiding all of Estima’s many submission attempts from armbars to omoplatas to triangles.

Augusto Tanquinho Mendes on top after sweeping Rubens Charles Maciel / Photo by Erin Herle

Two matches that we’ve seen many times before came in the -70kg and -76kg divisions as both were determined by points or advantages. Augusto Tanquinho Mendes won Rubens Charles Maciel with a sweep and then Leandro Lo won over Lucas Lepri by an advantage due to a guard pass attempt deemed worthy of such.

Romulo Barral walks off the mats with medics / Photo by Erin Herle

In an unfortunate event, Romulo Barral quit his match against Andre Galvao early on after pulling a hamstring. Galvao jumped guard then immediately swept with a waiter sweep, putting Barral’s leg in great danger and ultimately causing him to forfeit the gold. Rodolfo Vieira defeated his opponent Pedro Peres in the -94kg division with some textbook moves by passing the guard, taking the back and choking with the lapels. Antonio Braga Neto pushed the pace of his -100kg division fight with a sweep and multiple attempts of passes and getting into mount, finishing 2-0 against Jose Junior.

The final match of the day left two people who were very unlikely to ever fight- but they did. Rodrigo Cavaca is the professor of Marcus Buchecha Almeida and they met in the +100kg division final and fought instead of closing out. Cavaca won the match 7-2 in a friendly yet competitive roll. Here’s what Buchecha had to say about it:

“For us it was like a dream come true to get to the finals together because we have dreamt about it since 2010 when I got my black belt. We never close out any tournaments so we’re happy that we have reached that goal. And we are happy to do a fight because we don’t like close outs– that’s why we decided to fight. We hope to do the same thing in the finals of the open weight tomorrow.

It wasn’t awkward because I have been training with him since 2004. This was just like a normal day in the academy, a tough roll with my master. It’s always a pleasure to roll with him because he taught me everything that i know in Jiu-Jitsu.

I would  like to say thank you to my father because he was the most important person for keeping me in Jiu-Jitus and because of him, Cavaca came to Abu Dhabi where we we’re able to accomplish this goal instead of flying to Pan Ams [where he was going to travel instead of Abu Dhabi].”

Cavaca and Buchecha after their final match / Photo by Erin Herle

 Full results from day 3: