Liera Jr. e Felipinho César na briga pelo ouro absoluto. Foto: Reprodução

A badalada cidade de Nova York, nos EUA, recebeu no último final de semana mais uma edição do New York Fall Open de Jiu-Jitsu da IBJJF. O evento foi tomado por cascas-grossas da região e cidades próximas, o que resultou em verdadeiras batalhas de alto nível técnico nos tatames azuis e amarelos.

Um exemplo prático disto foi a final do absoluto faixa-preta adulto, entre Michael Liera Jr. (Atos) e Felipinho Cesar (Unity). Depois de duelarem na final dos meio-pesados, os dois craques ficaram frente a frente na luta em peso aberto.

A disputa foi acirrada, com ações importantes de ambos os lados, tanto por baixo quanto por cima. Contudo, no fim das contas, foi o americano Liera que levou a melhor, acumulou mais pontos e garantiu o ouro duplo na competição.

Confira o duelo quente no vídeo abaixo!

Michelle Nicolini’s two gold medals.

The jiu-jitsu elite went at it last weekend, no lapels needed. At the IBJJF No-Gi Euros, held Sunday in Rome, quick transitions and spectacular finishes set the tone. By the end, Michael Liera Jr. and Michelle Nicolini had each secured two titles.

Liera, a lightweight, took down his division with a win over Tommi Pulkkanen (Hilti BJJ) in the final. Then in the absolute division, against much heavier opposition, he managed to make his way to Lucas Hulk, the medium heavyweight runner-up, and closed it out for team Atos.

The women’s section belonged to Michelle Nicolini. Double gold came through two wins over Leoni Munslow (New School BJJ), first in the lightweight division and then in the absolute. This is the first time that Nicolini has won it all in an edition of the No-Gi Euros.

Check the following list for the black belt podiums, and click here for the complete results.

Black / Adult / Male / Light-Feather

Black / Adult / Male / Feather

Black / Adult / Male / Light

Black / Adult / Male / Middle

Black / Adult / Male / Medium-Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Super-Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Ultra-Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Open Class

Michelle Nicolini com suas duas medalhas de ouro no Europeu Nogi. Foto: Reprodução

Os melhores atletas do Jiu-Jitsu mundial se testaram no último final de semana, sem o auxílio de lapelas, mangas e sobras de pano para realizar suas pegadas e técnicas. No Europeu Sem Kimono da IBJJF, realizado no último domingo, dia 25 de março, transições velozes e finalizações espetaculares ditaram o ritmo das disputas em Roma, na Itália.

Na divisão de elite, entre faixas-pretas no adulto, dois nomes tiveram maior destaque. Michael Liera Jr. e Michelle Nicolini ficaram com título do torneio, não só em suas respectivas categorias de peso como também no absoluto.

Liera, atleta do peso leve, primeiro teve que ser melhor na sua categoria, e conquistou o ouro ao bater Tommi Pulkkanen (Hilti BJJ) na final. Já no aberto, contra adversários bem mais pesados, conseguiu avançar na chave para, no último duelo, encontrar Lucas Hulk, vice-campeão na divisão de meio-pesado, que fechou com o amigo mais levinho para completar a festa da Atos no topo do pódio.

Já no feminino, foi a vez de a multicampeã Michelle Nicolini brilhar. O ouro duplo veio após bater duas vezes a faixa-preta  Leoni Munslow (New School BJJ), primeiro no peso leve de depois no aberto. Este foi a primeira vez que Nicolini conseguiu o feito duplo no Europeu Sem Kimono.

Outros craques também fizeram bonito no torneio. Confira na lista abaixo o pódio da faixa-preta e para ver todos os resultados da competição, clique aqui!

Black / Adult / Male / Light-Feather

Black / Adult / Male / Feather

Black / Adult / Male / Light

Black / Adult / Male / Middle

Black / Adult / Male / Medium-Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Super-Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Ultra-Heavy

Black / Adult / Male / Open Class

O combate foi equilibrado, mas o jovem aluno de André Galvão conseguiu pegar as costas e finalizar com a lapela no arco-e-flecha.

Confira no vídeo abaixo!

Michael Liera Jr. was the standout at the IBJJF 2015 Seattle Open, this Saturday.

He won double gold at the male adult black belt division.

Here’s the absolute final.

Watch how Liera submitted his way to the gold medal.

Michael Liera Jr. at the Atos JJ Camp

The 2015 Seattle Open went down this Saturday at the Everett Community College.

Michael Liera and Angelica Galvão were the standouts with double gold at the adult black belt division.

Liera closed out the middleweight division with teammate Josh Hinger and beat Fernando Herrera for the absolute title.

Angelica beat Rossie Snow for the medium-heavy title and then defeated Leanna Dittrich in the open class final.

Liera, Andre, Angelica in Seattle. Photo: Personal Archives

The standings in the black belt divisions were:

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light Feather

First – Milton Carlos Bastos P. do Nascimento – Samir Chantre BJJ

Second – William Earl Hagerty – Jiu-Jitsu Dynamics Washington

BLACK / Adult / Male / Feather

First – Vitor Peres Paschoal – Brasa CTA

Second – Samir José Chantre Dahás – Samir Chantre BJJ

Third – Jordan Tomas Gomez – Caveirinha Jiu-Jitsu Family USA

Third – Richard Stephen Slomba Jr. – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light

First – Francisco Antonio Iturralde Lara – Alliance

Second – Kim Terra – Brasa CTA

Third – Issa Able – GD Jiu-Jitsu Association

Third – Jason Jerome Rivera Palacios – Team Royce Gracie

BLACK / Adult / Male / Middle

First – Michael Remiglio Liera Jr. – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Joshua Roy Hinger – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Joshua Franklin Guzman Calvo – Lotus Club Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Pedro Henrique Monteiro Palhares – Luiz Palhares Jiu Jitsu

BLACK / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy

First – Giacomo Raupp Zanini – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Joshua Lee Bowlin – Gracie Barra

Third – Thomas Joseph Cronin Jr – Carlson Gracie Team

BLACK / Adult / Male / Heavy

First – Fernando Moya Herrera – Renzo Gracie International

Second – Jared Reid Revel – Gracie Barra

Third – Robert Zeps – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Male / Super Heavy

First – Felipe Menezes Bueno – Alliance SP

Second – Alessandro Ferreira da Silva – Gracie Fighter

BLACK / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy

First – Carlos Eduardo de Araujo Farias – Brasa CTA

Second – Larry James King – Praxis Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

BLACK / Adult / Male / Open Class

First – Michael Remiglio Liera Jr. – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Fernando Moya Herrera – Renzo Gracie International

Third – Kim Terra – Brasa CTA

Third – Joshua Roy Hinger – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

BLACK / Adult / Female / Light

First – Kiri Noelle Liao – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Gegi E Van de Walker – Cia Paulista USA

BLACK / Adult / Female / Middle

First – Amanda Loewen – SBG International (SBGI)

Second – Leanna M Dittrich – Fight Sports

BLACK / Adult / Female / Medium Heavy

First – Angelica Cabral Firme Galvao – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Rosamond Elin Snow – Easton BJJ

BLACK / Adult / Female / Open Class

First – Angelica Cabral Firme Galvao – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Leanna M Dittrich – Fight Sports

Third – Rosamond Elin Snow – Easton BJJ

Third – Kiri Noelle Liao – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

In the teams’ competition, results were:

1 – Gracie Barra – 237

2 – Atos Jiu-Jitsu – 188

3 – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu – 151

For the full results, go to ibjjf.org.

He teaches a effective way to break the spider guard and get to side control.

Watch, learn and add to your game.

By 2012 at purple belt, he had moved to Atos under Andre Galvao and won the Pans, placing third in the World Championship after we planned for a great run in our pre-worlds predictions.

But it was 2013 that he secured his place at the top winning both Pans and Worlds as a purple belt and earning double gold at the Pans as a lightweight.

At brown belt this past year, not much changed. Pans and Worlds were his to take along with third in the Worlds absolute and he also won his division at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

On Nov. 4 Liera Jr. was promoted to the prestigious black belt at the age of 21 by Andre Galvao. Check out the celebration and nice words by his professor:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVYVnWO27_s

Michael Liera Jr. is one of the most talented competitors of the new generation of Jiu-Jitsu athletes in the USA.

Training under André Galvão (who also celebrates his birthday today) in San Diego, Liera is only 21 years old.

Celebrate the date watching Liera in action at the 2014 Worlds, when he conquered the lightweight brown belt division.

The final was against fellow Atos JJ member Alex Gisberg.

Check out how he breaks down the move:

Tim Spriggs wins big at the Pan. Photo: Erin Herle

Some of the most exciting matches of the event came from the brown belt adult divisions. On Saturday, the male and female athletes took over the mats from nine in the morning until nine at night.

MALES

Fabio Caloi wins feather. Photo: Erin Herle

The males had many exciting matches. In the roosterweight final two members of Alliance, one from Sao Paulo and one from Los Angeles battled it out with a near even score. At the very end, Francis Tejano of Cobrinha BJJ went for a takedown with mere seconds left and earned the gold over Eduard Lisboa. Light-featherweight brought Andris Brunovski, who moved to Atos in San Diego, back to the top after he won his final against last year’s world champion Michael Woolf Barnato of Kurt Osiander’s. Featherweights brought together members of Alliance a few times. Jon Thomas of Alliance Atlanta faced Isaac Doederlein of Alliance Los Angeles with a sweep battle. Isaac made it through on points and eventually met teammate Jacob Sandoval in the semi-final. Jacob took the pass to fight Fabio Caloi from Alliance Sao Paulo in the final. Fabio earned the submission from the back to get the gold.

Michael Liera Jr. shoots for the triangle. Photo: Erin Herle

Lightweight featured Michael Liera Jr. of Atos who took it home, submitting all five of his fights for the gold. Middleweight was closed out by two Alliance Marcelo Garcia members, Jon Satava and Dillon Danis. Medium-heavy had some of the most exciting matches of the divisions with Inacio Neto of Gracie Barra in wars with various opponents. Matheus Diniz from Alliance Marcelo Garcia had takedown and sweep stand-offs with Inacio but lacked the two points to win the match. Mike Carbullido of Atos had a similar match even passing Inacio’s guard but failed to stabilize and lost on points.

Manny Diaz wins the medium-heavy division. Photo: Erin Herle

In the final, Manuel Diaz of Brasa Caio Terra Association, who had submissions of his own on the way to the end match-up, out scored the Gracie Barra athlete to win the gold.

Heavyweight was dominated by Tim Spriggs of Crazy 88/Team Lloyd Irvin. His aggressive, forward approach to his takedowns, knee slice passes to the back will ensure him of a choke. His final match against Fernando Reis of Alliance ended in this manner. Erberth Santos of Team Lloyd Irvin but a local to Sao Paulo, BR won the ultra-heavyweight division and Pedro Moura of Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu won the super-heavyweight division, also traveling from Brazil.

Erbert and Tim close out the brown belt adult open weight division. Photo: Erin Herle

The open weight for males was narrowed down to Jon Satava vs. Tim Spriggs and Erberth Santos vs. Igor Schneider. Tim submitted Jon with a bow-and-arrow choke while Erberth submitted his semi-final with a kneebar. A flip of the coin determined Erberth as the gold medal winner.

FEMALES

Karen Antunes wins the featherweight division. Photo: Erin Herle

The brown belt ladies had smaller divisions than the males but did not lack action. The light-featherweights only had two competitors but of high caliber. The margin was small but Kristina Barlaan of Brasa Caio Terra Association was able to repeat her 2013 performance and take the gold by advantage over seasoned competitor Chelsea Bainbridge-Donner of Atos. Featherweight was full of accomplished competitors who compete regularly. Karen Antunes of Checkmat outscored Maxine Thyline of Gracie Humaita to get to the final. Patricia Fontes of Checkmat armbarred Christie Sullivan of Gracie Elite Team then lost to Tess Kovit of Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu by points. Karen submitted Tess with a choke from the back for the win.

Angelica Galvao wins the lightweight division. Photo: Erin Herle

Lightweight was led by Angelica Galvao of Atos who first had Jane Minondo of North Vancouver BJJ. She won by points. Laurah Hallock of Paragon defeated Jackeline Oliveira of Alliance to face Angelica in the final. The gold went to Angelica to give her a third Pan title.

Monique Elias wins the middleweight division. Photo: Erin Herle

Middleweight began with Rosamond Snow who submitted Nathalia Azoff of BTT with an armbar. Sijara Eubanks of Team Lloyd Irvin defeated Ana Lowry of Cicero Costha to get into the finals. Monique Elias of Alliance defeated Rosamond by armbar in the semi-finals and then submitted Sijara in the final with a choke from the back for the gold. The heavyweight division only held one athlete, Hillary VanOrnum of Impact Jiu-Jitsu.

Medium-heavy had two matches with Brooke Goldsworthy of Crispim BJJ Brothers defeating her first opponent, Angela Hernandez of Gracie Barra. In the final, Dominyka Obelenyte of Alliance Marcelo Garcia defeated Brooke by points to earn the title.

The open weight division for the females consisted of thirteen women:

Karen Antunes defeated Kristina Barlaan by choke from the back.

Sijara Eubanks defeated Jane Minondo by ezekiel.

Laurah Hallock defeated Rosamond Snow by armbar.

Dominyka Obelenyte defeated Maxine Thyline by americana.

Tess Kovit defeated Hillary VanOrnum by referee decision.

Patricia Fontes defeated Angela Hernandez by choke from the back.

Patricia defeated Brooke Goldsworthy by 7-2 in points.

Monique Elias defeated Laurah by choke from the back.

Sijara defeated Karen by 4-2 in points.

Dominyka defeated Tess by americana.

Monique defeated Sijara by 8-0.

Dominyka defeated Patricia by choke from the back.

Monique Elias wins the open weight and double gold. Photo: Erin Herle

The final between two Alliance females was intense the entire match much because of the talent among the two and the action. Both pulled guard and Dominyka came up for the advantage not long after. She pushed into top half earning another advantage before Monique recovered her guard, threatened a sweep and earned an advantage. Dominyka pressured through once more to close in on Monique with shoulder pressure and an underhook and managed to clear her legs to pass. Before stabilizing, Dominyka stepped her foot over for mount but Monique responded with her knee to counter, turned into her and on to her knees which only gave Dominyka another advantage. Monique stood up with her grips on Dominyka’s pants and as Dominyka went to guard, Monique earned two points. Dominyka swept for two points and Monique closed the 50/50 guard. Monique swept to top still in the 50/50 position for two points. Dominyka swept once more for two more points and attempted to keep Monique down but Monique earned two more points at the very end of the match for the win, 6-4.

You can check out a full album with photos from the brown belt divisions here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/graciemag/sets/72157642514279034/

The brown belts prepare for the many matches ahead in the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo Brown Belt Grand Prix. Photo: Erin Herle

On the first day of the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Expo, Saturday Nov. 9, the Long Beach Convention Center brought together seminars, superfights, a tournament, brand booths, autograph opportunities and the Brown Belt Grand Prix. From 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each group of eight men fought every person in their group. After gathering points based on how each match was won, the groups came together in the semi-final match and then determined the winner from there in the final match among the superfights.

Tim Spriggs of Team Lloyd Irvin came out undefeated and attained the gold trophy. See how it all played out:

BROWN BELT GP GROUP A

1- Marcio Andre

2- Manuel Diaz

3- Max Bohanan

4- Bruno Cuppari

5- Thiago Sa

6- Pedro Monneral

7- Darragh O’Conall

8- Michael Liera

BROWN BELT GP GROUP B

1- Travis Stevens

2- Inacio Neto

3- Rodrigo Barbosa (replaced by Felipe Silva)

4- Bruno Iglesias

5- Shiloh Roberts

6- Rafael Henrique

7- Arnaldo de Oliveira

8- Timothy Spriggs

GP POINT SYSTEM:

1 Point – Draw

2 Points – Win by advantage

3 Points – Win by points

4 Points – Win by Submission

INDIVIDUAL MATCH RESULTS

GROUP A

3 pts – Manuel Diaz defeated Marcio Andre 3-0 points
3 pts – Thiago Sa defeated Pedro Monneral by 9-0 points
2 pts – Max Bohanan defeated Bruno Cappari by 1 advantage
2 pts – Michael Liera Jr. defeated Darragh O’Conall by 1 advantage
3 pts – Marcio Andre defeated Max Bohanan 3-2 points
2 pts – Manuel Diaz defeated Bruno Cappari by 3-0 advantages
4 pts – Thiago Sa defeated Darragh O’Conall by toehold
2 pts – Marcio Andre defeated Bruno Cappari by 4 advantages
4 pts – Thiago Sa defeated Manuel Diaz by toehold
1 pt – Michael Liera Jr. and Max Bohanan met in a draw
3 pts – Thiago Sa defeated Marcio Andre by 2-0 points
3 pts – Darragh O’Conall defeated Max Bohanan by 5-2 points
2 pts – Michael Liera Jr. defeated Bruno Cappari by penalty of opponent so advantage
3 pts – Manuel Diaz defeated Michael Liera Jr. by 3-0 points
3 pts – Thiago Sa defeated Max Bohanan by 2-0 points
3 pts – Darragh O’Conall defeated Bruno Cappari 3-0 advantages
4 pts – Manuel Diaz defeated Max Bohanan by footlock
3 pts – Marcio Andre defeated Darragh O’Conall by 4-2 points
2 pts – Michael Liera Jr. defeated Thiago Sa by 2-0 advantages
2 pts – Manuel Diaz defeated Darragh O’Conall by 1-0 advantage
4 pts – Michael Liera Jr. defeated Marcio Andre by footlock
4 pts – Thiago Sa defeated Bruno Cappari by footlock

Manuel Diaz moves on to the semi-final with 14 points
Thiago Sa moves on to the semi-final with 21 points

GROUP B

4 pts – Travis Stevens defeated Inacio Neto by armbar
3 pts – Tim Spriggs defeated Arnaldo de Oliveira by 11-0 points
3 pts – Rafael Henrique defeated Shiloh Roberts by 3-0 points
3 pts – Inacio Neto defeated Bruno Iglesias by 6-0 points
4 pts – Felipe Silva defeated Travis Stevens by kneebar
4 pts – Shiloh Roberts defeated Arnaldo de Oliveira by armbar
3 pts – Tim Spriggs defeated Rafael Henrique by 11-0 points
3 pts – Travis Stevens defeated Bruno Iglesias by 13-4 points
3 pts – Inacio Neto defeated Shiloh Roberts by 3-2 points
3 pts – Tim Spriggs defeated Felipe Silva by 10-0 points
3 pts – Rafael Henrique defeated Inacio Neto by 2-0 points
3 pts – Travis Stevens defeated Rafael Henrique by 4-2 points
3 pts – Tim Spriggs defeated Bruno Iglesias by 2-0 points
4 pts – Travis Stevens defeated Shiloh Roberts by choke
3 pts – Tim Spriggs defeats Inacio Neto by 12-0 points
4 pts – Felipe Silva defeats Shiloh Roberts by kneebar
4 pts – Felipe Silva defeated Inacio Neto by kneebar
4 pts – Rafael Henrique defeated Bruno Iglesias by loop choke
3 pts – Tim Spriggs defeated Shiloh Roberts by 9-0 points
2 pts – Tim Spriggs defeated Travis Stevens by advantage
4 pts – Felipe Silva defeated Rafael Henrique by toehold
3 pts – Travis Stevens receives 3 points since Arnaldo dropped out due to injury
3 pts – Rafael Henrique receives 3 points from absence of Arnaldo
3 pts – Felipe Silva receives 3 points from absence of Arnaldo
3 pts – Inacio Neto receives 3 points from absence of Arnaldo
3 pts – Bruno Iglesias receives 3 points from absence of Arnaldo

Felipe Silva moves on to the semi-final with 19 points
Tim Spriggs moves on to the semi-final with 20 points

SEMI-FINAL MATCHES

Manuel Diaz vs. Tim Spriggs
Felipe Silva vs. Thiago Sa

Thiago Sa defeated Felipe Silva by 4-2 points 2-1 advantages
Tim Spriggs defeated Manuel Diaz by 3-0 points 1-0 advantages

FINAL

Thiago Silva vs. Tim Spriggs

Tim Spriggs defeated Thiago Sa by 5-1 in advantages with 2 penalties and becomes the 2013 World Jiu-Jitsu Expo Brown Belt Grand Prix champion:

See full gallery of over 200 photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/graciemag/sets/72157637501224585/