Roberto Cyborg and Xande Ribeiro fighting at Copa Podio. Arthur Castro

Last Saturday Copa Podio landed in the city of Manaus, bringing a slew of thrilling bouts and crowning a new Middleweight GP king.

DJ Jackon of team Lloyd Irvin wrote a piece of history by becoming the first American to raise a Copa Podio trophy. He first won in the groups stage and then reached the final opposite Fellipe Andrew (Zenith), a brown-belt who had submitted four adversaries.

Prior to this, Xande Ribeiro and Roberto Cyborg stepped on the mat to represent Caboclos and Pantaneiros respectively, in a duel of states that was tied following the wins of Paulo Azambuja (Pantaneiros) over Eduardo Inojosa (Caboclos) and André Júlio (Caboclos) over Adley Lobato (Pantaneiros), as well as the draw between Fernandinho Vieira (Caboclos) and Marcel Gonçalves (Pantaneiros).

Xande and Cyborg’s match went back and forth. After the time was up with no clear winner, the organization added some overtime. A draw was declared after both fighters failed to gain an edge.

Another exciting match pitted Isaque Bahiense against Espen Mathiesen. These two Lightweight GP finalists from a previous installment this time did a superfight. Espen, with his solid guard game, and Isaque, with powerful pass attempts, both put on a show, with Isaque ending up as the winner due to taking fewer penalties.

Results:

Copa Podio Manaus/ Middleiweght GP
1st: DJ Jackson (USA)
2nd: Fellipe Andrew (BRA)
3rd: Gustavo Braguinha (BRA)
4th: William Dias (BRA)

Superfight:
Isaque Bahiense beat Espen Mathiesen

Caboclos vs. Pantaneiros:
Xande Ribeiro (AM) drew with Roberto Cyborg (MS)
Paulo Azambuja (MS) beat Eduardo Inojosa (AM)
André Júlio (AM) beat Adley Lobato (MS)
Fernandinho Vieira (AM) drew with Marcel Gonçalves (MS)

Jaime Canuto celebrates win over Ben Henderson at the 2013 Pan. Photo: Erik Fontanez./ GracieMag

Copá Pódio, scheduled for next September 8 in Rio de Janeiro, in the gymnasium of Tijuca Tennis Club, has confirmed two more names for the Middleweight GP.

Known by GRACIEMAG readers since he eliminated Benson Henderson in the Pan 2013, Jaime Canuto will represent GFTeam in the competition. He, who got gold at the World Championship in Long Beach, received his black belt and promises to give his more experienced adversaries a hard time.

Another strong fighter confirmed was Renato Cardoso (Checkmat), a pupil of Rodrigo Cavaca’s. The black belt from São Paulo is known for strong foot attacks.

They join the roster including such talents as Romulo Barral (Gracie Barra), Keenan Cornelius (Atos) Yan Cabral (Spider / Nova União), Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team), Travis Stevens (Renzo Gracie) and Diego Moreno (Soul Fighters).

The event also will feature a Duel of Cities without a stopwatch, where Diego Borges will represent the city of Manaus against Clark Gracie, who defends the flag of San Diego. The match between the black belts will last until one of the fighters is submitted or resigns.

There are still two spots left in the GP, and the organizers should fill them next week. The announcement of Leandro Lo’s opponent for the superfight is also expected. Check out the card:

Copa Pódio – Middleweight Grand Prix
Tijuca Tênis Clube, Rio de Janeiro
September 8, 2013

GP: Romulo Barral, Alexandro Ceconi, Keenan Cornelius, Yan Cabral, Jaime Canuto, Renato Cardoso, Diego Moreno and Travis Stevens.
Duelo of Cities: Clark Gracie (San Diego) vs Diego Borges (Manaus)

Leandro Lo and Felipe Preguiça lock horns in a thrilling match at Rio de Janeiro’s Hebraica Club (Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG).

Last Sunday, Copa Pódio was proof that Jiu-Jitsu goes well beyond just technique. To be champion, there’s one ingredient you can’t do without: heart.

What would be the best definition of “having heart” in Jiu-Jitsu? To have faith until the very last second of the fight would be one of them. That’s what Leandro Lo Leandro Lo of team Cícero Costha and Felipe Preguiça of Gracie Barra BH displayed in the Pódio supermatch, a rematch that brought the Hebraica Gymnasium to its feet last Sunday night.

Leandro and Felipe collided again after fighting to a draw at the Middleweight GP in July 2012. And to Felipe there was extra added flavor in the re-encounter, as it marked his debut as a black belt.

To Leandro, it was yet another opportunity to prove that Jiu-Jitsu isn’t limited by the size of one’s frame.

The match was a thriller from start to finish. Exhausted after their battle was over, the two collapsed to the ground, each to a side, right near the stage.

Watch the action for yourself:

Preguiça and Lo in match that stirred the pot of controversy on the internet Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com

At the last Copa Pódio Jiu-Jitsu tournament, held July 21 at Rio de Janeiro’s Hebraica Club, Leandro Lo was crowned number one yet again. The Cicero Costha black belt, who had already won the lightweight GP in December 2011, had a repeat performance in the middleweight contest. There was, however, one match that caused something of an uproar—the one between Leandro Lo and Felipe Preguiça that ended in a draw.

There was plenty of buzz over the internet questioning the referee’s choice of not awarding Preguiça for what some felt was a takedown. Had the points been scored, the Minas Gerais State native would have won the match. “The guys on the internet are wrong: that wasn’t a takedown; it was a sweep defense. That is, all Preguiça did was put Leandro Lo back in the original position. It’s a complicated subject, but the vast majority of web users aren’t familiar with CBJJ rules, so they just say whatever comes to mind,” said Muzio de Angelis, the refereeing coordinator for the tournament.

Regardless, a rematch has already been scheduled: it will be one of the supermatches at the event coming up December in Rio de Janeiro featuring the heavyweight GP. “Lo is an athlete who deserves certain privileges within the promotion, and just as he asked to compete in the middleweight GP, now he’s asking for a supermatch with Preguiça. You just can’t turn down a request like that,” quipped Jeferson Maycá, the chief organizer of the competition.

“The rule change whereby only submissions counted in the first five minutes only worked in the supermatch between Guto Campos and Raphael Abi-Rihan. In most of the other matches, the athletes toned down their performances until points began to count,” stated Maycá. “That being the case, now all the regulation duration for all the heavyweight GP matches will be six minutes except for the supermatches, which will be for the traditional 10 minutes,” he added.

The second and main supermatch will have Southern Brazil’s Guto Campos defending his title for a third time, against a yet-to-be-named opponent.

Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further news.

Leandro Lo agaist Ricardo Bastos at Copa Podio. Photo by Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG

Leandro Lo is tired of is tired of taking the tougher road in Jiu-Jitsu championships, but Copa Podio, which was held past Saturday at Clube Hebraica, in Rio, was a chapter apart in the saga of the lightweight world champion.

The athlete revealed by a social project led by Cicero Costha accepted to measure his game in a middleweight GP, he was part of a group with two other world champions (Otavio Sousa and the brown belt Felipe Pena) and was one of the lightest competitors.

Also, the fights lasted six minutes instead of the usual ten, which made things even harder to him: “In a six-minute fight you can’t make mistakes. It is harder to recover from it. My trick was to use a very fast pace since the beginning”, says happily the champ.

The black belt from São Paulo, who had already won the Lightweight GP, in December 2011, recalled his trajectory in Middleweight GP:

“In the first phase, in groups, I defeated Dimitrius Souza and Formiga, and tied with Felipe Preguiça and Otavio Sousa. In the semifinals, I defeated Ricardo Bastos and Dimitrius Souza in the finals (with a guard pass and a mount). I wasn’t able to apply any submission, the guys of this weight are too strong”, says Lo.

“I have enjoyed fighting in the middleweight in such a hard championship like Copa Podio, it was a great test”, says the GP champ, remembering the most dramatic moment of the conquest. “My worst moment was on the fight against Ricardo Bastos. I was taken down when the points were already counting (after first half of the fight), and he is very strong on the top. Honestly I thought I’d lose, but thank God I recovered from it”.

“Now I will train Jiu-Jitsu no-gi to fight in the Brazilian and World No-Gi Championship,” he concluded.

Check out the official Copa Podio results:

OPENING SUPER FIGHT
Claudio Caloquinha 4 x 4 Michael Langhi (4 x 0 to Michael Langhi in the sudden death round)

GP 1^st ROUND
Green Group: Pedro Mello 0 x 8 (1v) Davi Ramos
Green Group: Thiago Barata 0 x 11 (2adv) Ricardo Bastos
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça 4 (1adv) x 4 Otavio Sousa
Yellow Group: Leandro Lo 2 x 0 Dimitrius Souza

GP 2^nd ROUND
Green Group: Pedro Mello 0 x 2 Thiago Barata
Green Group: Davi Ramos x Diogo Almeida (Diogo subbed)
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça 2 (1adv) x 2 (1adv) Leandro Lo
Yellow Group: Otavio Sousa 0 x 2 Rafael Formiga

GP 3^rd ROUND
Green Group: Pedro Mello 2 (1adv) x 0 (2adv) Diogo Almeida
Green Group: Davi Ramos 2 x 2 Ricardo Bastos
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça 7 (1adv) x 2(1adv) Rafael Formiga
Yellow Group: Otavio Sousa 0 x 2 Dimitrius Souza

GP 4^th ROUND
Green Group: Pedro Mello 0 (1adv) x 2 Ricardo Bastos
Green Group: Thiago Barata 0 x 0 Diogo Almeida
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça 4 x 4 (1adv) Dimitrius Souza
Yellow Group: Leandro Lo 3 x 0 Rafael Formiga

GP 5^th ROUND
Green Group: Davi Ramos x Thiago Barata (Davi subbed)
Green Group: Ricardo Bastos 4 (2adv) x 0 (1adv)Diogo Almeida
Yellow Group: Otavio Sousa 2 x 2 Leandro Lo
Yellow Group: Dimitrius Souza 4 (2adv) x 4 Rafael Formiga

SEMIFINALS
Ricardo Bastos 2 x 8 (5adv) Leandro Lo
Dimitrius Souza 6 (6adv) x 4 (2adv) Davi Ramos

COPA PODIO SUPER CHALLENGE:
Guto Campos 2 (1adv) x 0 (2adv) Raphael Abi-Rihan

Third Place Dispute
Davi Ramos 2 x 0 (1adv) Ricardo Bastos

Final
Leandro Lo 7 (3 adv) x 0 Dimitrius Souza

Leandro jubilant after becoming the first ever Lightweight GP champion: the São Paulo native will now test his mettle at middleweight. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com

The 2012 season has been excellent for black belt Leandro Lo, who won the Pan, Brazilian Nationals and Jiu-Jitsu Worlds. But the Cícero Costha team representative doesn’t want to hear about slowing down, and he’s already got another mission marked for the coming 21st of July, when he takes on the Copa Pódio Middleweight GP.

“I’m really stoked to see how I do at middleweight. I’ve been lifting weights to get stronger but I’ll stick with my same old game,” he told GRACIEMAG.com. “I don’t feel like I’m putting all my titles in jeopardy. I won the World Championship that day. I won the lightweight GP on that day. When the championship wraps up, that mission is over. Now it’s time to think about new championships, new challenges, like sticking my neck out at middleweight, for instance.”

Lo denies he’s favored to win, despite the frenetic, victorious pace he’s been keeping in sport Jiu-Jitsu.

“I don’t feel I’m the favorite; I’m just one among nine,” he stated humbly. “I want to thank GRACIEMAG.com and the gang for cheering for me at Copa Pódio,” he said in closing.

Copa Pódio goes down July 21 at Clube Hebraica, Rio de Janeiro. Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further news on the tournament.

By the rules of the event, only two from each group will qualify for the next stage. While the dispute in the green team is thorny, with Nivaldo Oliveira, Victor Bomfim, Davi Ramos, André Bastos and Vinicius Marinho all in the mix; the yellow is as stern as it gets, with Otavio Sousa, Leandro Lo, Rafael Formiga, Dimitrius Souza and brown belt Felipe “Preguiça” Pena set to lock horns with each other.

At the promoters’ behest, the two Gracie Barra teammates, Otavio Sousa and Felipe, will face off in the opening round to prevent them from knowing what result would be most interesting to them later on.

The decision to match them against each other stirred up some controversy on the Copa Pódio Facebook page. In a conversation with GRACIEMAG.com, the promoter Jeferson Maycá defended their stance.

“The draw was the most transparent and impartial way to sort the athletes, and by chance Otavio and Preguiça ended up in the same group, which turned out to be a true group of death. The fact that the two of them will face off in the first match of the yellow group, in a way, demonstrates respect to the paying public and the athletes themselves, as it guarantees that if they make it to the final it will be by their own merit, without agreements or fixing results,” said Maycá in justifying the choice.

“Although it’s not the main objective behind Copa Pódio, I feel breaking paradigms is essential for the process of making events professional. And both Preguiça and Otavio are aware of Copa Pódio rules and unconditionally accepted the event format,” he added.

Jeferson underscored that both are world champions and promised to give their all to fight for the title.

“Copa Pódio is featuring a contest between schools, and this time it’s not Gracie Barra versus Gracie Barra, but GB Belo Horizonte versus GB Recife. I feel the two of them will truly be fighting for the title. What’s more, just like what happened with Leandro Lo in the lightweight GP, the middleweight champion will be offered a financially rewarding contract with the event.

“Our main objective is to assure Jiu-Jitsu fans get an exciting spectacle. I’m not in favor of closing out, but nor am I in favor of teammates facing each other. That’s why Copa Pódio was put together in this format, where each academy only has one representative. The priority will always be to call up athletes from different teams, but we made an exception for Otavio because he’s the current middleweight champion of the world, his profile is in line with the event, and mainly, because he doesn’t train with Preguiça, even when they’re abroad,” said Jeferson in closing.

Check out the timetable for the Middleweight Grand Prix, coming up July 21 at the Hebraica Club in Rio de Janeiro. The event will take place in three stages: the first is composed of five rounds where all the competitors within a group face off. During this stage the match duration will be six minutes, and athletes will score three (3) points for a win and (1) point for a draw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Q77tWKy0Ok

In the second stage, the two who scored the most points during the first stage will go through to the ten-minute semifinals, during which the first five minutes will not count for points—only submissions. Normal penalties will count throughout the match, however. This same format goes for the supermatches too.

Tickets are on sale in Rio, São Paulo and Belo Horizonte. Visit www.jiujitsuesportivo.com.br for further information.

Online pay-per-view packages will be available soon for the same cost as the tickets. Check out the timetable for the Copa Pódio event on the coming 21st.

17:00 – Gates Open

18:00 – Opening

18:15 – OPENING SUPERMATCH: Claudio Caloquinha (Gracie Barra MG) vs. Michael Langhi (Alliance)

18:30 – 1ST ROUND OF GP
Green Group: Nivaldo Oliveira (Checkmat) vs. Davi Ramos (Atos)
Green Group: Vinícius Marinho (GFTeam) vs. André Bastos (Nova União)
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra MG) vs. Otávio Sousa (Gracie Barra PE)
Yellow Group: Leandro Lo (Cícero Costha) vs. Dimitrius Souza (Alliance)

19:05 – 2ND ROUND OF GP
Green Group: Nivaldo Oliveira (Checkmat) vs. Vinícius Marinho (GFTeam)
Green Group: Davi Ramos (Atos) vs. Victor Bomfim (VB Jiu-jitsu)
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra MG) vs. Leandro Lo (Cícero Costha)
Yellow Group: Otávio Sousa (Gracie Barra PE) vs. Rafael Formiga (Soul Fighters)

19:40 – 3RD ROUND OF GP
Green Group: Nivaldo Oliveira (Checkmat) vs. Victor Bomfim (VB Jiu-jitsu)
Green Group: Davi Ramos (Atos ) vs. André Bastos (Nova União)
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra MG) vs. Rafael Formiga (Soul Fighters)
Yellow Group: Otávio Sousa (Gracie Barra PE) vs. Dimitrius Souza (Alliance)

20:15 – 4TH ROUND OF GP
Green Group: Nivaldo Oliveira (Checkmat) vs. André Bastos (Nova União)
Green Group: Vinícius Marinho (GFTeam) vs. Victor Bomfim (VB Jiu-jitsu)
Yellow Group: Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra MG) vs. Dimitrius Souza (Alliance)
Yellow Group: Leandro Lo (Cícero Costha) vs. Rafael Formiga (Soul Fighters)

20:40 – 5TH ROUND OF GP
Green Group: Davi Ramos (Atos) vs. Vinícius Marinho (GFTeam)
Green Group: André Bastos (Nova União) vs. Victor Bomfim (VB Jiu-jitsu)
Yellow Group: Otávio Sousa (Gracie Barra PE) vs. Leandro Lo (Cícero Costha)
Yellow Group: Dimitrius Souza (Alliance) vs. Rafael Formiga (Soul Fighters)

21:00 – SEMIFINAIS

Match 1: 1º DO GRUPO VERDE X 2º DO GRUPO AMARELO
Match 2: 1º DO GRUPO AMARELO X 2º DO GRUPO VERDE

21:30 – PÓDIO SUPER CHALLENGE: Guto Campos (Guetho) vs. Raphael Abi-Rihan (Abi-Rihan JJ)

21:50 – Middleweight GP third-place match

22:00 – Middleweight GP Final*

Raphael Abi-Rihan worked as a commentator at last Saturday's Copa Pódio event. Photo: Gustavo Aragão/GRACIEMAG.com

A Brazilian National Championship-winning black belt, Raphael Abi-Rihan had did something he never had before last Saturday at the Copa Pódio pre-event held at Delfim academy in Tijuca.

Already scheduled to take part in one of the supermatches on the coming 21st, the Carlson Gracie-team black belt was invited to be a commentator for the two supermatches that took place during the Middleweight GP draw. In the green team: current absolute champion of Brazil Nivaldo Oliveira, Victor Bomfim, Davi Ramos, André Bastos and Vinicius Marinho. In the yellow, three world champions, Otávio Sousa, Leandro Lo and brown belt Felipe “Preguiça”, join Rafael Formiga and Dimitrius Souza. The athletes from each group compete against each other to go through to the semifinals.

Abi-Rihan received praise across the board. “Friends of mine who’d never heard about Jiu-Jitsu called to say that they understood everything that was going on in the fights. Abi-Rihan was very simple and didactic, and interesting to those already familiar with the art,” said Jeferson Maycá, the organizer of the event, in praise.

Abi-Rihan, who will be facing Guto Campos in a supermatch on the 21st in Rio, told GRACIEMAG.com what he learned from the experience.

Copa Pódio’s promoters were so positive, they want to renew with you. What are your thoughts about this “new role” of yours in Jiu-Jitsu?

I felt great commentating alongside Marco de Vargas and was pleased with the feedback I got from everybody, first there on the day and then over the internet. I felt really at home in the situation. The cool part was how happy my parents were, because they’re journalists and were proud. I felt something different in that situation. It’s like I could offer something to a large amount of people at the same time. I got to inform people on a subject and didn’t need to study to do it, and it wasn’t laborious or tense because I did it for the pleasure of it. Jiu-Jitsu is in my blood. As for the assessment of my performance, I’ll leave that to my old man (laughs).

Does watching Jiu-Jitsu from the outside, with the aim of explaining it as it happens, help you study it?

For sure. I grew a lot through this Jiu-Jitsu-related experience. I also felt more involved with the sport, which is my profession and philosophy of life. I made it clear to the event promoter, Jeferson, that my thing is fighting; however, whenever I’m not fighting and there’s room at the table, it will be a pleasure to take on the mission again.

How is training to face Guto Campos in the supermatch going?

I’m already back to training. After all, on July 21 I’ll be in a serious war and there won’t be any way to “cut the audio” if I make some mistake. I’m happily back at training. It’s a pleasure to compete at an event that’s revolutionizing Jiu-Jitsu competitions through its innovative format. What made me all the more pleased was being picked to face Guto Campos with 4,600 votes on Facebook, ahead of World Championship-winning fighters. It’s an honor and tremendous prestige for me.

Lightweight GP winner Leandro Lo : the São Paulo native will now compete in the Middleweight GP. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG.com.

This Saturday, June 30, in Rio de Janeiro, the promoters of the Copa Pódio Jiu-Jitsu tournament will be holding the draw to determine the matchups for the opening phase of the Middleweight GP. The matchmaking will be done by random pick at a swanky ceremony at Academia Delfim, in the Tijuca borough of the city.

Besides the competitors in the GP, the stars of the two supermatches will be there: Cláudio Caloquinha, Michael Langhi, Guto Campos and Raphael Abi-Rihan. The latter two will be paying close attention to the match between Wancler Oliveira and Tarsis Humphreys that will take place just after the draw and will determine the challenger in the December Heavyweight GP supermatch.

There will also be a second supermatch, between Diogo Almeida and Victor Bonfim, to determine who gets the final berth in the Middleweight GP.

The draw will divide up the ten athletes into two groups—the green and the yellow. Over the opening stage of the competition, every competitor in each group will face off against each other in six-minute bouts. A win yields three (3) points, while a draw nets one (1) point to each athlete. Following the final round of the phase, the two athletes with the highest point count move on to the semifinals.

The criteria for tie-breaking, in order of priority, are: 1) Direct match result; 2) Number of finishes; 3) Overall balance (points scored / points scored against); 4) And as a last resort, an extra, tie-breaking match.

Starting with the semifinals the match duration will be ten (10) minutes, with only submissions counting during the first five, after which traditional IBJJF point-scoring criteria will apply.

The group-draw event is set for the coming 30th at 6pm and will be broadcast online via the official event website: www.jiujitsuesportivo.com.br

Check out the event promo video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9Lr7cmV1bw

Michael Langhi against Davi Ramos at the 2011 Worlds / Photo: William Burkhardt / Bjjpix.com

The supermatch to open the Copa Pódio Middleweight GP had to be postponed due to team Atos ace Ed Ramos injuring his knee.

Stepping in for him is two-time world champion (2009/10) Michael Langhi, who promises to stiffen the test Gracie Barra rep Claudio Caloquinha has in store for him. With the change, Alliance has two berths in the event: the event-opening supermatch and the Middleweight GP contestant Dimitrius Souza.

“We’ll miss having Ed in the event, but I’m pleased we got Michael to step in, as he would have been in the last event had he not been in Miami,” explained Pódio promoter Jeferson Maycá.

“In a way, I owe Michael Langhi and Davi Ramos for inspiring the final format of the Copa Pódio events. It was after watching the semifinal between the two at the 2011 Brazilian Nationals that I decided on the format for the first Copa Pódio event, which would have been an absolute tournament. After watching them in action, I decided to put together the Lightweight GP,” he added.

The tournament will go down starting at 6 pm July 21 at the gymnasium at Clube Hebraíca in Rio de Janeiro, and tickets are already on sale at the following retail outlets:

*BELO HORIZONTE

Academia Rio Sport Center
Gracie Barra BH – Marcelo Azevedo
Rodovia BR 356 – Loja 224 – marcelosports@hotmail.com – 83*5823

*RIO DE JANEIRO

COPACABANA
Checkmat JJ:
Rua Francisco Sá, 36 – (21)22749719 – ricovieira@hotmail.com

ENGENHO DE DENTRO
Academia Marques Gym:
Rua Aldo Bergamini, 324 – (21)32746794 – davidjjmendes@hotmail.com

GÁVEA
Gávea Gym:
Praça Santos Dumont, 62 – (21)22749719 – contato@gaveagym.com.br

LAGOA
Família Abi-Rihan JJ:
Av. Borges de Medeiros, 701  (21)78929796 – abirihanraphael@hotmail.com

MEIER
GFTeam Matriz:
Rua Arquias Cordeiro, 478 – (21)34970478 – jcgfteam@hotmail.com