Davi subs Kayron. Photo: Dan Rod.

Davi Ramos was the big name to arise from the No-Gi Pan. After winning the middleweight division, the Cesar Casquinha black belt who also represents Atos waded into the absolute, winning the division after overcoming medium-heavyweight champ Kayron Gracie in the final.

Check out the meeting between the two in the open weight decider:

Kayron, the winner of the medium heavyweight division, caught everyone off guard by signing up at the last minute, even without training for the event, and snapping up a gold medal and silver in the absolute. He also treated the crowd to submissions like this one, in the open weight class. Watch and learn.

Davi celebrates triumph in absolute. Photo: Dan Rod.

If the essence of the gentle art is the submission, that’s exactly what Davi Ramos was seeking at the No-Gi Pan this Saturday in New York. Having gone through a total of six matches to take the middleweight and absolute divisions, Davi only didn’t get the submission in one of them. The Cesar Casquinha black belt has been standing out at No-Gi competitions lately, having won the Brazilian Nationals and the No-Gi division of the World Pro this year with Atos teammate Claudio Calasasans.

Like in the bible story where David defeated the giant Goliath, the black belt reveals how he grew to the occasion to have a perfect campaign in New York, in the following interview with GRACIEMAG.com:

How did things go at the Pan?

I had six matches in all and only didn’t get the finish in one of them. I had two matches at weight and four in the absolute. The only one I won on points ended 14 to 0. I could tell my opponent was only working on not getting submitted, so that made it difficult.

And how about the absolute final, against Kayron?

He was beating me by 2 to 0. I was trying to attack him with a kneebar and ended up going to a calf crunch, with which I finished him.

You’ve been coming up with better results without the gi, would you agree? Which do you prefer, Gi or No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu?

I like competing in the gi more, but I really have been managing bigger titles without it. For this event I trained with André Galvão, helping him get ready for the ADCC. We did all our training together and I learned a lot from him. He told me I’d do well.

Did you expect him to win both weight and absolute at the ADCC?

You can never predict the absolute, especially for those of us who aren’t from heavy divisions; you have lots of matches against tough, heavier guys. But I imagined he’d win at weight and would do well overall. He trained a lot for it, always said it was the title he was missing. It was in his sights.

Now the Pan is out of the way, is the No-Gi Worlds what’s next for you?

I’ll return to San Diego and continue training with André. I really want this world title. I really want to thank André, the Atos students and Casquinha students, who keep in constant contact with me to give me advice. I’d also like to thank Gilbert Durinho, who is always giving me helpful pointers on how to fight.

In the contest areas at Nat Holman Gymnasium Davi won the middleweight and absolute divisions. In the open weight final he came up against none other than Kayron Gracie, who had already secured gold for himself in the medium heavyweight division.

Caio Terra in action at Pan / Photo: IBJJF

There were other submission wizards who put in stellar performances in NY, though: The light featherweight division was all Caio Terra’s, who also won the Gi Pan earlier this year and more recently came up spades at the American Nationals; gold-medal honors at featherweight went to André Monteiro, representing our GMA Rodrigo Medeiros; and taking first at lightweight was another GMA of ours, Lucas Lepri of Alliance; and rounding out the black belt podium, Alexandre Moreiro won at heavyweight, Francisco Tavares at superheavyweight, and Petrus Melo at ultraheavyweight.

In the overall team standing, our GMAs locked down the top three spots on the podium: Avengers in first, Renzo in second, and Gracie Barra in third.

Check back with GRACIEMAG.com soon for a photo gallery from the competition.

And for click here for the complete results.

Lepri, one of the favorites to win, getting the tapout at No-Gi Worlds / Photo: Luca Atalla

This Saturday, Jiu-Jitsu fans in New York will be treated to heaps of top-flight action and technique. The brackets for the No-Gi Pan, released by the IBJJF, show Caio Terra, Lucas Lepri, Kayron Gracie, Renan Borges, Clark Gracie and Brandon Mullins among other aces all in the mix to see who will be the No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu king of Manhattan. The competition will take place at Nat Holman Gymnasium, on the corner of 138th and Convent Avenue.

Caio Terra, silver medalist at the American Nationals, and Clark Gracie, who was at the ADCC and lost a riveting encounter with JT Torres, both look to be in fine competition form, but the other names on the roster are promising, as well. Check out the brackets on the IBJJF website by clicking here, and comment: who’s going to take the cake at weight and in the absolute?

Davi sinks armbar on Monson. Photo: personal archive.

Davi Ramos saw action at last weekend’s Grapplers Quest in Las Vegas. Although he didn’t win the absolute, Davi was one of the big standouts, winning his weight group and coming up with some big finishes over some big names.

“I ended up losing the absolute in a controversial match. Unfortunately the outcome wasn’t what I had hoped for. But in making it to the final I tapped out Jeff Monson in the quarterfinal and in the semifinal caught João Assis with a footlock in just 40 seconds,” said the joyous black belt, who commented on the mistake in the open weight final.

“I was doing good in the competition and had it in my head that I’d get the finish in all seven of my matches. I managed to get it in six of them! My opponent in the final was clever and didn’t want to fight, went through with his strategy and I ended up losing. I don’t like leaving it to a judge to decide, so I went after him and ended up dropping an advantage point. I want to thank André Galvão for the backing he’s provided me in San Diego; I’m learning more and more every day. I always liked the way he fights and I identify with him a lot because he always goes for the tapout.”

Ramos’s upcoming challenges remain in No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu.

“I’ll stick around here helping him train for the ADCC, and I’ll make the most of the training to compete at the No-Gi Worlds. I won the No-Gi Brazilian Nationals last year and this year closed out the No-Gi World Pro with Rodrigo Caporal, beating guys like Michael Maia, Augusto Mendes and JT Torres. Now I want the No-Gi Pan and Worlds,” said the mat wizard, who trains with the Atos gang but is a Master Casquinha student, in finishing.

Marcello Salazar against Filipe Jerry / Photo: Alicia Anthony

This year is a promising one for No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu. Besides the upcoming ADCC, by the end of the season there will also be the IBJJF’s No-Gi Pan and Worlds.

BTT black belt Marcello Salazar just nabbed no less than four gold medals at an event that put the gentle art in the spotlight in Panama. Now Fabio “Pateta” Prado trains UFC aces like Urijah Faber.

In the video below the black belts shed their gis to demonstrate two submissions that can be used equally well in Jiu-Jitsu and MMA.

Check them out:

(With the collaboration of Diego Marcello)