Brown belt Gianni Grippo won another in his backyard, at the 2012 No-Gi Pan. Photo by Mike Calimbas.

Brown belt Gianni Grippo is one of the Jiu-Jitsu standouts of the season, and he was no different last Saturday, when he won the featherweight division at the No-Gi Pan.

“I trained a lot because I always feel obligated to win in my own backyard [New York],” Grippo told GRACIEMAG.com. “I made it past some tough opponents, including the light featherweight world champion, Mateo Maldonado. All of them were talented fighters, which made victory all the sweeter.”

In the featherweight final, Grippo faced a game Carlos Rosado (Gracie Barra). Cool and collected, he escaped a straight footlock and later slapped on practically the same hold, just from 50/50 guard and switching to a figure-four grip.

“My coach John Danaher went over the details of the footlock with me a lot, making me sharper with attacks and escapes with every training session. It all worked out. I did it like I did at the academy and got my fourth No-Gi Pan title,” he said in signing off.

Check out the barnburner below, and let us know: What did you learn from the match? How did you like the moves?

Diego Gamonal / IBJJF publicity photo

Last Saturday, Diego Gamonal put in a splendid performance for the crowd at the New York City College gymnasium for the 2012 No-Gi Pan. The Jiu-Jitsu professor at Brazilian Top Team took top spot in the super heavyweight division in winning the tournament for the second time.

“I’m heavier than usual. I’ve been focused on teaching class, so I fought at super heavyweight. I ended up doing the final with Daniel Simmler, an athlete from Renzo Gracie academy. He’s really tough and strong. Early on I was trailing by two points but managed to turn the tables with a guard pass. From side-control I went for the arm,” said Gamonal in a chat with GRACIEMAG.com via Facebook.

“I was in a safe position in side-control, where I could work calmly or even just stay put. But my goal was to get a quick finish, and I really like pulling omoplatas from the top as a surprise. So he tried defending against the omoplata, and from there I went for the reverse armbar,” he recollected.

“My trick to getting from side-control to north/south is to work my arm over the opponent’s shoulder. From there I push his head sideways and make room for my leg to get across while I sit on it. It’s vital that you keep the pressure on with your knees. That’s what makes the difference in the transition to armbar,” said the black belt in revealing his moves.

Absolute champ Pablo Popovitch at the 2012 No-Gi Pan in New York. The Jiu-Jitsu professor got caught by surprise in the weight-group semifinal. Photo by Dan Rod.

At the 2012 No-Gi Pan last Saturday in New York, Pablo Popovitch reigned supreme in the open weight black belt division, but at weight he had the brakes put on him by dark horse Ezra Lenon of ATT in the semifinal.

In their encounter, Lenon was training by four to one on advantage points when he managed to take a 2-0 lead with a sweep. Erza was only kept from winning by Gracie Barra’s Kleber Buiú in the final.

Lucas Lepri and Renan Borges hang out at No-Gi Pan. Personal archive photo.

Lucas Lepri was one of the famed Jiu-Jitsu fighters who came up big at the No-Gi Pan last Saturday in New York. The Jiu-Jitsu professor for team Alliance won the lightweight division and only didn’t win the absolute because of two advantages he dropped to Pablo Popovitch in the final.

In the lightweight gold dispute he outpointed Renan Borges of BTT by 8 to 0, scoring with two guard passes and a knee-on-belly.

Watch and learn from the ace. And in the second video down, watch the absolute semifinal where he outscored Kleber Buiú, the winner of the medium heavyweight division, by 6 to 0 on sweeps.

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

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNi65ff6_SY

BTT black belt Renan Borges in a photo from his personal archives

The No-Gi Pan will be going down in New York this Saturday, September 29, and a number of big stars of gi-clad combat will swap their woven cotton for Lycra and take to the mats.

Sparks are bound to fly there, in the Nat Holman Gymnasium, as such stalwart competitors as Lucas Lepri, Roberto Tussa, Caio Terra, Laércio Fernandes, Augusto Moizinho, Samir Chantre, Renan Borges, Vinicius Marinho, Daniel Pires, Pablo Popovitch, Leopoldo Serão and Diego Gamonal will lock horns in combat.

Who’ve you got taking absolute gold, gentle reader? Risk a prediction below and reap the rewards later.

As a warm-up for the big event, GRACIEMAG.com unearthed a position by Renan Borges. The BTT black belt teaches an efficient X-guard sweep. Note how he makes sure he gets his hooks in and roll backwards while grabbing the arm:

Click here to check who’s on the No-Gi Pan sign-up list.