The 2015 NY BJJ Pro rocked the grounds in Manhattan this Saturday.

We already posted some amazing pictures of the black belt finals, but there was a lot of great matches before that.

Here are the best images of what happened leading to the finals. Click on the arrows and browse through the images.

Hundreds of athletes gathered to compete for a chunk of the $30k in money prizes being offered by the IBJJF.

In the black belt division, four competitors came out on top at the end of their brackets.

Here is how they made it to the top of the podium.

Female

Sarah Black vs. Jessica Smith

GD Jiu-Jitsu’s Sarah Black was the standout with double gold in the lightweight division and the open class, which secured her a $1,5k big check. After beating Jessica Smith 2-0 in the division final, she went on to finish Megan Nevill with a leg lock for the open class title.

Male 

Featherweight – In three matches, Kim Terra made his way to the top of the podium. First he caught Masahiro Iwasaki with a bow and arrow choke. In the semifinal, another bow and arrow to finish Tsuyoshi Tamaki and get to the final. His opponent would be Gianni Grippo, who made it to the final after choking Paulo Santana from the back.

Kim Terra vs. Gianni Grippo

The final match was a very strategic one, with Terra and Grippo exchanging sweeps throughout the entire regulation time. In the end, the socre was 8-8, with four sweeps and piece and the three referees decided to give Kim the win by unanimous decision.

Middleweight – Otavio Sousa fought twice in the division to secure his $4k check. In the semifinal, he swept Kevin Machecha once to score the winning two points. His opponent in the gold medal decider would be Victor Silverio, who first swept Nathan Mendelsohn and after that beat Mansher Khera 4-0 for his spot in the final.

Otavio Sousa vs. Victor Silverio

The battle for the gold medal was decided by one advantage after a 2-2 tie on points. Otavio Sousa managed to score three advantages against two scored by Silverio to go home with the big prize.

Heavyweight – Marcos Tinoco fought befor his Marcelo Garcia Academy’s teammate and walked away with the $4k prize. First he beat Thiago Sá 2-1 on advantages for near-sweeps in the semifinal. His opponent in the final would be Rafael Barbosa, who didn;t have to fight because of Tanner Rice’s no show.

Marcos Tinoco vs. Rafael Formiga

The final match was a battle of sweeps and Tinoco was able to score one more than Formiga to win 4-2 and be the champion.

Here is a photo gallery of the black belt finals (click on the arrows to browse).

In the team’s division, the results were:

1 – Alliance Marcelo Garcia – 105

2 – Team Lloyd Irvin – 79

3 – Nova União – 72

4 – New England United BJJ – 71

5 – TAC Team BJJ – 56

6 – Unity Jiu-jitsu – 56

7 – Vicente Jr. Team – 53

8 – Soul Fighters BJJ Connecticut – 50

9 – Balance – 49

10 – Black Hole Jiu-Jitsu – 47

For the full results, click here.

Otavio Sousa (direita) ganhou novamente em NY. Foto: Erin Herle/Arquivos GRACIEMAG

Se você consegue vencer em Nova York, consegue vencer em qualquer lugar, já dizia Frank Sinatra. Neste sábado 21 de novembro, alguns temidos faixas-pretas buscaram demonstrar a superioridade de sua técnica no NY BJJ Pro da IBJJF, e de quebra faturar 4 mil dólares no evento profissional da Federação Internacional.

No peso-pena, Gianni Grippo lutava em casa, diante da torcida dos colegas da academia de Marcelo Garcia, mas Kim Terra estava disposto a levar o prêmio para casa. O irmão de Caio Terra começou num ritmo irresistível, estrangulando com o arco-e-flecha dois oponentes japoneses, ambos da equipe Carpe Diem. Primeiro, ele sufocou Masahiro Iwasaki pelas costas. Depois, finalizou Tsuyoshi Tamaki da mesma maneira.

Do outro lado, Grippo finalizara Paulo Santana também das costas. A final prometia equilíbrio, e foi o que houve. Kim raspou Gianni quatro vezes, que devolveu as raspagens. No fim, com 8 a 8 no placar, os árbitros decidiram unanimemente para o campeão Kim, que já fizera um Mundial 2015 vistoso. Vamos ver o que a temporada 2016 reserva para a fera.

No peso seguinte, o médio, Otávio Sousa confirmou o favoritismo. O bicampeão mundial no peso precisou passar pelos duríssimos Kevin Mahecha (2 a 0, com uma raspagem), e por Victor Silvério na final. Para vencer a fera da GFTeam Flórida, Otávio foi melhor nas vantagens: 3 a 2, após empate em 2 a 2 nos pontos.

Já no peso pesado, um faixa-preta de Marcelinho Garcia fez a festa da torcida. O promissor Marcos Vinícius Tinoco raspou Rafael Formiga duas vezes, para vencer o exímio guardeiro da Soul Fighters por 4 a 2.

No feminino, Sarah Black (GD) foi a grande campeã, ao vencer ouro duplo, no peso e no absoluto.

Confira os resultados oficiais no site da IBJJF, aqui.

The 2015 New York BJJ Pro is scheduled November 21, at the City College.

The IBJJF event will offer over $30,000 in prizes for selected division winners.

Adult black belts need at least 10 points in the IBJJF ranking to be eligible to register.

All other belts and age groups have no point requirements to register.

The NY BJJ Pro is open to all belts, but there are no prizes for white belts.

Click here for more info and to register now.

The deadline to register is Nov. 12.

The New York BJJ Pro is always the stage for great battles.

In 2014, Bernardo Faria beat Abraham Marte for the ultra-heavy division title.

Here’s how he did it.

Foi uma final emocionante. Aprenda com eles!

Blue belts at the NY BJJ Pro. Photo: Erin Herle

On Oct. 25 the IBJJF presented a first: cash prizes to the winners of non-black belt divisions. The Pro League has been around a few years and offers top-ranked black belts an invitation to fight for thousands of dollars. While the amount is less, the IBJJF allowed male, female, adult and masters divisions the chance to compete for hundreds.

Here are the winners of the divisions and how much cash they earned:

$400

Male blue belt adult light absolute – Michael Slabinski – David Jacobs Jiu-Jitsu Team

Male blue belt adult heavy absolute – Devhonte M. Johnson – Carvalho BJJ Academy

Male blue belt master 1 absolute – Aronicimo Richotti – Buffalo BJJ Academy

Male blue belt master 2 absolute – James Genero – Alliance Marcelo Garcia

Male blue belt master 3 absolute – Marquell Haynes – Clockwork Jiu-Jitsu

Male purple belt master 1 absolute – James Robert Kearns – Round Table BJJ

Male purple belt master 2 absolute – Jeff Holman – Alliance Marcelo Garcia

Male purple belt master 3 absolute – Andrew Colombos – Soul Fighters BJJ Connecticut

Male brown belt master 1 absolute – Philippe E Balmant – Alliance Marcelo Garcia

Male brown belt master 2 absolute – Matheus B Olivera – Kioto BJJ NYC

Male brown belt master 3 absolute – Michael Mullero – Kioto BJJ NYC

Female blue belt adult absolute  – Jacynthe Maloney – Brazilian Top Team

Female purple belt adult absolute – Jessica Swanson – Soul Fighters BJJ Connecticut

Female brown belt adult absolute – Aarae Alexander – Team Lloyd Irvin

$600

Male purple belt adult light absolute – Shane Hill-Taylor – Team Lloyd Irvin

Male purple belt adult heavy absolute – Isaque Bahiense Braz – Nova União

$800

Male brown belt adult light absolute – Zata Toscano – Alliance NYC

Male brown belt heavy absolute – Erberth Santos de Mesquita – Team Lloyd Irvin

To see the full results visit here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000311/en-US/Results.pdf

To see a full photo album of the action go here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.983360938345905.1073742072.192240324124641

O combate, recheado de raspagens, foi definido em surpresa por Be Faria, ao finalizar Marte numa sorrateira chave de joelho da meia-guarda. Confira no vídeo abaixo

Além da medalha de ouro, o tricampeão mundial recebeu um prêmio em dólares.

Veja como Lo levou a melhor sobre Keenan em uma luta emocionante.

Bernardo Faria, Otávio Sousa e João Miyao também venceram suas categorias.

Leandro Lo celebrates his win. Photo: Erin Herle

The 2014 IBJJF NY BJJ Pro is the first of its kind. Held in the traditional NYC location of the Nat Holman Gymnasium on the campus of the City College of New York, it offered cash prizes to the winners of particular categories.

The black belts came in from the top levels of the sport and aimed to cash in. The divisions for the male adult black belts were combined as follows:

Feather was rooster, light-feather and feather mixed into one.

Middle was light and middle mixed into one.

Heavyweight was medium-heavy and heavy mixed into one.

Ultra-heavy was super-heavy and ultra-heavy mixed into one.

Here is how the divisions played out:

Feather

Joao Miyao vs. Gianni Grippo Photo: Erin Herle

Joao Miyao took the back of Mark Ramos and secured the choke to win his first match.

Gianni Grippo faced Jonathan Thomas and the match was a battle of sweeps. By the end of the match the score was 4-4 points, 1-1 advantages and the referee decision went to Gianni.

Joao Miyao had his second match against Paulo Roberto Santana and although he suffered a sweep, he was able to make it to the back and finish the match with a bow and arrow choke.

Osvaldo “Queixinho” had a bye and stepped into his first match with Gianni Grippo. The match was mostly sweeps, toehold attempts and one dive for a crucifix/kimura by Gianni. The time narrowed down and Queixinho was down by advantages but he quickly acquired them making the score even. But the referee decision was Gianni’s with a final score of 6-6 points, 3-3 advantages, 1-1 penalties for both.

In the final, it was Gianni versus Joao. They both pulled and Gianni came up for the advantage. Joao swept, Gianni swept back. The same exchange happened and Gianni attempted two toeholds to lead with advantages. Joao swept again in the exchange to lead by points. A last ditch effort by Gianni to earn takedown points while Joao pulled failed and the title along with the $4000 went to Joao.

Middle

Otavio Sousa secures the choke over Vitor Oliveira. Photo: Erin Herle

The first match of the middle division came between new black belt Kevin Mahecha and seasoned competitor AJ Agazarm. AJ pulled guard and Kevin passed to earn the lead. AJ swept but still needed points. He eventually earned a pass of his own and later a sweep giving him the win of 7-5 points.

Vitor Oliveira faced Vinicius Agudo for his first match. It didn’t take long for him to secure the back and later the choke for his first win.

Otavio Sousa entered the bracket and faced teammate AJ Agazarm. A quick takedown defense and pull to an omoplata started the match by Otavio. AJ was able to defend and Otavio swept and later took the back and choked for the victory.

In the final, Otavio was up against Vitor. The match began with Otavio jumping guard. Vitor opened the guard and worked to pass for awhile. Eventually Otavio exploded with a sweep. As he went to pass he secured the back and the choke for the title.

Heavy

Keenan Cornelius vs. Leandro Lo. Photo: Erin Herle

The first and only match of the heavy division was between Leandro Lo and Keenan Cornelius. Tim Spriggs was set to compete in the division but was not present. Keenan pulled guard and immediately went for the worm guard. Leandro was able to deal with the lapel around his legs and secured an advantage for a pass over halfway into the match. He earned another for another pass attempt. And again. But Keenan was able to sweep to take the lead by two points. Leandro swept back and as he worked for a pass, Keenan secured an omoplata and then a gogoplata but only managed to earn an advantage. As Keenan attempted another sweep, Leandro took stepped over and managed to take the back right before time ended earning him the 6-2 lead and the title.

Ultra-heavy

Bernardo Faria vs. Abraham Marte. Photo: Erin Herle

The first ultra-heavy match between Tiago Giussani and Antonio Henriques ended rather quickly as Tiago secured a toehold in the beginning.

Abraham Marte faced Kenny Brown. He pulled guard, went to triangle was able to submit fairly quickly.

Bernardo Faria went against Tiago Giussani and pulled and earned a sweep in the beginning of the match. He went for the over-under pass and was able to use his legs to stretch out Tiago’s leg and submit with a kneebar.

In the final, it was Abraham and Bernardo. Bernardo pulled and secured a sweep, and using the same over-under guard pass, he tapped Abraham with a kneebar for the victory and the title.

Females

Nyjah Easton celebrates her win. Photo: Erin Herle

The only division with more than one athlete was the medium-heavy for the girls. Combined, there were four.

Nyjah Easton drew Karen Peterson first round and earned a pass and almost a back-take. Karen escaped but Nyjah swept and went to top half where she submitted Karen with a kimura.

Luiza Monteiro had her first match against Nathalia Amaral. Luiza pulled to x-guard, tried for the back and swept and pushed to side control. Nathalia recovered her guard multiple times but Luiza was able to keep securing the pass. As Nathalia swept, Luiza locked in a loose triangle, transfered to an omoplata and swept and as Nathalia defended, Luiza submitted with a toehold.

In the final, Luiza pulled guard and tried to attack the feet of Nyjah. But Nyjah was able to step into top half and submitted Luiza with an ezekiel for the title.

Open Class

While males had no open class, the females had to win their open class in order to win a cash prize.

Nathalia Amaral defeated Karen Peterson by choke from mount.
Nyjah Easton defeated Bibiana Silva by kimura.
Luiza Monteiro defeated Nathalia Amaral by armbar.
Luiza defeated Nyjah by triangle armbar.

See full results here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000311/en-US/Results.pdf

See full photo gallery here:

Paul Schreiner, Felipe Pena, Marcelo Garcia, Leandro Lo, Bernardo Faria. Photo: Erin Herle

While in town for the IBJJF NY Pro and/or seminars, the two Copa Podio stars Leandro Lo of Cicero Costha and Felipe “Preguica” Pena of Gracie Barra have stopped into the famed NYC academy of Marcelo Garcia.

The two stars took a class under Bernardo Faria who is also competing in the NY Pro and won the IBJJF Pro League last weekend in Long Beach.

Blending in as visiting students, they drilled the technique and sparred with other students in the class.

You can check out a quick video of the training:

Leandro will be competing in the heavyweight division in a round-robin with Keenan Cornelius and Tim Spriggs for a prize of $4,000 on Saturday, Oct. 25

The group of instructors, students and visitors discuss techniques. Photo: Erin Herle

Seattle, USA

The first edition of the Seattle International Open takes place Oct. 25.

The IBJJF has decided to extend the deadline for registration to this Sunday, Oct. 19.

The registration deadline for the NY BJJ Pro was also extended to Sunday, Oct. 19.

Don’t miss out and register today for the first ever IBJJF event in the state of Washington.

As a reminder, the IBJJF notes that the NY BJJ Pro (also on Oct. 25) is an open event (no pre-qualifying needed) for adult blue, purple and brown belts and all belts of the master division.

For more info and to register, go to ibjjf.com