Alex at the podium. Photo: Reproduction

Based in the US state of Texas, Alex Martins, from AMBJJ, has plenty of reasons to celebrate. After the complicated period of restrictions of the pandemic, the black belt hit the Miami Open mats with all his strength and scored gold in the competition, shining among the middleweights and in the master 3 absolute.

With another event already in sight, Alex chatted with the GRACIEMAG team about the challenges he faced both in the isolation period and in his return to competition. Check the lines below and absorb valuable lessons from those who excelled in fighting. Oss!

GRACIEMAG: How did AMBJJ deal with the pandemic?

ALEX MARTINS: At the beginning, we had a lot of difficulties. Due to the social distance and isolation necessary to contain the virus, our classes were held through videoconferences. Our goal was to keep our students focused and disciplined while they stayed active in their homes. We held meetings, drills, and discussed techniques, all through video.

As the pandemic progressed, flexibility measures were implemented that allowed the reopening of certain establishments. How was this period for your gym?

Here in Texas, we have a very capable governor with immense understanding. After four months in isolation, he managed to open the state and our academy reopened. We had a list of observations and precautions we needed to follow to keep it going, such as social distance and occupancy limits. In this way, we reduced the classes and divided the times, but kept the activities. Due to the distance, we only did stretches, but after about a month, we were able to implement classes in pairs. Two months after the reopening, we went back to doing the regular sparring, but only in groups of two or three, to maintain control in case someone got infected.

How was the competitive training during this period?

At the end of 2020, we were able to return to a good level of training with the division of belts, so we started to give more focus to competitions. The IBJJF had already come back with events a few months before, but we preferred to talk it through, agreed to train in a safe and disciplined way, and come back to tournaments when we were ready.

You were recently champion at the Miami Open 2021. What was it like to return to competitive mats?

It was difficult, but I decided to fight in this event knowing it would be a challenge. The Miami Open welcomes many athletes from Florida, which is a place that has many strong gyms. I was aware of that, so I trained a lot and managed to be champion twice, weight and open class. In all, I fought six times, four of the victories were by submission and two were in points. It was a rewarding experience for me and I am very happy with my result.

Have your eyes on another tournament yet?

I’m going to participate in the American National, which will take place between June 24th and 26th, in Las Vegas. My category will be difficult, with several challenging athletes, but I like it anyway. The more strong opponents, the more I feel motivated to train. In addition to this event, I also want to participate in the Pan in September, but I am keeping my focus on the American National.

Preguiça celebrates win over Gordon Ryan with his Gracie Barra teammates. Luca Atalla/Gallerr

After the champions had been defined for each weight division this Sunday in Helsinki, it was time for the absolute.

With little to no time to rest between matches, and with some athletes having just ended their weight division campaigns, the absolute division was a spectacle. Names like Marcus Buchecha, Xande Ribeiro, Celsinho Venícius, Mahamed Ali, Dillon Danis and Chael Sonnen were in the running, but none shone brighter than Felipe Preguiça.

Preguiça fought four times, following the two fights he had done earlier in the 99kg division. He beat Celsinho Venícius and Victor Honório in his first and second match to reach a semifinal match opposite over-99kg champion Marcus Buchecha.

Buchecha, the favorite, was visibly tired and couldn’t stop Preguiça reaching his back, whence Preguiça sank a rear naked choke 6’44” in.

The other bracket saw Gordon Ryan advance inexorably. The American finished Roberto Cyborg via heel hook, then Craig Jones via kata-gatame and Mahamed Aly via leg lock.

In the final, Felipe had to defend against some foot attacks by Ryan, a specialist. In one instance of doing this, Preguiça used his opponent’s position to slide to the back. From there, Preguiça worked to finish, but, unable to sink the RNC, he wound up winning 6-0 thanks to the hooks from the back.

This means Preguiça is the man who will try to put a stop to André Galvão’s superfight winning streak in 2019 — we can’t wait.

Renzo Gracie and Chael Sonnen win superfights

Besides the finals and the absolute contests, two veterans’ superfights were held today. In the first one, Renzo Gracie squared off against Sanae Kikuta in a repeat of their grueling 1998 encounter.

Renzo shot for takedowns while Kikuta seemed intent on exploiting mistakes. The fight played out almost entirely on the feet, with grip-trading as the fighters sought a way in. When all was said and done, Renzo had been declared the winner by 1-0 in penalties

The following superfight pitted Leozinho Vieira against Chael Sonnen. Confident in his guard, Leo played on his back as Sonnen made guard-passing attempts. The fight proceeded this way throughout both overtime periods, and Chael Sonnen was deemed the winner by decision.

A daunting task, but the technique spoke louder.

Fights between athletes of big disparity in height and weight have a way of catching the attention of the audience in open divisions of BJJ tourneys. One of these can be found in the following video.

In a purple-belt gi absolute, the small athlete seen in white took on a hulk of an opponent. In order to overcome him, the fighter in white had to resort to excellent technique. After attacking via single-leg, he transitioned to the side, sought the back, mounted, and strangled with the use of the lapel, to the delight of those in attendance.

Watch and be fearless.

A pupil of Leandro Lo, Braguinha was assigned to the black belt absolute, which was short on fighters. After a few matches, he saw himself face to face with absolute world champion Xande Ribeiro.

With a sweep audibly celebrated by the public, the hungry brown-belt won the two points that granted him the win over Ribeiro. Watch it all in the video below.

The black belt open class male and female kicks off this Saturday, at 11:30AM.

Follow the complete coverage at GRACIEMAG’s social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

Coverage brought to you by GAMENESS.

The first day of action at the 2016 World Jiu-Jitsu championship featured lots of thrills in over 12 hours of Jiu-Jitsu at the Long Beach Pyramid.

The main attraction was the adult male blue belt division, but juvenile and master white belts also took to the mats to pour their hearts out in search of the much wanted gold medal.

In the blue belt division, Guigo Jiu-Jitsu’s Luis Eduardo do Carmo was the stand out after all was said and done with a double gold campaign. Duzão first won the ultra-heavy division after six matches, then he went for the open class title.

In the absolute, Do Carmo had five more matches and made his way to the top of the podium with five submissions. In the final, he caught Mauricio Oliveira Neto with an americana lock from side control.

After his second podium ceremony, Duzão was graduated to purple belt by his Professor Guigo.

The male adult purple belt division started out this Thursday with two divisions, the roosterweight and the light-feather. Rubens Cobrinha’s son Kennedy Maciel won his first title in the Worlds as an adult when he managed a last-second sweep on Jonata Ramos.

Click here for the full results of day 1.

The 2016 Worlds resumes this Friday at 9AM local time with the remainder of the male adult purple belt division, two divisions in the male brown belt and the female blue and purple belt divisions.

Click here for the full schedule of day 2

Here’s a photo gallery of the best moments of the blue belt open class division.

Follow the complete coverage at GRACIEMAG’s social media channels: Instagram, Facebook, Twitter.

Coverage brought to you by GAMENESS.

Mackenzie Dern at the 2016 European

Mackenzie Dern is a 23-year-old veteran at the world championship. Despite being so young, the 2016 edition will be her 10th appearance in Long Beach.

She debuted at the Worlds in 2007, as a juvenile blue belt. Since them, Mackenzie has been a common sight at the podium in all belt colors.

Last year, on her 3rd appearance as a black belt, Mackenzie finally won her first gold medal at the highest ranking. One thing is missing and that’s the open class gold medal. A fearless competitor, Mackenzie made to the podium in 2015, but wants to go all the way this year.

We talked to her about how she’s getting ready for another challenge at the Worlds.

GRACIEMAG.COM: Your MMA debut is scheduled for July 22, but before that you have your second Worlds as a black belt. How are you able to train for both and maintain the focus on two very different but very important challenges?

Mackenzie Dern: I feel like they are helping each other. Last year, I was training MMA when I won the Worlds and it was one more training per day that I was doing. This year, the only difference is that I have to focus on lot more on my MMA. But I know that there isn’t a time that my Jiu-Jitsu will be more on point than now. The Worlds camp is helping my Jiu-Jitsu stay sharp for my MMA fight! The biggest thing is I just have to be careful when training MMA to not get hurt but I am feeling great!

Mackenzie Dern at the 2016 Pan

GRACIEMAG.COM: You have been trying very hard, but was still not able to secure an open class title in the gi on the IBJJF’s most important events, the European, Pan, Worlds. Does that add pressure on you for the 2016 Worlds? What do you think is missing to reach the absolute gold?

Mackenzie Dern: I don’t feel any added pressure because I haven’t won the absolute yet, I actually feel like there is no pressure at all. It’s a personal goal of mine to win, I know it’s possible and I definitely won’t stop trying, but I know it’s difficult with me being a featherweight. Every tournament I am trying to correct details that I think are missing, let’s see if I finally figured it out on the Worlds!

GRACIEMAGSHOP.COM: You compete in the Worlds since 2007, when you entered as a juvenile blue belt. In what way the experiences in these ten years help you to prepare your mindset for another edition?

Mackenzie Dern: I think from competing so much, especially competing at the Worlds, the biggest tournament of the year, I am so used to the pressure and adrenaline. I grow a lot in the tournaments, I have always competed way better than I train and I think that’s because of how much I have competed. Plus, I know what it takes to win and it makes it easier for me to do my camps and go in with a good mindset. I prepared myself the best I could and there is nothing more important for an athlete than his mind and confidence.

Don’t forget to register for the 2016 World Jiu-Jitsu championship.

The final deadline is May 24.

Click here to sign up now.

Coverage brought to you by Gameness.

The 2016 Pan Jiu-Jitsu championship is in the books.

Day 4 was filled with thrills from top to bottom until all champions were crowned at the adult black belt division.

The two standouts were Bernardo Faria and Andresa Correa.

For the second year in a row, Faria met Leandro Lo in the open class final and the match followed the same script as last year. Faria played on top, worked the pass and as Lo turtled, Bernardo put the hooks in and attacked the lapels to get the choke. This was Bernardo’s third absolute title at the Pan, something no other black belt has.

Bernardo talked about his duels with Lo: “I go in knowing that I can lose. So I give my best and keep going until I get on his side. Thank God it has worked well so far, but I have all the respect for him.”

In the female open class, an injury to Dominyka Obelenyte’s right knee prevented her from taking part in the final. Andresa was crowned champion and talked about the best moment of her career, with open class titles at the European and Pan: “It’s all a result of my dedication. I drive everyday from my city to the capital of Sao Paulo. I have to deal with traffic, rain, cold. Despite how tiring it is, I never gave up”.

Click here to see how all other champions were defined.

Coverage brought to you by Gameness.

Day 3 of the 2016 PAN was a roller coaster of emotions that eventually peaked with the black belt open class, male and female.

In the end, Leandro Lo and Bernardo Faria will repeat 2015’s final while teammates Dominyka Obelenyte and Andresa Correa will met in the ladies final.

Faria submits all, Lo upsets Galvão 

The adult male black belt open class division was a gathering of stars and they started to shine early. Luiz Panza returned for his first major event after almost a year healing a broken leg. He made his way to the quarterfinals with victories over Kitner Moura, Mahamed Aly and James Puopolo. Tim Spriggs was on fire and met João Gabriel Rocha in another quarterfinal. It was a match that draw blood out of João’s mouth. Spriggs 5-2 win was a surprise for some. Before that, Rocha had beaten the always tough Murilo Santana. Leonardo Nogueira reached his quarterfinal beating Alessandro Ferreira 5-0 with a sweep and guard pass and Abraham Marte (6-0). His opponent would be André Galvão, who had finished Aaron Johnson and Alex Cecconi.

Leandro Lo made to his quarterfinals after choking Danny Guy from the half guard and beating Guilherme Soares 3-0. Good friends, Panza made way to Lo for a spot in the semis. Bernardo Faria was deadly. He finished every one of his opponents. First he used his sneaky leg lock on Erza Lenon then he caught Victor Silverio in a triangle and finally repeated the leg lock on Gabriel Arges. In the semifinal against Spriggs, a Ezequiel choke was responsible for securing Faria’s spot in the final once again. The semifinal between Lo and Galvão did not see a lot of movement, but Lo was able to sweep and then use his unbelievable guard game to hold back Galvão and qualify for his third final in three years.

Dominyka back with a boom; Andresa keeps consistent

Since her impressive campaign at the 2015 Worlds, when she won both the heavyweight and the open class, Dominyka Obelenyte kept relatively away from the competition circuit. She returned this Saturday and displayed her well known game filled with pressure and creativity. Dom’s first victim was Talita Nogueira, finished with an armbar inside the triangle. Her opponent in the semifinal would be Mackenzie Dern, coming from finishing Leah Taylor with a toe hold and beating Fernanda Mazzelli 2-0 on advantages after a tough match. The semifinal was thrilling and also close. In the end, Dominyka was able to score one sweep more than her opponent to win 10-8.

On the other side of the bracket, Andresa Correa finished Amanda Loewen with a toe hold and Hillary Vanornum with a choke from the back. When Tami Musumecia and Beatriz Mesquita were both DQed for playing the double sitting guard for too long, Andresa jumped to the final.

Meregali and Basilio ruler over the brown belt division

In the brown belt division, Nicholas Meregali and Bianca Basilio were the standouts, Basilio outscored Nathiely de Jesus 2-0. Meregali gave no rest to Guthemberg and eventually managed a bow and arrow choke from the back.

Here are the complete results for the brown belt division.

BROWN / Adult / Male / Rooster

First – Hiago Gama Sousa – Alliance

Second – Eduardo Barboza da Silva – GF Team

Third – Estevan G Martinez-Garcia – Cassio Werneck BJJ

Third – Carlos Saquic Perez – Alliance

BROWN / Adult / Male / Light Feather

First – Yago dos Santos Rodrigues – Equipe Marcio Rodrigues

Second – Nicholas Anthony Bohli – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Ighor Luis Alvim Horta – Brazilian Top Team

Third – Yuta Shimada – Nexusense

BROWN / Adult / Male / Feather

First – Adam Benayoun – Alliance

Second – Lucas de Araujo Gomes – Alliance

Third – Jacob Michael Ferrara – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Felipe Linhares Arruda – Alliance International

BROWN / Adult / Male / Light

First – Júlio Cezar dos Anjos Junior – GF Team

Second – Dante Leon – GF Team

Third – Renato Forasieppi Alves Canuto – Zenith BJJ

Third – Fabricio José Barbarotti – PSLPB Cicero Costha

BROWN / Adult / Male / Middle

First – John Taylor Combs – Easton BJJ

Second – Isaque Bahiense Braz – Alliance

Third – Ramon Duz Delsin – Alliance International

Third – Endres Barbosa da Silva Mendes – CheckMat

BROWN / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy

First – Horlando de Jesus Monteiro – GD Jiu-Jitsu Association

Second – Hunter Xavier Kainalu Ewald – Fight Sports

Third – Danilo Borovic – Brasa CTA

Third – Philippe Basil Pomaski – CheckMat

BROWN / Adult / Male / Heavy

First – Nicholas Meregali – Alliance

Second – Myengse Hwang – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Jose Munoz – Ares BJJ

Third – Nick Schrock – Gracie Humaita

BROWN / Adult / Male / Super Heavy

First – Gutemberg de Jesus Santos Pereira – GF Team

Second – Fernando Andrade dos Reis – Alliance

Third – Indiana Cullen Danaher – Easton BJJ

Third – Rafael Vasconcelos de Lima – Ns Brotherhood

BROWN / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy

First – Felipe Augusto Farias Bezerra – CheckMat

Second – Admilson Gobi Junior – Team Lloyd Irvin

Third – Pedro Paulo Campi Agrizzi – Striker JJ

Third – James Russell Friedrich – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

BROWN / Adult / Male / Open Class

First – Nicholas Meregali – Alliance

Second – Gutemberg de Jesus Santos Pereira – GF Team

Third – Nick Schrock – Gracie Humaita

Third – John Taylor Combs – Easton BJJ

BROWN / Adult / Female / Light Feather

First – Kristen Martin – Brazil 021 International

Second – Jillian DeCoursey – East Coast United BJJ

Third – Sharon M Gosun – Brazil 021 International

BROWN / Adult / Female / Feather

First – Jennifer Turner – Alliance

Second – Ana Talita de Oliveira Alencar – GF Team

Third – Danielle Renee Alvarez – Gracie Humaita

Third – Sarah Block – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

BROWN / Adult / Female / Light

First – Bianca Barbosa Basilio – Ryan Gracie Team

Second – Catherine Fuhro Perret – CheckMat

Third – Kristin Mikkelson – Brazil 021 International

Third – Aarae Alexander – Team Lloyd Irvin

BROWN / Adult / Female / Middle

First – Jessica da Silva Oliveira – Gracie Barra

Second – Bárbara da Silva Barbosa – Soul Fighters BJJ

Third – Folana Dione Miller – Alliance

Third – Veronica Eugenia Mota – BJJ Revolution Team

BROWN / Adult / Female / Medium Heavy

First – Nathiely Karoline Melo de Jesus – PSLPB Cicero Costha

Second – Tara Giovanna White – Marcel Louzado BJJ

Third – Victoria Hudson Boudreaux – Brasa CTA

BROWN / Adult / Female / Open Class

First – Bianca Barbosa Basilio – Ryan Gracie Team

Second – Nathiely Karoline Melo de Jesus – PSLPB Cicero Costha

Third – Ana Talita de Oliveira Alencar – GF Team

Third – Tara Giovanna White – Marcel Louzado BJJ

Day 4 of the 2016 PAN kicks of this Sunday, at 9AM (PDT).

Click here to follow the complete coverage.

Click here for the full results after three days.

Coverage brought to you by GAMENESS.

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.

Dominyka Obelenyte is celebrating her 20th birthday this Thursday, July 30.

By all means a prodigy in Jiu-Jitsu, in 2015 she became the youngest competitor to achieve the gold medal at the black belt open class division of the Worlds.

After the double gold campaign in Long Beach last June, she was compared to Roger Gracie for her powerful top game with strong passes and accurate finishes.

“I accept that comparison because it’s freaking awesome. Who doesn’t want to be compared to Roger Gracie. We are both very lanky and use our length to our advantage,” said Dominyka about the comparison in an exclusive interview on GRACIEMAG #220.

A world champion in all belts, Dominyka has a very bright future ahead indeed.

Let’s celebrate her birthday watching her greatest moment so far, the 2015 Worlds black belt open class final against Monique Elias.

One of the most memorable fights of the 2012 Pan was the open class match up between Marcus Buchecha and Kron Gracie.

Take a look and relive the thrills of a fight that gathered two of the most talented fighters of our times.