Furão, Kron and Dantas. Photo: Many Weapons

Organized by black belt Gustavo Dantas, the Arizona International Open, held for the fifth time on the 13th and 14th of this month, stands out as one of the big events on the Jiu-Jitsu calendar. Check out this video for the reason why.

Kron Gracie, Robson Moura and Xande Ribeiro. Photos: Manyweapons.com

Stand-Outs:

Black belt
In the highly-anticipated middleweight match-up between Kron Gracie (Rickson Gracie) and Philipe “Furao” Della Monica (Gracie Barra), both fighters came ready to put their game plans into effect. The well-prepared Furao looked to exploit holes in Kron’s game by quickly pulling guard and working from deep-half, but a calm and collected Kron had a simpler strategy in mind: to submit Furao. And that’s exactly what he did. In 3 minutes, Kron was able to dismantle and pass Furao’s half-guard, establish an immovable mount, and quickly submit Furao with an armbar in textbook fashion.

The featured international face-off between Robson Moura (Nova Uniao) and Nobuhiko Kitahara (Axis Jiu-Jitsu) showcased why “Robinho” is widely regarded as one of the best Jiu-Jitsu players in the World. When Robson was asked about his plan of attack for the Japanese National Champion, he answered with an air of confidence that only comes after years of experience: “I’m just going to fight. I’m not focused on pulling first, but if he decides to pull guard, I’ll pass.” Robinho put that confidence to work, nullifying
Kitahara’s guard and ending the match with a collar choke from the back in less than 5 mintues.

Guybson Sa (East West) flew over from New York to defeat the 2009 AZ State Champion, Carlos Farias (Lion’s Den) by Armbar in the Ultra Heavyweight division.

Female
Kristina Barlaan (GD Jiu-Jitsu) made a clean sweep of her competition by using her dangerous guard game and submitting her opponents to win the Female Blue Belt Featherweight division and putting in a dominant performance to win the Absolute.

White belt
The White Belt, Middleweight Division was the largest bracket of the 5th AZ Int’l Open and the victor would be the product of a hard-fought win. Jeremy Larsen (GD Jiu-Jitsu)
was able to fight his way up through the bracket to meet his teammate, Mark Garland (GD Jiu-Jitsu), in the finals. Despite the relationship, the two did not hesitate
to face each other, and Larsen found himself victorious.

Blue belt
Despite being Adult Division, the explosive Blue Belt Featherweight final was between two talented, up-and-coming teenagers. Isaac Doederlein
(Team Megaton) defeated Christopher Broadnax (Nova Uniao LV) in a very close, back-and- forth battle for the gold. Determined to find redemption, Christopher entered the
absolute with fire in his heart and was able to close out with his teammate Issa Able (GD Jiu-Jitsu), winner of the Middleweight Division, in the finals to claim the win.

Purple belt
The Purple Belt, Middleweight Division set the stage for two of the most exciting Jiu-Jitsu matches of the weekend. WEC Lightweight Champion Ben Henderson (MMA Lab)
defeated Giacomo Zanini (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu) with an aggressive double-leg takedown just seconds before the end of the middleweight final match. But it was Zanini who would
have the last laugh as he left no room for Henderson to set his pace in the absolute final, surpassing the MMA Champion 17-0.

Brown belt
The 5th AZ Int’l Open marked the return of undefeated (6-0) Bellator fighter Jacob McClintock to Jiu-Jitsu competition. The hot MMA prospect submitted all his opponents to win the Brown Belt, Medium-Heavyweight Division (the largest bracket at Brown), despite his 2-year hiatus from competing in the Gi.

Prize Winners:
PSP – Giovanna Jaure (Yuma BJJ)
Flip – Maria Magana (MMA Lab)
TV – Alex Richard (Tigers Lair AZ)

Kids Division:
1st – Team Megaton 77 pts
2nd – Rey Diogo/De Brazil 59 pts
3rd – Lion’s Den 55 pts
4th – Yuma BJJ 48 pts
5th – Siege MMA/Lotus Club 45 pts

Adult Division:
1st – Team GD Jiu-Jitsu 201 pts
2nd – MMA Lab 91 pts
3rd – Team Megaton 70 pts
4th – Rey Diogo/De Brazil 69 pts
5th – Siege MMA/Lotus Club 66 pts

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Photos: Manyweapons.com

Kron gets the mount, at the 2009 European Jiu-Jitsu Championship.

The established aces didn’t make way for the lesser-known names in the supermatches at this weekend’s 5th Arizona International Open, in Mesa, Arizona.

The son of legendary Jiu-Jitsu icon Rickson Gracie, Kron Gracie dispatched Gracie Barra’s Philipe “Furão” Della Monica with an armbar, after having mounted the up-and-comer.

In the other supermatch, Nova Uniao’s 7-time world champion Robson Moura overcame Japanese champion Nobuhiko Kitahara (Axis JJ) via choke.

Check back with GRACIEMAG.com later for complete results and pictures from the 5th Arizona International Open.

Philipe’s coach at Gracie Barra America Marcio Feitosa is confident in his student. “Training is going off!  Furão is sharp and wants to make some noise!” he fired off as soon as he answered GRACIEMAG.com’s call.

The Jiu-Jitsu community in Arizona will come together to watch the match. In the end the Gracie family and Jiu-Jitsu come out winners; it’s good for everyone” Marcio Feitosa

“Ttraining was great. He trained here with Romulo Barral, Kayron Gracie, Flávio Cachorrinho, Otávio Sousa, Lucas Rocha and a lot of other tough guys. Every Monday and Wednesday are hard-core training days, Master (Carlos Gracie Jr.) shows up, too, to polish up his game and the physical conditioning work is going strong. Aside from all that, he’s going to open his own academy on April 1,” he said.

Philipe Della Monica also trains with the Professor Marcelo Arroz. Photo: GRACIEMAG archives

Of course, the opponent in this challenge is regarded with great respect. However, without giving any clues, Feitosa says their strategy is already in place.

“Kron has a weight advantage. But I took a look at his game and I think there’s a hole that we can exploit, neutralize that advantage, and Furão wins the fight. ”

About his being from Gracie Barra and training an athlete to face a Gracie, Marcio believes competition can only add positive things.

“Everybody wins with this fight, because they’re two top athletes and they’ll make some noise. It’s very likely the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community in Arizona will get together to watch this fight. In the end the Gracie family and Jiu-Jitsu come out winners; it’s good for everyone. Moreover, the Gracie family always had this type of culture. When not fighting some MMA fight or competing in some championship, the stories I hear are about really intense competitiveness between them, which always kept them sharp. And that’s what the Master is teaches us and that’s what I teach Furão ,” concluded the coach.

To learn more about the event, which also features a supermatch between Robson Moura and champion of Japan Nobuhiko Kitahara, click  here.

Kron Gracie against Pedro Bessa in the semifinal of the 2009 European. Photo: Diogo Valença.

On its debut as an international event in its fifth installment, the Arizona Open welcomes two more renowned black belts to its roster. 2009 Jiu-Jitsu runner-up and 2009 European Champion Kron Gracie (Rickson Gracie) is set to compete against 2009 US National No-Gi Champion and GRACIEMAG #2 Fighter to Watch in 2010 from Gracie Barra Philipe Della Monica (Gracie Barra) in a middleweight match-up.

This is in addition to the previously announced (see here) featherweight match between seven-time world champion Robson Moura (Nova Uniao) and 2009 Japanese National Champion Nobuhiko Kitahara (Axis JJ), at the 5th AZ International BJJ Open on March 13 and 14,of 2010, in Mesa, Arizona.

Click here for greater information or to register.

10 – Patrick Gaudio (Top Brother)

Patrick on the winners' stand at the Worlds. Personal archives.

Juvenile blue belt Patrick (Top Brother) was World and Brazilian National champion in 2009. At the Rio de Janeiro state championship he won at weight and absolute and remains a great promise. The Carioca is the son of black belt and IBJJF referee Fabiano Gaudio, and brings his proud pop nothing but joy.

9 – José Carlos “Polenguinho” Dias (Nova União)

Polengue squeezes out the kimura. Photo: Carlos Ozório

Despite his being a juvenile, with Brazilian National, Brazilian Team National and Rio International Open titles, the Nova União blue belt competes in the adult division, where he beat a slew of opponents at featherweight at the Rio State Championship. Polengue comes from a family of fighters. He is the brother and cousin of MMA beasts Hacran Dias and Marlon Sandro, respectively, and has his mind on competing in the cage, too.

8 – José Carlos (DDR)

Zé Carlos is coming on strong. Photo: Carlos Ozório.

In 2009, Jose Carlos didn’t see action at the Worlds. For the Brazilian Nationals, the collapse of a bridge made his arrival at the Tijuca Tennis Club impossible, as the competitor is from the town of Araruama, north of the city of Rio. Even so, Zé has been impressive. Despite his only being a purple belt, he beat black belt Gilbert Durinho at the Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Pro qualifiers. At the Rio Open he was the best at middleweight. The beast from DDR JJ also won the 2008 Brazilian Nationals and the Pan.

7 – Zach Maxwell (Gracie Humaitá)

Zach sinks a choke in the final of the last Worlds. Photo: Regis Chen.

A Regis Lebre student, the American has been impressing for some years now and promises to make things even tougher for his opponents in 2010. He won the Pan at purple belt in 2008, and at brown in 2009. His first world title came last season, at brown belt, after choking Eduardo Ramos (Atos) in the featherweight final. “And he doesn’t even smile after his wins,” repeats friend Fabricio Morango after each of the promising youth’s triumphs.

6 – Beatriz Mesquita (Gracie Humaitá)

Bia in the purple belt absolute final of the 2009 Worlds. Photo: Ivan Trindade.

A Letícia Ribeiro student, the athlete from Saquarema, Rio de Janeiro wins nearly everything she is in. After taking gold at the 2009 Pan, she repeated the feat at the Worlds, a competition she has won the last three installments of. In 2009, the lightweight also made it onto the winners’ stand for the absolute. The result earned her her brown belt, which she went right to work using. Proof she is the real deal came when she won the Rio Open, where she competed against black belts, since, in the female division, brown and black belts compete against each other.

5 – Ian McPherson (Alliance)

Ian is another ace out of Alliance. Photo: Luca Atalla

An ace with his own fan club in the USA, McPherson is the student of Romero Jacaré, in Atlanta. At the last World Championship, in the medium heavyweight brown belt division, the fighter demonstrated great technical proficiency. In the deciding match, he beat Rhalan Gracie, son of Relson, and took top spot on the podium. He’s our bet for brown belt absolute gold this year.

4 – Gunnar Nelson (Renzo Gracie)

Gunnar, on top, against Vinny Pezão. Photo: Carlos Ozório

The youth from Iceland, Gunnar Nelson, had an excellent campaign at the 2009 Jiu-Jitsu Worlds as a middleweight brown belt. He was only stopped in the decider by Gabriel Goulart, of Alliance, another who has just what it takes to dazzle in 2010. It was at the ADCC in Barcelona, though, where Nelson won the match that would place him on this list: he encountered favorites in the absolute division, like Jeff Monson and David Avellan, beating both to take fourth place. In MMA he is undefeated with six fights.

3 – Ary Farias (CheckMat)

GRACIEMAG.com was present when Ary was awarded his black belt. At brown the fighter won the Pan, European and Worlds. Photo: Carlos Ozório

Ary is one of the professor Ricardo Vieira’s greatest promises. The prodigy disputed and won everything he could at every belt, ending with brown belt, in 2009. He was champion of Europe, the Pan and the Worlds, at light featherweight. Until the 2010 World Championship at least, he will remain a brown belt. But he’s a rookie with the experience of a veteran, thus he shouldn’t feel the pressure of getting his black belt as often happens. Keep an eye peeled for him.

2 – Philipe “Furão” Della Monica  (Gracie Barra)

Furão with teammate Marcelo Arroz, no Mundial. Photo: Ray Santana.

Gracie Barra’s money is on this black belt this year. In 2009, Furão took third at the Jiu-Jitsu Worlds. In 2010, though, he will compete at middleweight, one division up. An Aldo Caveirinha student, from Minas Gerais, the Gracie Barra America teacher is all set to make life hard for a lot of people in the toughest division of the Worlds.

1 – Ricardo “Demente” Abreu  (Nova União)

In small towne São Paulo, Ricardo has been training and lifting like a bull Photo: Personal archive.

After years out of action, disillusioned by the lack of sponsorship, the Robinho Moura student returned going full steam at the 2009 Worlds. He caught everyone’s attention by overcoming with mastery such beasts as Antonio Braga Neto and Antonio Peinado and only stopped at champion Roger Gracie, in the super heavyweight final. After winning the absolute of the South American Championship, he is hard at work (as you can see in the photo) in preparing to take the European Championship and go into the 2010 Worlds as strong as can be.