Isaque Bahiense . IBJJF/Facebook.

After dominating the Copa Pódio Lightweight GP, 21-year-old Bahiense Isaque Bahiense won silver at the Pan and fought ten fights last weekend at the Rome Open and the Euro No-Gi.

At the Rome open, a gi competition, Bahiense became middleweight champion as he tapped Kacper Rot (Gold Team) via foot lock. In the open division, he took second place. “I can see my evolution and I still need to improve a lot,” he said afterwards. “BJJ has given me everything I have lived to this day, I’m getting culturally richer, and that makes me a better human being. The coolest moment in the event was being champion, but getting to know a new culture, making new friendships and following the growth of BJJ is always a pleasure.”

Isaque will be fighting this weekend at the IBJJF Floripa Open in Florianópolis, Brazil, and then at the World Pro, Marianas Open and the World Championship.

[Based on a press release.]

International chef and TV show host Andrew Zimern has five tips for things you must do while in Rome, Italy.

You can watch the video and follow his instructions for a fun time in the Eternal City after you compete at the 2016 Rome Open and the 2016 European No-Gi championship. on April 1-3.

Before all that, you need to register to compete and the deadline is March 24.

Click here and register now.

The IBJJF will have a glorious Jiu-Jitsu weekend in Italy, on April 1-3.

It all starts with the Rome International Open, on April 1-2.

Then, on April 2-3, it’s time for the 2016 European No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu championship.

You can register for one of the two or for both and pay less.

Click to know more: Rome Open, Euros No-Gi.

The deadline to register is March 24.

Oh, if you are going to be in Rome, you need to learn what a true Roman breakfast is.

Here’s Jiu-Jitsu blue belt Anthony Bourdain has to teach you.

The IBJJF will have two great events on the weekend of April 1-3, in Rome, Italy.

On April 1st and 2nd, the 2016 Rome International Open will be held at the Palazzetto dello Sport.

You have until March 24 to register to compete with some of Europe’s best athletes.

If you also like no-gi, you can register for the 2016 European No-Bi championship, on April 2-3.

Click here to register for the Rome Open.

Click here to register for the Euro No-Gi.

The 2015 Rome Open is in the books.

In the most important division, Checkmat teammates Alan Nascimento and Jackson Sousa reached the open class final for a close out.

Alan Finfou ended taking the gold medal home.

At the female division, Venla Luukkonen defeated Shanti Abelha for the black belt open class division title.

In the teams competition, the results were:

1 – Gracie Barra – 189

2 – CheckMat – 183

3 – Roger Gracie – 108

4 – Carlson Gracie Team – 104

5 – Frontline Academy – 82

6 – Nova União – 80

7 – Cyclone – 67

8 – Aeterna Jiu Jitsu – 65

9 – Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team – 61

10 – MMA Israel BJJ – 57

Here are the other black belt results:

BLACK / Adult / Male / Rooster

First – Andrea Verdemare – Cyclone

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light Feather

First – Simone Franceschini – Cyclone

Second – Julien Robin Gaillard – Toulon JJB

Third – Jordy A. Jean Antoon Peute – Gracie Barra

Third – Baruc Martin Barrios – Reinaldo Ribeiro Team JJ

BLACK / Adult / Male / Feather

First – Ítalo Silva Lins de Albuquerque – GF Team

Second – Luiz Henrique Cunha Tosta – Alliance International

Third – Carlos Eduardo de Almeida Goncalves – BJJ Revolution Team – International

Third – Cristofer Martin Barrios – Reinaldo Ribeiro Team JJ

BLACK / Adult / Male / Light

First – Bruno Frazatto Xavier C. Barbosa – Atos Jiu-Jitsu

Second – Samuel Hertzog Canquerino – UAE Jiu-jitsu Team

Third – Ilke Kubilay Bulut – Icon Jiu-Jitsu Team

Third – Gustavo Dantas – Nova União

BLACK / Adult / Male / Middle

First – Charles Negromonte Santos – Gracie Barra

Second – Luca Anacoreta – Aeterna Jiu Jitsu

Third – Eduardo Rios – Frontline Academy

Third – Radoslaw Turek – Alliance International

BLACK / Adult / Male / Medium Heavy

First – Alan Douglas Pereira do Nascimento – CheckMat

Second – Darragh O Conaill – Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu

Third – Alberto Gonzalez Ortiz – Rio Grappling Club

Third – Santeri Lilius – Roger Gracie

BLACK / Adult / Male / Heavy

First – Jackson Sousa dos Santos – CheckMat

Second – Felipe Mota Dias – Roger Gracie

Third – Frederico Marcio Linhares Amiuna – Jiu Jitsu Factor

Third – Renato Tavares de Moraes – Frontline Academy

BLACK / Adult / Male / Super Heavy

First – Manuel António Ambrósio S. T. Pontes – Gracie Barra

Second – Pedro Henrique Peres – UAE Jiu-jitsu Team

Third – Francisco Javier Miguel Caraballo – WING BJJ

Third – Fabricio Carvalho de Souza – Batatinha Team Italia

BLACK / Adult / Male / Ultra Heavy

First – Thomas Johannessen – Frontline Academy

Second – Roman Kushnir – Renzo Gracie Israel

Third – Luis Alberto Martin Carrara – WING BJJ

Third – Attila Bánfi – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Male / Open Class

First – Alan Douglas Pereira do Nascimento – CheckMat

Second – Jackson Sousa dos Santos – CheckMat

Third – Charles Negromonte Santos – Gracie Barra

Third – Manuel António Ambrósio S. T. Pontes – Gracie Barra

BLACK / Adult / Female / Light

First – Gegi E Van de Walker – Cia Paulista USA

BLACK / Adult / Female / Middle

First – Shanti A. D. Abelha – CheckMat

BLACK / Adult / Female / Super Heavy

First – Venla Orvokki Luukkonen – Hilti BJJ Jyvaskyla

BLACK / Adult / Female / Open Class

First – Venla Orvokki Luukkonen – Hilti BJJ Jyvaskyla

Second – Shanti A. D. Abelha – CheckMat

Third – Gegi E Van de Walker – Cia Paulista USA

For the complete results, go to ibjjf.com

Ricardo Evangelista atop the podium in Rome

Don’t miss out on the opportunity to become an European No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu champion.

Register now for the 2015 Rome International Open and also for the 2015 European No-Gi championship.

Both events take place in the beautiful Italian capital on April 10-11.

The registration deadline is approaching, but you still have time to secure your spot.

Go there, compete, win, and then celebrate with a plate of Cacio & Pepe and a glass of wine in a restaurant by one of Rome’s magnificent fontanas like Renzo Gracie’s white belt Anthony Bourdain did in this video.

The.Layover.S01E03.Rome by educkling

Click here to register now for the Euro No-Gi.

Click here to register for the Rome Open.

Klara Tibbling won the purple belt adult female open class. Photo: Pasando Guardia

The females took to the mats at the 2014 IBJJF Rome Open even though their numbers were small. Most categories were not filled and some were not able to fight in their weight classes. But the attendants took up their opportunities for what they were and did what they came to do– compete.

Here is Oliver Geddes’ gathering of the main female results:

Despite traveling all the way to Rome from Denmark, Checkmat’s Shanti Abelha was the only black belt female present, taking her weight and open titles unopposed.

In the women’s brown belt division, the final came down to Poland’s Irena Preiss against Olga Lyashevska of Carlson Gracie Holland. Although both had been the only fighters within their weight classes, they were in Italy to fight and seized their opportunity in the open class. After two fights each, Olga took the gold, defeating Irena by a single guard pass.

Sweden’s Klara Tibbling took gold in the purple belt Female open class, adding that medal to her gold in the female heavyweight category. She defeated middleweight champion Sofia Nordenö to secure the open weight title.

You can check out the full results here.

Here is his final of the open weight:

Oliver Geddes worked as a referee, competed and then reported on the weekend of Jiu-Jitsu in Rome. Photo: IBJJF

Text by Oliver Geddes

Last weekend the Rome International Open and its accompanying event, the European No-Gi 2014, returned with a new date in the IBJJF calendar. Still, there was no shortage of tough fighters hunting for titles and glory in the city of the gladiators. Hundreds of competitors from dozens of clubs across Europe and the rest of the world descended upon Rome for three days with the hope of writing their names in the record books.

Gracie Barra’s Paulo Melo triumphed in the Black Belt Light Featherweight division, defeating European competition mainstay Baruc Barrios in the final.

In the Featherweight division, although he was only awarded his Black Belt in August of last year, Victor Genovesi took his first IBJJF Black Belt gold medal. He defeated Italy’s Simone Franceschini in the semi final before closing the bracket with his teammate David Dimopoulos.

At Lightweight, AJ Agazarm of Gracie Barra made it all the way over from California to take the gold with an impressive combination of takedowns, passing and top control. After overcoming a very tough Paulo Alves in the semi-final, he defeated Roger Gracie student Oliver Geddes 11-2 in the final to seal the division.

Middleweight saw a mix of young up and comers and European jiujitsu stalwarts take to the mats, but the final came down to Eduardo ‘Teta’ Rios of Norway and UK-Based Pedro Bessa of 99 Jiujitsu. ‘Teta’ had defeated Luca Anacoreta in the quarter final and Thomas Oyarzun in the semi final. He then took the gold medal with a 2 point victory in the final.

Rivals at almost every competition across Europe, Hungary’s Max Carvalho met Alain ‘Finfou’ Nascimento for yet another battle in the final of the Medium Heavyweight division. This time it was ‘Finfou’ who came away with the victory, winning 8-0 on points.

Ricardo Ramos of Alliance was victorious at Heavyweight, defeating French Black Belt Samuel Monin of Gracie Barra in the final.

The Ultra-Heavyweight division saw Checkmat’s Bruno Matias take the title with a close-fought final against PSLPB Cicero Costha’s Mauricio Cristo Lima. After an active ten minute battle, Bruno was able to seal his victory on points.

Alan ‘Finfou’ continued his run of form in Rome into the Open Class. After winning his first two matches, he entered into the final with Rodrigo Reis of Tanque Academy where he took the win by 5 advantages to 2.

At Brown Belt, the big name was Italy’s own Bruno Tomasetti, who took Gold in both the Heavyweight and Open divisions. He won seven fights over his weight and the Open class, finishing five of those opponents with the same cross footlock that is rapidly becoming his trademark. He defeated Middleweight champion Sebastien Brosche to take the open class title.

In the Purple Belt division, Romania’s Camil Moldoveanu took the Ultra-Heavyweight and Open Class titles, defeating Medium Heavyweight champion Adam Wardzinki in the final to finish his campaign.

Ricardo Evangelista atop the podium in Rome

The IBJJF will be in Rome, Italy for the Rome Open and the European No-Gi Championship on April 4 and 5. The capacity is almost full and whats more, the deadline is in a few hours at 11:59 p.m. PST!

The event will be held at Palazzetto dello Sport: Piazza Apollodoro 10 Rome, Italy 00196.

Check out this highlight from 2013:

Go to www.ibjjf.org to register for the two events.

In the final match, Igor beat Jason Tan (SBGI) with a beautiful sweep.

See how he did:

[highlight]Last chance: Get a FREE Vulkan Pro Light Gi with a 24 month subscription of GRACIEMAG for only $177 Click here and get yours now. Offer ends Friday, July 16. Use Promo Code GMVULKAN during the checkout.

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Adamson brothers on the podium of the brown belt featherweight division at the IBJJF Lisboa Open. Photo: Personal Archive/Instagram

Summertime is the American vacation window and Europe is often the most popular destination. With the newest additions on the IBJJF calendar, the Rome Open, Lisboa Open and European No-Gi Championship made the continent an even more desired location. Two Americans, who are also GMA members, traveled to all three competitions and taught a seminar in Ireland.

The Adamson brothers Zach and Nate are brown belts under Rafael Lovato Jr. who value all that the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle offers and are constantly looking to advance their skills. Traveling to the three IBJJF tournaments they fared well, gained knowledge and shared theirs.

See how their trip went and what they feel about the Jiu-Jitsu scene over there:

GRACIEMAG: How did you and your brother do at Rome Open, European No-Gi and Lisboa Open?

ZACH ADAMSON: We started our journey in Rome and took silver in the featherweight brown and my brother [Nathan Adamson] took third. In the no-gi Euros I took third place.. Next we flew up to Munich, Germany to teach and train at Sanefighting, run by European brown belt Champion, Johannes Wieth. This was part of our plan to network so we can continue to teach seminars abroad and make more opportunities for our up-and-coming students to follow in our footsteps. Our next stop was Lisbon. I won in the featherweight brown belt and took third in the absolute as well.

Seminar in Ireland. Photo: Personal Archive/Instagram

How did your seminar in Ireland go?

Our seminar in Ireland was a huge success and we had over 30 students in attendance. We taught some of our best guard positions and the students were very receptive to the information.What can you say about the quality of European Jiu-Jitsu?

The quality was on par with that in the U.S. and I believe as Jiu-Jitsu spreads across Europe they we’ll see more and more high level black belts emerge. They love the Jiu-Jitsu life and are very eager to learn all the newest positions. All in all it was an unforgettable experience for my brother and I. We brought back IBJJF medals, taught our first international seminars and networked with many of the most influential practitioners and coaches across Europe. It’s safe to say the Adamson Bros will be back annually. We can’t say enough about how well we were treated, the Jiu-Jitsu lifestyle is alive and well here!

For more information on the Adamson brothers and their Oregon academy Seaside Jiu-Jitsu, visit www.OrBJJ.com