Carlson Gracie Team was the winning gym in both the men’s and women’s, upsetting such superpowers as Gracie Barra and Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu. Check out a gallery of photos with Carlson Gracie Jr., Gabriel Willcox, Raphael Abi-Rihan, Antonio Sergio Canudo, Viktor Doria, Marcelo Playmobil, Rodrigo Medeiros, Fabricio Medeiros, Suyan Queiroz, Marcos Parrumpinha, Renato Tavares and others responsible for the team’s victory.

Saulo Ribeiro left the mat in a clearly emotional state. Photo by Luca Atalla

It took Saulo Ribeiro a whole bunch of tenacity to achieve his feat at the World Master Championship, which is taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. The black-belt under Royler Gracie suffered a tear in his bicep tendon in a master-3 heavyweight semifinal. Even with the pain, he hid the injury from his team and decided to fight in the final. With a nice takedown, Saulo defeated Cristiano “Titi” Lazzarini and left the mat in a clearly emotional state. This is the fifth title won by Saulo in World Master history.

The day has also been special for São Paulo’s Roberto Godoi, who got double gold at master-3. First, he won the super-heavyweight as he subbed Steve Austin. Then, he got the second gold as he finished Cristiano “Titi” Lazzarini with a lapel choke.

Two thousand one world champion Márcio Corleta beat Carlos Farias 6-0 to get the ultra-heavyweight title. Master-3 medium heavyweight gold went to Marcus Bello, who defeated Marcelo “Uirapurú” Azevedo by one advantage. At middleweight in the same age group, Cassio Werneck outplayed Paulo Guillobel 11-0 in the final.

After 18 years away from competition, Carlson Gracie Jr. went back to the mats to commemorate the legacy of his father, who died ten years ago. Carlson fought in the master-4 medium heavyweight class and got bronze after two matches.

Carlson Gracie Jr. got bronze after two matches. Photo by Mike Pesh

“I did very well in the first fight; I managed to deploy my game well. In the second I was matched with a very tough guy who managed to stifle my guard. But I’m very happy. I made a promise that I was gonna fight; I trained, prepared myself, and there’s no sob story to tell. I hope now I can return to competition,” Carlson told IBJJF’s Facebook page.

The winner of the master-4 medium heavyweight class was Eduardo Rocha, who beat Carlos Terrinha by one advantage. Terrinha had a great comeback at the open class and took the gold as he finished David Blau with an ankle lock.

At the master-5, Wellington Megaton was the big name. After he beat the field at featherweight, Megaton defeated Evaldo Lima in the open class by 1-0 on advantages and conquered double gold.

Click here to see the full results.

Here are the master-3 results:

Roosterweight: Makoto Sawada defeated Yasuo Yamamoto by points (2-0)
Lightfeather: Ichiro Kaneko defeated Marcus Norat by 9-0
Featherweight: Kazuhiro Inoue defeated Alessandro Nagaishi by 2-1 on advantages
Lightweight: Fabricio Medeiros defeated Vinicius Canevari by points (2-0)
Middleweight: Cassio Werneck defeated Paulo Guillobel by 11-0
Mediumheavy: Marcus Bello defeated Marcelo “Uirapurú” Azevedo
Heavyweight: Saulo Ribeiro defeated Cristiano “Titi” Lazzarini by points (2-0)
Superheavy: Roberto Godoi defeated Steve Austin by submission
Ultraheavy: Marcio Corleta defeated Carlos Farias by points (6-0)

Rafael Lovato Jr. gets double gold. Photo by Luca Atalla

Rafael Lovato Jr. was the big winner on the first day of the World Master Championship, which is taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada. After winning gold among master-1 super-heavyweights, the black-belt went back to fight in the open and beat the competition once more. In the master-2 age group, Vitor Shaolin stood out as he defeated four opponents to get lightweight gold.

In the master-1 group, the biggest surprise was favorite Xande Ribeiro’s 2-0 loss to Eliot Kelly in a semifinal of the super-heavyweight class. Despite his stunning semifinal win, Kelly wound up losing the final to Lovato, a pupil of Ribeiro’s who used a choke to win it all. Later, Lovato fought in the absolute and ended up closing it out with Xande Ribeiro, who had scored 7-0 over Rafael Formiga in a semifinal.

Moving to heavyweights within the master-1 group, Romulo Barral won gold as he closed out the final with his teammate Roberto Tussa. In the middleweight division, Vitor Oliveira beat Gregor Gracie by decision to win the title.

Former UFC fighter and ADCC champion Vinny Magalhães defeated James Puopolo 1-0 on advantages to win at ultra-heavyweight. Featherweight Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho won his division as he closed it out with his mate Diego Bispo.

Shaolin beats four to get gold at master-2

Three-time world champ Vitor Shaolin was one of the standouts of the World Master. Among lightweights, the black-belt under André Pederneiras had a long path to get to the top of the podium. In a semifinal he beat Cícero Costha, a teacher to Leandro Lo and the Miyaos, by 2-0. In the final, Shaolin scored 6-0 on Marcelo Motta to get the gold.

Vitor Shaolin stands out at master 2. Photo by Luca Atalla

Flavio “Cachorrinho” gets double gold at master-2

Flavio “Cachorrinho” Almeida was the big name at master-2, winning double gold. At heavyweight, Almeida defeated former UFC fighter Fabricio Morango 4-0 to win the title. In the open class, he beat Tiago Almeida — who was champion at ultra-heavy — by one penalty to win the gold.

Representing the Carlson Gracie team, Carlos Manimal pupils Antônio Canudo and Raphael Abi-Rihan closed out the master-2 medium-heavyweight division.  At ultra-heavyweight, gold went to Viktor Doria, who beat Bruno Bastos 1-0 on advantages.

Flavio “Cachorrinho” defeated Fabrício Morango (4-0). Photo by Luca Atalla

Here are the complete results for the master-1 and master-2 age groups:

MASTER 1:
Rooster: Raul Marcello beat Juan da Silva by 1-0 on advantages
Light feather: Pablo Silva defeated Tiago Barros by points (2-0)
Feather: Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho closed out with Diego Bishop
Light: Marcelo Mafra defeated Rafael Formiga by points (2-0)
Middle: Bruno Alves defeated Mauricio Tognini by points (2-0)
Medium heavy: Vitor Oliveira defeated Gregor Gracie by judges’ decision
Heavy: Romulo Barral closed out with Roberto Tussa
Super heavy: Rafael Lovato Jr. finished Eliot Kelly with a choke
Ultra-heavy: Vinny Magalhães defeated James Puopolo by 1-0 on advantages
Open class: Rafael Lovato Jr. closed out with Xande Ribeiro

MASTER 2:
Light: Vitor Shaolin defeated Marcelo Motta by points (6-0)
Middle: Alex Nascimento finished Adriano Araújo with a choke
Medium heavy: Antônio Canudo closed out with Raphael Abi-Rihan
Heavy: Flavio “Cachorrinho” Almeida defeated Fabrício Morango by points (4-0)
Super heavy: Viktor Doria defeated Bruno Bastos by 1-0 on advantages
Ultra-heavy: Tiago Almeida defeated Lincoln Pereira by 1-0 on advantages
Open class: Flávio Cachorrinho defeated Tiago Almeida by 1-0 on penalty

Carlson Gracie Jr. (Photo Facebook)

At 47 years old, it’s been 18 since Carlson Gracie Jr. last competed. His return to the mats has a special reason behind it: honoring his late dad, the beloved Master Carlson Gracie, one of the most important figures in all of BJJ history. And, to honor him, Carlson is entering himself and his team in the World Master Championship, which takes place Aug. 25 through 27 in Las Vegas, Nevada, focused on that which his father left as his greatest legacy to his students: victory.

“I haven’t fought in 18 years, and this homage to my dad was one thing that motivated everybody,” said the black-belt. “We’re going into the competition to win, but the most beautiful thing of all has been this reunion of the guys from the old days to compete in this championship in honor of my dad. I believe the greatest legacy left by my dad was this competitive spirit. He always fought to win and he passed along that spirit to his students. I believe the team is going in with that mindset. Everybody is looking to be number 1 to give this win to him.” Carlson Jr. is enrolled in the medium-heavyweight division of the master-4 age group.