Nathiely Jesus. Luca Atalla/ Gallerr

Nathiely Jesus is living a special year in her career. After shining in Abu Dhabi and winning double gold at the Worlds, held in early June in California, the 20-year-old was promoted to black-belt on the podium by her teacher, Cícero Costha — the same who shaped the phenomenal Leandro Lo and Miyao brothers.

“Winning the Abu Dhabi World Pro as a brown-belt, competing with the black-belts, was a very good experience for me,” Nathiely told Graciemag. “I think that was what gave me the confidence to move up in rank competently and take on all the girls. This, really, has been a blessed year for me, the fruit of a lot of training and dedication. I hope to continue improving from now on.”

In her first competition as a black-belt, she won double gold at the American Nationals. Last weekend Nathiely again shone as she won the No-Gi Worlds, repeating the double-gold performance she had last year at brown.

“It’s an indescribable sensation to know that all the work I’ve been doing is paying off. It was my first Worlds at black, and, in so little time, I won this title… This will forever be an unforgettable day in my life,” she said.

Nathiely knows she is just getting started on a new journey, and mentions the 2017 IBJJF Worlds as her big goal: “I think, little by little, I’m achieving all my dreams, but I think my biggest dream of all is to be a world black-belt champion in the gi.”

Oque dizer do meu primeiro Mundial de preta? Simplesmente sem palavras pra descrever tamanha felicidade… Campeã peso e absoluto ? só tenho a agradecer a todos que estavam na torcida por mim minha equipe @cicerocosthabjj @rpbjj , meus amigos , família , amor @ribabjj e ao meus coachs @thiagomacedobjj @rivaldojrmma … patrocinadores por todo o suporte @kingzkimonos @dnafight @mongielloluis obrigado Deus por me capacitar dia após dia , sou muito abençoada ??

A photo posted by Nathiely Karoline Jesus (@nathibjj) on Nov 6, 2016 at 6:57pm PST

Hulk nabbed his second no-gi championship. Léo Bandeira

For a second straight year, Atos star Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa claimed the title of no-gi BJJ world champion. This came to pass Nov. 6 in Daly City, Calif. In the heavyweight final, Lucas beat Vitor Oliveira (GFTeam) by just one advantage, adding to his 2015 victory at medium heavyweight.

“Vitor Oliveira is a tough athlete, and I respect his BJJ,” Lucas told Graciemag.com this week. “It was a tense fight where I couldn’t afford to err. I went in determined to win and, thank God, everything worked out. I think what set me apart in the championship was that I tried to work more on my weak points, approximate my techniques both on top and on the bottom. It made all the difference when it was time to fight. I got into some risky positions, but I kept cool and managed to win.”

Hulk walked us through his biggest scare: “There was a fight where the adversary tried to pass my guard, and I got on all fours, and soon afterwards he did the seatbelt, without the hooks, and didn’t score. I breathed, adjusted myself and was able to put him in the 50/50. From there I worked well and finished the adversary on the foot. I did three fights — I won two by submission and the other by the advantage.”

Lucas also revealed that he had problems that almost made him give up on fighting on the week of the competition: “It was the championship of tenacity. I really was not feeling very confident. I went some time without training, due to a series of injuries. It was a complicated camp for me. Thanks to Professor André Galvão, who motivated me from start to finish, I was able to go there and win.”

Marcinho moved up from the featherweight division to test himself against different opponents, and wound up winning it all. He then shared some thoughts with us.

“I know the result could have been better, but I had some difficulties travelling too close to the event,” he said. “I think I had a very good perfomance; I fought right and for the win. This time I went in with the intention of becoming champion, and not to put on a show. I know my potential, and I could have fought better.

“I came down from 90kg, and it was pretty complicated getting to that weight. I gained weight on vacation, after the gi Worlds. My nutricionist did great work with me, and I was able to to lose substantial weight in little time. I looked at the categories and preferred to test myself among the lightweights. I really liked the experience. I suffer a great deal trying to make featherweight. However, with the serious work I am doing, I will go in even better for future events.”

In his first match, André got the public’s attention as he armbarred Michael Dewitt at the end of a 43-point rout. “Before leaving my house, I said I was gonna fight to finish if I had the opportunity,” he recalls. “I tried a lot, and the guy defended against my attempts. When I looked, the score was really high. I managed to finish him at the end with an armbar. The fight was wide open, and the points happened.” André went on to defeat Rafael Freitas by two advantages in the final.

Lightweight title holder World No Gi 2016 // campeão peso leve do Mundial Sem Kimono 2016 @rexpeitarx x @bullterrierjj #jiujitsu #vemjunto #bjj #justdoit ?

A photo posted by Marcio Andre (@marcioandrejj) on Nov 7, 2016 at 3:37am PST

Yuri Simões. Léo Bandeira

Yuri Simões and Nathiely de Jesus had devastating performances to win double gold at the No-Gi Worlds which just concluded this Sunday in Daly City, Calif. Yuri Simões became the first-ever two-time black-belt absolute champion. This was achieved through a win over Murilo Santana on penalties in the final. At ultra-heavyweight, Simões scored 19-0 on Aaron Johnson in a semifinal and then beat Gustavo Dias 4-0.

Nathiely Jesus repeated her 2015 campaign, when she won double gold at brown. In the open class final, she took the back of Andresa Correa and used an RNC to decide matters. At medium heavyweight, Nathiely subbed Megan Nevill via toe hold in the final. Besides getting silver in the open, Correa won the heavyweight category for a third time.

Worth noting, also, is Caio Terra’s ninth roosterweight title. He closed out the tournament with his mate Thiago Narciso. Another interesting final was at light featherweight. Again it came down to Michael Musumeci and João Miyao. Musumeci ended up scoring 8-6 for the gold.

Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa won his third world championship in a new class. The already middleweight and medium heavyweight champ decided to venture at heavyweight. He finished Nick Schrock with a toe hold in a semifinal and beat Vitor Oliveira1-0 on advantages.

Luiz Panza finished Paul Ibarra in a semi via armbar and then used a foot lock on Jared Dopp.

See the adult black belt results below, and click here for the complete results.

Male adult black belt semifinals and finals:

Rooster:
Caio Terra def. Washington Lima by choke
Thiago Narciso def. José Santos
Final: Caio Terra closeout with Thiago Narciso

Light feather:
João Miyao def. Rene Lopez by DQ
Michael Musumeci def. Thomas Lisboa by points (4-2)
Final: Michael Musumeci def. João Miyao by points (8-6)

Featherweight:
Osvaldo Moizinho def. Kim Terra by 2-1 on advantages
Samir Chantre def. Gabriel Morangoni by split judges decision
Final: Osvaldo Moizinho closeout with Samir Chantre

Lightweight:
Marcio André def. AJ Agazarm by 6-4 on advantages
Rodrigo Freitas def. Mansher Khera by 2-0 on advantages
Final: Marcio André def. Rodrigo Freitas by 2-0 on advantages

Middleweight:
Jonathan Satava def. Francisco “Sinistro” Iturralde by points (2-0)
Marcelo Mafra def. Marcos Tinoco by 2-0 on advantages
Final: Marcelo Mafra def. Jonathan Satava with a guillotine choke

Medium heavyweight:
Charles Negromonte def. Valdir Junior by 4-0 on advantages
Josh Hinger def. Matheus Diniz by points (4-0)
Final: Josh Hinger def. Charles Negromonte by points (11-0)

Heavyweight:
Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa def. Nick Schrock with a toehold
Vitor Oliveira def. William Bush with a guillotine choke
Final: Lucas “Hulk” Barbosa def. Vitor Oliveira by 1-0 on advantages

Super-heavyweight:
Jared Dopp def. Muslim Patsarigov by split judges decision
Luiz Panza def. Paul Ibarra with an armbar
Final: Luiz Panza def. Jared Dopp with a foot lock

Ultra-heavyweight:
Yuri Simões def. Aaron Johnson by points (19-0)
Gustavo Dias def. Mahamed Aly by points (2-0)
Final: Yuri Simões def. Gustavo Dias by points (4-0)

Open class: Yuri Simões def. Murilo Santana by penaltys

Female adult black belt finals:

Light feather – Pati Fontes def. Fiona Watson with a foot lock
Featherweight – Talita Alencar def. Maxiiine Thylin by points (15-2)
Lightweight – Tammi Musumeci def. Jaqueline Amorim by points (6-4)
Middleweight – Amanda Alequin def. Ida Floisvik with a triangle choke
Medium-Heavyweight – Nathiely Jesus def. Megan Nevill with a toehold
Heavyweight – Andresa Correa def. Charlene Coats (no shows)
Open class – Nathiely Jesus def. Andresa Correa with a RNC

“In 2015 I won at medium heavyweight, and this year I want to fight at heavyweight and win gold again,” said Barbosa. “These are new challenges. I want to be a champion in different categories. Next year I may fight in yet another category — who knows? Maybe I’ll drop by middleweight or super-heavyweight. I’ll fight among the heavyweights with no pressure. I’m prepared to win and get this title.”

About how the presence or absence of the cloth changes things up for him, Barbosa said: “No-gi and gi BJJ are different things. My takedown game in the gi has a lot of seoi-nage and plenty of judo approaches. With no gi my takedowns are more like a wrestler’s, and my pass changes a bit, but with the same intensity. I think I do a better guard in no-gi; it’s a difference I have. I try to conciliate my two styles, gi and no-gi, at the same level.”

We’re close to the tenth edition of the IBJJF’s No-Gi Worlds, scheduled for this weekend in California. Registration ended on October 27th, and some names stand out from the list of black-belts. One of them is Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes, currently an athlete with the UFC, who signed up at the last minute. Also known to UFC fans, Gilbert Durinho and Vinny Magalhães are registered at middleweight and ultra-heavyweight respectively.

Other prominent names listed are João Miyao and Caio Terra at light featherweight; Kim Terra, Gabriel Marangoni at featherweight; Márcio André, Gianni Grippo, Garry Tonon, AJ Agazarm and Mansher Khera at lightweight; Matheus Diniz, Murilo Santana and Kit Dale at medium heavyweight; Luiz Panza, Vitor Oliveira, Kauê Damasceno and Tim Springs at super-heavyweight; plus Yuri Simões and João Gabriel Rocha at ultra-HW.

See the complete list of fighters here.

Yuri Simões at the 2014 Worlds No-Gi. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Registration for the No-Gi Worlds ends tomorrow, October 27. The event will take place Nov. 5 and 6 in Daly City, Calif. This will be its 10th edition.

At adult black belt, João Miyao, Caio Terra and Mikey Musumeci will fight at light featherweight. Kim Terra, Gabriel Marangoni and Márcio André will take on the featherweight field. At lightweight, Gianni Grippo, Garry Tonon, AJ Agazarm, Enrico Cocco and Mansher Khera are signed up.

Jon Satava, Marcos Tinoco, Gilbert Durinho and Francisco Iturralde are among the middleweight favorites. At medium heavyweight, there will be Matheus Diniz, Murilo Santana, Kit Dale and more. Heavyweights Arnaldo Maidana, Jason Selva and Roberto are also expected to compete.

At super-heavyweight, Luiz Panza, Vitor Oliveira, Kauê Damasceno and Timothy Springs are resgistered. At ultra-heavyweight, ADCC champs Yuri Simões and Vinny Magalhães are confirmed, as well as Mahamed Aly.

Among women, the biggest names include Sofia Amarante, Talita Alencar, Tammi Musumeci and two-time world champion Andresa Correa.

Click here to see everybody who is registered.

Ronaldo, Denilson

GMA member André Galvão is very happy with his students’ performance at the recent Worlds No-Gi.

He tells us about two of them.

“The first one is Ronaldo Candido, who was the brown belt featherweight champion. He fought four times for the title. First, he scored 8-0 over a world champion opponent, then he ran over his adversary, with a 18-0 socre. In the semifinal, candido defeated Renzo Gracie’s Gianni Grippo with a guillotine choke. In the final, he submitted Gabriel Martins with a foot lock”, tells Galvão.

André remembers that Ronaldo has a perfect record this year: “He has only six months as a brown belt and won it all this year. He won the Pan as a purple belt, got the brown belt and won the Brazilian Nationals, the Worlds and the Worlds NO-GI. He has not been defeated this year”.

The other pupil is purple belt Denilson “Cowboy” Bischiliari, and Galvão tells us why: “He won five fights last Saturday. There was no easy fights for him. Bischiliari won the Abu Dabhi Pro in the absolute and his weight category. Remember his name”.

For more info, go to atosjiujitsusandiego.com