Men’s Adult Black Belt Division
Roosterweight:
Brandon Mullins from Gracie Barra defeated Joseph Capizzi from Renzo Gracie in the final on points, 5-0. Mullins closed the deal with a takedown and a guard pass.
Light featherweight:
Caio Terra versus training partner Samir Chantre. Photo: John Lamonica.
Caio Terra once again triumphed in his match, but this time it was against his roommate and training partner, Samir Chantre. Terra had a couple of impressive reversal takedowns that allowed him to beat his friend on points.
Featherweight:
Justin Rader of Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu conquered Carlos Holanda in a nail-biter of a fight. Tied at the end, one advantage point to one advantage point, the referee’s decision put Rader over the top, making him world champion for the first time since receiving his black belt this year, alongside his professor, Rafael Lovato, Jr., who also won his division.
Lightweight:
Lucas Lepri from Alliance beat Augusto Mendes from Soul Fighters with a rear-naked choke. Mendes was winning the match up until that point, but when Lepri took Mendes’ back, it was all over.
Middleweight:
Gilbert “Durinho” Burns overcame Tiago Alves in an exciting, nonstop, all-action Jiu-Jitsu fight. Pushing the pace from the beginning, the two went at it, but in the end, it was Durinho who emerged the victor after taking Alves’ back and finishing the fight with a guillotine.
Medium heavyweight:
Pablo “Weapon X” Popovitch, of the newly-formed and very successful Avengers team, defeated Daniel Moraes of Relson Gracie on points, 6-0. Popovitch finessed and muscled his way to a big win to become 2010’s medium heavyweight no-gi world champion.
Heavyweight:
Lovato vs. Tussa. Photo: John Lamonica.
Rafael Lovato Jr., from Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu, beat Roberto “Tussa” Alencar in the final, after a referee’s decision went Lovato’s way. The match was tied one advantage point to one advantage point, but was given to Lovato for his constant activity and forward movement during the match. Lovato won alongside his student and first black belt, Justin Rader.
Super heavyweight:
João Assis, from Check Mat, won his No-Gi Worlds title against Marcus “Bochecha” Almeida through a gentleman’s agreement. Coming off his recent Grappler’s Quest win against Saulo Ribeiro, Assis submitted Gustavo Pires of Gracie Barra in his semifinals match with a foot lock that left Pires writhing in pain on the mats.
Ultraheavyweight:
Cyborg. Photo: John Lamonica.
Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu of the Avengers easily submitted David Hertzog of Hertzog BJJ with a unique choke that had everyone in the crowd wondering what had just happened. When asked to explain what it was, he said it was a new “knee on the neck” choke that he enjoyed using on his opponents.
Absolute:
Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu took the absolute through gentleman’s agreement, closing out the bracket with teammates Pablo Popovitch and Marcus “Bochecha.” It was Abreu’s first No-Gi Worlds win and he was overwhelmed with emotion, “I can’t describe how I feel right now,” he said, “This is the best day of my life.”
Female Division:
In the female division, there was a lot of excitement, and history was made on the mats as well. For the first time in IBJJF history, a female refereed a final match – the female absolute finals. That woman? None other than Hillary Williams herself made the trip to the No-Gi Worlds not to compete, but to watch the matches of her fellow teammates, friends, and competitors. When she got there, she was asked to referee the female matches and she obliged.
Of her experience, Williams said, “It was nerve wracking, but I appreciate that they gave me the chance to referee the match. I had no idea they were going to do that!” Although Williams is grateful for the chance to make history, she wanted to make it clear that it was other women who paved the way for the women in Jiu-Jitsu, before her. She says, “There’s a lot of ladies in Jiu-Jitsu who worked harder to get women where they are today – women who paved the way in the beginning.”
Female Brown/Belt Division:
Light featherweight:
Leticia Ribeiro of Gracie Rio de Janeiro defeated Sofia Amarante of The Avengers in their final match.
Lightweight:
Beatriz Mesquita of Gracie Rio de Janeiro submitted Michelle Nicolini of Checkmat BJJ in the finals with an armbar.
Middleweight:
Emily Kwok of Alliance defeated Ana Michelle Tavares Dantas of Gracie Rio de Janeiro.
Medium heavyweight:
In her first year as a brown belt, Luiza Monteiro of Checkmat BJJ overcame Penny Thomas of Gracie Rio de Janeiro in a close match, winning two advantage points to one.
Absolute:
Black Belt Michelle Nicolini of Checkmat BJJ came back from her divisional loss against Beatriz Mesquita of Gracie Rio de Janeiro to submit her with a foot lock in the absolute finals. Of her big win, an overjoyed Nocolini says, “This was really important to me. I trained really hard for this tournament.”