Galvão with his belt for the superfight win. Jair Lacerda/Sinistro Photo Film
To close the weekend of ADCC 2019, after the crowning of the champions of the weight divisions, two breathtaking fights added to the spectacle held at the Anaheim Convention Center. As well as the men’s absolute, it was time for André Galvão, the three-time superfight winner, to defend his belt against Felipe Preguiça.
Before the superfight, 16 of the bravest competitors signed up for the absolute division, which had on the line not just the prestigious belt, but also a cash prize of 40,000 dollars. Names like Kaynan Duarte, Mahamed Aly and Patrick Gaudio ended up eliminated by the end of the semifinal round. The duel for gold fell to Gordon Ryan and Marcus Buchecha.
In a very deliberate match, Ryan and Buchecha were fighting for the best positioning. Ryan even swept early on, before the points kicked in. Buchecha later received a penalty as he scrambled with the American. Ryan’s ensuing advantage was carried until the end, giving him the belt. A double-gold campaign for Gordon Ryan, who had beaten Vinicius Trator in the 99kg final earlier on Sunday.
Ryan’s arm is raised following his win over Buchecha in the absolute final. Jair Lacerda/Sinistro Photo Film
In the superfight, André Galvão took on Felipe Preguiça, the 2017 absolute champion. After earning a spot in his first superfight by winning the absolute title in 2011, Galvão proceeded to beat Braulio Estima, Roberto Cyborg and Claudio Calasans in the following three editions of the biennial event — already a set of feats for the ages, but he seems to have no intention of resting on his laurels.
Today, with lots of pressure in the standup grip exchanges, Galvão and Preguiça were fighting hard for every inch of the mat. Galvão had a better performance in the standup portion, with takedown attempts that Preguiça competently defended against. In one of them, however, Galvão was successful in stopping Preguiça’s escape, scoring two decisive points. Galvão, who turned 37 today, will be defending his superfight belt for a fourth time in 2021, against the young Gordon Ryan.
And now we have the complete results. Read them below.
MEN
Superfight
André Galvão def. Felipe Preguiça, 2-0
Absolute
Gordon Ryan def. Marcus Buchecha, 0-1 penalty
Over 99kg
Kaynan Duarte def. Nick Rodriguez, 3-0
99kg
Gordon Ryan def. Vinicius Trator, RNC
88kg
Matheus Diniz def. Craig Jones, 2-0
77kg
JT Torres def. Vagner Rocha, RNC
66kg
Augusto Tanquinho def. Kennedy Maciel, 3-0
WOMEN
Over 60kg
Gabi Garcia def. Carina Santi, kimura
60kg
Bia Basílio def. Ffion Davies, foot lock