All Star 2: Nathan Mendelsohn and the 30 Seconds that Made the Day

Nathan Mendelsohn checks if the three points are in the scoreboard

Nathan Mendelsohn was behind in the scoreboard by one advantage against Tanner Rice. It was the only fight of the black belt adult middleweight division of the All Star 2 Jiu-Jitsu Tournament, in Santa Cruz, Calif.

Rice had one advantage for a nearly sweep after pulling guard.

Playing on top all the time, Mendelsohn tried to pass the whole match, but had no luck in it.

“I thought I was ahead on advantages for the near guard passes, but when I looked up I saw I was going to lose,” he confessed.

A local talent training under black belt Claudio França, Mendelsohn had all the support he needed from the crowd.

“It was great to compete in Santa Cruz again!” he said “It was my first competition as a black belt and I’m glad it was here, a place that brings so maany good memories to me.”

Back to the match, there were less than 60 seconds left on the clock when he looked up. It was time for one last try and he went for it.

“I know his guard is really good, as we have fought five times now and it’s 3-2 for me,” he said, “but I had all the confidence I needed in my passing technique.”

The confidence paid off and the last try was the charm.

Finally, Mendelsohn managed to overcome the dangerous rubber-guard that Rice plays.

The crowd went nuts as Nathan held on until he saw the ref raising his hands with three fingers out.

Soon after, the buzzer sounded and it was all over.

After the victory, he already made big plans for his life as a black belt:

“Now I want to go out and win everything,” he exclaimed. “People say it’s gonna be hard and that in the first year you have to start in the smaller tournaments, but I’m not gonna put myself in that mindset. I want to win Pan and Worlds in my first year.”

Also in the black belt adult division, Osvaldo Moizinho had no problems to tap out Steven Cocos with a choke with the lapel.

As it was meant to be, only Rice signed up for the absolute and there were no fights there, saving the spot of “Moment of the Weekend” for Medelsohn’s guard pass.

All Star 2’s creator and organizer, Claudio França, already invited all for his next big event, The American Cup, scheduled next April 20-21, in San Jose, Calif.

Check out the complete results at allstartournament.com.

For GRACIEMAG’S full coverage, go to GOOGLE+.

The team results were as follows:

ADULT MALE

COALITION 95 – 90pts

CAIO TERRA JJ – 53pts

KAIJIN BJJ – 31pts

FEMALE

PARAGON BJJ – 21pts

CAIO TERRA JJ – 18pts

PENINSULA BJJ – 12pts

MASTER/SENIOR

COALITION 95 – 117pts

BAY JJ – 30pts

CAIO TERRA BJJ – 28pts

JUVENIL

ALLIANCE – 9pts

ONE WORLD – 9pts

COALITION 95 – 6pts

Here’s a exclusive photo gallery of All Star 2 this Sunday:

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