Bernardo against Lagarto in one of the best matches of the day / Photo: John Lamonica
After winning their supermatches at the BJJ Professional Cup (see here), Bernardo Faria and Kron Gracie returned to the mats and were the big standouts at the event.
Bernardo had the most matches. In the superheavyweight division, first he beat Lúcio Lagarto with a sweep, and then swept and passed the guard of Chico Mendes in the decider, bringing the bout to a close with a choke from back mount. In the absolute, Bernardo got the finish in his first two matches before again facing Lúcio Lagarto, in the most hotly-disputed match of the day, putting on a fine display of sweeps and achieving back mount (8 to 4).
Falling out between Barral and Rominho Photo: John Lamonica
The decider, against Rômulo Barral, didn’t end how everyone expected it would. Bernardo complained about how a footlock was positioned and, following an argument between the fighters and referee, Barral opted not to continue. Thus the Alliance representative was the big winner on the day and he and Rômulo then buried the hatchet. It’s worth noting that the absolute was worth 7,000 euros.
Kron celebrates on the podium. Photo: Carlos Ozório.
Now Kron got the tapout in every match he was in. After beating Yan in the superfight, his maiden middleweight outing ended with a choke from back mount. Next, he used a guillotine in going through to the final against Gilbert Durinho, who submitted Alan Freitas and got past Eduardo Pessoa on points (6 to 2). In the decider Durinho took the lead early on with an eyeful takedown, but Kron struck back with a choke from the guard, placing him at the top of the winners’ podium.
Another with a fine display in Biella was Rômulo Barral, who finished his first match with a choke, before facing Eduardo Rios and then Raphael Abi-Rihan in the medium heavyweight final. Against Abi the Gracie Barra black belt swept and sunk a snug reverse triangle. Raphael escaped but was unable to turn the score around.
The featherweight division ended with Fernando Vieira and Reinaldo Ribeiro facing off in the final. With a sweep and guard pass, Fernando took the gold and 4,000 euros in prize money.
Thiago “Monstro” Borges won the ultraheavyweight division, rallying back after falling behind on the scoreboard against Ricardo Barros. He trailed by a sweep early on but secured the win with a subsequent reversal and guard pass.
Master – In the veterans division the Silva family was the big standout, with twins Adriano and Thiago, two Barbosinha black belts, coming up spades. Adriano won the medium heavyweight division, overcoming Antônio Sérgio Canudo, while Thiago took second at middleweight, losing to Zé Beleza’s stalwart student Felipe Souza, who overcame seasoned competitors like Roberto Atalla.
Adriano and Thiago were the finalists in the absolute final. / Photo: Carlos Ozório.
In the absolute the brothers set an example by locking horns for real in the final. Adriano came out on top, winning with an arm-triangle choke.
At featherweight, Alvaro Bobadilla beat two opponents before going into the final against Wellington Megaton, who went straight through without having to compete. The decisive match saw Megaton come out on top by 4 to 2, all the points coming from sweeps. At lightweight Alan Vieira captured the gold after facing Eduardo Azevedo in the final. The prize for the winners of the master contest was 1,000 dollars for weight group winners and 2,000 for the winner of the absolute.