Copa Pódio promoter Jefferson Maycá at Saturday’s draw / Publicity photo
Last Saturday in Florianópolis, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, the draw for the group stage of the Copa Pódio Heavyweight GP was held. The Yellow Group is composed of UFC fighter Caio Magalhães, Rodolfo Vieira, Xande Ribeiro, Léo Nogueira and Alex Ceconi. Now, the Green Group is made up of Alexandre Souza, Antonio Braga Neto, Bruno Bastos, João Gabriel Rocha and Lucio Lagarto.
Yesterday the promoters put the finishing touches on the timetable for the January 13 event with Rio de Janeiro’s Clube Hebraica as a venue.
“It’s important that we announce the groups and match order beforehand so the fighters can study their opponents’ games and put together their strategies for the competitions,” explained Jeferson Maycá, the promoter of the event.
Rodolfo Vieira and João Gabriel watching the draw for the Copa Pódio GP unfolding.
In the opening stage, all the competitors in each group will face off against each other–four points will be awarded for each submission, three for a points win, and one point for a draw. At the end of the opening phase, the two top-scoring athletes from each group will go through to the semifinals–the criteria for tie-breaks are, in the following order: match result, number of submission wins, sum of points scored in all matches (points for–points against).
Right off the bat in the opening phase, Alexandre Souza takes on Lucio Lagarto, Braga Neto faces Bruno Bastos, Caio Magalhães gets Léo Nogueira, and Rodolfo Vieira squares off with Alexandre Ceconi. How’s that for a bracket? Check out the timetable and brackets, with Rodolfo Vieira and Xande Ribeiro colliding in the decsive final round of the qualifying phase.
Tickets for the event and pay-per-view accesses (one access per login) can be purchased at the www.copapodio.com website.
Rodolfo Vieira, João Gabriel, Alexandre Souza, Caio Magalhães and Braga Neto
HEAVYWEIGHT GRAND PRIX TIMETABLE
4:00 PM – DOORS OPEN
5:30 PM – INTER-CITIES CHALLENGE
Manaus (Diego Borges/Checkmat) vs. Brasília (Luizinho Pereira/Gracie Humaitá)
5:50 PM– COUPLES SHOWDOWN
Augusto Tanquinho (Soul Fighters) vs. Davi Ramos (Atos/Top Brother)
Mackenzie Dern (Gracie Humaitá) vs. Marina Ribeiro (Checkmat)
6:10 pm– GP OPENING ROUND
Alexandre Souza (Gracie Floripa) vs. x Lúcio Lagarto (Gracie Barra/Londres)
Braga Neto (Gordo JJ/Porto Velho) vs. Bruno Bastos (Nova União/USA)
Caio Magalhães (Nova União/Fortaleza) vs. Léo Nogueira (Alliance/São Paulo)
Rodolfo Vieira (GFTeam/Rio de Janeiro) vs. Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team/Criciúma)
6:45 PM – GP ROUND 2
João Gabriel (Soul Fighters/Rio de Janeiro) vs. Alexandre Souza (Gracie Floripa)
Lúcio Lagarto (Gracie Barra/Londres) vs. Braga Neto (Gordo JJ/Porto Velho)
Xande Ribeiro (Ribeiro JJ/Los Angeles) vs. Caio Magalhães (Nova União/Fortaleza)
Léo Nogueira (Alliance/São Paulo) vs. Rodolfo Vieira (GFTeam/Rio de Janeiro)
7:20 PM – GP ROUND 3
Bruno Bastos (Nova União/USA) vs. Alexandre Souza (Gracie Floripa)
João Gabriel (Soul Fighters/Rio de Janeiro) vs. Lúcio Lagarto (Gracie Barra/Londres)
Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team/Criciúma) vs. Caio Magalhães (Nova União/Fortaleza)
Xande Ribeiro (Ribeiro JJ/Los Angeles) vs. Léo Nogueira (Alliance/São Paulo)
7:55 PM – GP ROUND 4
Braga Neto (Gordo JJ/Porto Velho) vs. Alexandre Souza (Gracie Floripa)
Bruno Bastos (Nova União/USA) vs. João Gabriel (Soul Fighters/Rio de Janeiro)
Rodolfo Vieira (GFTeam/Rio de Janeiro) vs. Caio Magalhães (Nova União/Fortaleza)
Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team/Criciúma) vs. Xande Ribeiro (Ribeiro JJ/Los Angeles)
8:30 PM – GP ROUND 5 (FINAL ROUND)
Lúcio Lagarto (Gracie Barra/Londres) vs. Bruno Bastos (Nova União/USA)
Braga Neto (Gordo JJ/Porto Velho) vs. João Gabriel (Soul Fighters/Rio de Janeiro)
Léo Nogueira (Alliance/São Paulo) vs. Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team/Criciúma)
Rodolfo Vieira (GFTeam/Rio de Janeiro) vs. Xande Ribeiro (Ribeiro JJ/Los Angeles)
9:05 PM– PÓDIO SUPERMATCH
Guto Campos (Guetho/Porto Alegre) vs. Wancler Oliveira (GFTeam/Aracaju)
9:30 PM – SEMIFINALS
1st place from Green Team vs. 2nd place from Yellow Team
1st place from Yellow Team vs. 2nd place from Green Team
9:50 PM – SPECIAL MATCH
Leandro Lo (Cícero Costha/São Paulo) vs. Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra/Belo Horizonte)
10:05 PM – FINALS
Third place match
Grand finale