Leonardo Nogueira in the 2012 Worlds. Photo: Dan Rod
A knee injury has taken current open-class vice-champion Leonardo Nogueira out of the 2013 BJJ Worlds.
Léo, a two-time super-heavyweight world champion, traveled to California with his Alliance mates, but will only be able to watch the fights from the stands, as he divulged this Tuesday.
“It was my left knee,” he told GRACIEMAG. “I felt it back in Brazil, during training. I tried to train with the bad knee but eventually knew there was no way. I’ve been injured for two weeks now. God willing, I’ll be back here next year to claim what’s mine. I’ll take this chance to study every potential opponent – I’ll be watching every single fight this year.”
Asked about the favorite to get the open-class title in his absence, Nogueira chose not to take a guess: “Buchecha, Rodolfo, Bernardo and Xande all have chances.”
The super-heavyweight category now features his teammates Bernardo Faria, Léo Leite, Antonio Peinado, as well as Rafael Lovato Jr., João Gabriel and João Assis. Can you guess a winner?
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