Fellipe Andrew on top of the podium of the absolute.
The IBJJF European Championship, the first big BJJ event of 2020, is in the books, having taken place in Odivelas, Portugal from Jan. 21st through Jan. 26th.
Two athletes from the new generation ended up as the absolute champions: Fellipe Andrew (Zenith) and Ffion Davies (ECJJA).
To Andrew, everything was going according to plan from the start. After securing his spot in the absolute final on Saturday, he came back on Sunday to start beating opponents in the super-heavy division, thus claiming a spot in its final too. But then a setback: a sudden attack by Patrick Gaudio forced him to settle for silver in his weight category.
A shaken Fellipe got support from friends and teammates to dust himself off and face the American Keenan Cornelius (Legion). With his guard game using the lapels, Keenan had outclassed some strong opposition to reach two finals. Having won gold at heavyweight against Adam Wardzinski, Keenan had great momentum, but he didn’t see Fellipe’s fulminant triangle coming. This put Keenan in a critical situation, culminating with an arm torsion from the triangle and the tap-out.
“I confess I was very sad for having lost the weight division final, I didn’t expect that,” Andrew wrote on Instagram. “The good side is I have the best friends in the world on my side, the most united team I’ve ever seen and the best teachers someone could have. You made me overcome what I was feeling and turn things around.”
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Ffion Davies, meanwhile, continues to wow the BJJ world. After a 2019 of beating giants of the sport to grab big titles, she gave us a taste of what to expect this year. After submitting Charlotte von Baumgarten at lightweight, Ffion faced Jéssica Flowers, the super-heavy champion, and beat her to become a double gold winner.
It’s worth noting that, out of the 19 gold medals handed out to adult black-belts, nine went to athletes from outside Brazil — showing that our sport is more global than ever before. Check out, below, the results of the black belt finals, and click here for the complete results.
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. ° MEN
ROOSTER
Tomoyuki Hashimoto def. Thalison Soares by DQ
LIGHT FEATHER
Mikey Musumeci def. Jonas Andrade by judges’ decision
FEATHER
Isaac Doederlein def. Leonardo “Cascão” on advantages
LIGHT
Jonnatas Gracie def. Vitor Henrique by judges’ decision
MIDDLE
Tommy Langaker finished Pedro “Paquito” via choke from the back
MEDIUM HEAVY
Manuel Ribamar finished Bruno Lima via choke from the back
HEAVY
Keenan Cornelius def. Adam Wardzinski on advantages
SUPER-HEAVY
Patrick Gaudio finished Fellipe Andrew via leg lock
ULTRA-HEAVY
Igor “Tigrão” def. Seif-Eddine Houmine on points
ABSOLUTE
Fellipe Andrew finished Keenan Cornelius via armbar from the triangle.
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.° WOMEN
ROOSTER
Mayssa Bastos def. Serena Gabrielli on points
LIGHT FEATHER
Ana Rodrigues def. Talita Alencar on advantages
FEATHER
Amal Amjahid def. Larissa Campos on advantages
LIGHT
Ffion Davies finished Charlotte von Baumgarten via choke from the back
MIDDLE
Thamara Ferreira finished Danielle Alvarez via leg lock
MEDIUM HEAVY
Sabatha Lais finished Margaret Grindatti via triangle
HEAVY
Laura Barker def. Magdalena Loska on points
SUPER-HEAVY
Jessica Flowers and Kendall Reusing closed ranks for Gracie Barra
ABSOLUTE
Ffion Davies def. Jéssica Flowers on points