Scenes from the Brazilian National Championship in Rio de Janeiro / Photos: William Burkhardt/CBJJ.
The 2012 installment of the Brazilian National Championship, one of the gentle-art tournaments dating back the farthest, has already crowned up-and-coming talent over the first three competition days.
At purple belt, the absolute champ came from far away. Middleweight champion Keenan Cornelius (Lloyd Irvin) defeated popular light-featherweight champion João Ricardo Miyao (Cicero Costha) and took the gold home to the United States with him. Rounding out the open weight podium were Rodrigo Mendes (Gracie Barra-PE) and Gustavo Santiago (Gracie Florianópolis).
In the blue belt absolute, the winner was Paulo Henrique (Nova União), with Helton Mendes Jr. (Game Fight BJJ/Manimal) in second.
Check out the winners list here, and stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for all next weekend’s action.
To find full information, brackets and exclusive photos from the CBJJ, click here.
Future gentle-art stars surfaced at purple belt. Photo: William Burkhardt/CBJJ.