Vitor Henrique wins weight and absolute. Photo: Carlos Ozório
Broadcast live over the internet, the Taça Rio de Jiu-Jitsu tournament this Sunday in Rio de Janeiro was a smashing success. Besides the great matches, a ticket to the IBJJF’s European Championship was raffled off among the champions, and featherweight brown belt champion Rafael Porto (Mestre Wilson) was the lucky winner.
Queixinho won the no-gi contest. Photo: Rogério Gomes
The event kicked off with the kids, but after the opening ceremony the International No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu challenge was underway, revealing some new talent in the gentle art scene. Oswaldo Augusto “Queixinho” (Soul Fighters) was one of them, as he submitted Ângelo Panoussis (Behring Canada) with a straight kneebar. Marcos Vinicius (DDR) got the takedown and mounted Mat Jack Magee (Gordo-Evolve England). The match was interrupted by Magee’s disqualification, as he tried for a heel hook, an illegal maneuver. Pan 2010 champion João Gabriel (Soul Fighters) beat Tor Troenge (Gordo-Evolve Sweden) by 4 to 2, with two sweeps from the half-guard. And last but not least, Mike Yackulic (Behring Canada) overcame the surprise Eduardo Portela (Check Mat) after falling behind by 6 to 0. He managed a sweep, knee on belly and guard pass all in the very last minute to rally back and win by 7 to 6.
João Gabriel on top of Tor Troenge. Photo: Rogério Gomes
Black belt standouts
There was no lack of action in the gi contest either. Vitor Henrique (GFTeam) was the big standout, winning the middleweight and absolute divisions. In his weight group Vitor beat Antonio Mendes (Nova União) twice, in a bracket of three, with two chokes, one being a clock choke in the decider. In the Open weight division Vitor submitted Nilson Ricardo “Capoeira” (Nova União) with a triangle choke and overcame Cassio Lisboa (BJJ) by 6 to 2, all on takedowns.
The best of the featherweight division was Helio Jr (HBT), who submitted João Alfredo (GFTeam) with a choke. Nilson Ricardo “Capoeira” (Nova União) won the medium heavyweight division. First he beat Bruno Ramos (HBT) by 7 to 0, with a guard pass and a mount. Then he overcame Anderson Oliveira (Soul Fighters) by 5 to 4 in a lively match. He managed a sweep and guard pass to his opponent’s two sweeps. In the heavyweight division Renan Vidal (Gordo-Evolve) overcame Ricardo Evangelista (GFTeam) by referee decision after a 2-2 draw (sweeps). In the final Renan beat Cassio Lisboa (BJJ) by 10 to 0, with two sweeps and three takedowns.
(Collaborator: Rogério Gomes)