Las Vegas Open “worth the drive”

Northwest Martial Arts Team Megaton’s Brent Primus drove 15 hours from Eugene, Oregon, to get to the Las Vegas International Open, and it was definitely worth the drive. The 26-year-old brown belt not only won his middle weight division, but he also secured gold in the absolute, making him a double gold winner on the day.

Brent's arm raised in victory / Photo: Jerry Roberts

Brent has been a brown belt for almost three years and competes in as many tournaments as he can. In the absolute, Brent had two matches. The first was against Nova Uniao’s Ryan Heilman. “I pulled guard, swept, got on top, passed his guard and got a collar-type choke that I made up a couple years ago. I call it the Primus choke,” Brent laughs.

The final was against Jesus Artesi of Lotus Club JJ. “He pulled guard, I passed his guard and took his back,” Brent says, “I submitted him with a bow choke.” The bow choke is Brent’s favorite Jiu-Jitsu move, so he’s looking for it every time he rolls. “I like to take the back,” Brent says, “It’s such a controlled position. I do the bow choke well. I have so much leverage on it.”

Interestingly enough, Brent says that no one has scored a point on him for the past three years, since turning brown belt. “I’ve lost by advantages before but not very often, and no one’s scored a point on me since I’ve been a brown belt.” That’s quite an accomplishment.

It’s common for Brent to compete in the open class at events. “I’ve won them all so far,” he says, “I’ve done a couple in Vegas, the U.S. Open, and a few in Oregon. I like to do opens. They’re more of a challenge for me.”

Brent also had two  matches in his middleweight division. The first was against Brandon Magana of BJJ Revolution. “It was a really tough match,” he says, “I only won by a few points and some advantages. I threw him for a takedown. He was really strong and had a really good base. I controlled him from the top. I had him in a crucifix for over half the match. It was really frustrating that I couldn’t close it.”

His second match was against Gracie Barra’s  Diogo Silva de Souza. It was another tough match, and a very technical one, but Brent won it by points. “It was a really fun match,” he says, “Diogo’s very technical. I was able to take him down, pass his guard, and then take his back.”

Brent says the Las Vegas International Open was a great experience and he’s glad he made the 15-hour drive from Oregon to get there. “It was definitely worth the drive,” he says, “I went against some tough competitors I wouldn’t be able to find in Oregon. I also loved watching guys like Caio Terra compete as well.”

Two years before the 2011 Worlds he tore his knee, so he only competed at the smaller tournaments. The last time he competed in a Worlds was 2009, when he came in second to Ryan Beauregard of BJJ Revolution in the brown belt division. Brent is in good health now and plans on competing at all the big tournaments this year and next. Brent would like to thank his instructor, Ryan Clark, and his academy. “Thank you for making me the competitor and person I am today.”