The colored belts shined as bright as the black belts in the open weight divisions at the 2014 IBJJF Vegas Summer Open.
Gia Thomas of AOJ. Photo: Erin Herle
In the blue belt female absolute featherweight Giovanna Thomas of Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy earned double gold. In the absolute she secured three submissions: triangle, kimura, bow and arrow. In her featherweight divisions she earned three more submissions: two bow and arrows and an armbar.
Pete with a triangle. Photo: Erin Herle
Medium-heavyweight Pete O’Neal of Atos Jiu-Jitsu secured the absolute title and the double gold. He had four matches in the absolute: two triangles, one by armbar and one by points. In his medium-heavy division he won with one triangle and two matches determined by points.
Sarah in her guard. Photo: Erin Herle
In the female purple belt absolute, featherweight Sarah Jones of Art of Jiu-Jitsu Academy came back with a vengeance. She lost her first match in her division by one advantage but returned in the absolute to go against the same girl, Mylene Ramos Engle. She was able to win that first absolute match by points and then in the final she secured the win by points as well.
Horlando Monteiro. Photo: Erin Herle
The purple belt male open weight champion was middleweight Horlando Monteiro of Nova Uniao. In the absolute he had four matches. Two were determined by points, one was finished with a triangle and the final against Ian Sanders of GB Manhattan Beach was finished with an armbar.
Kristina after a long day of competing and refereeing. Photo: Erin Herle
The brown belt female absolute winner was another double-gold champion and also a referee. Kristina Barlaan of Caio Terra Association had one match in the lightweight division where she submitted with a wrist lock from triangle. She won her first match in the absolute by an advantage and then the final was determined by points.
Gabriel secures a kneebar in the final. Photo: Erin Herle
The brown belt male absolute title went to Gabriel Barbosa Checco of Gracie Humaita Las Vegas. After missing his medium-heavy division and getting disqualified, he was still able to get bronze and sign up for the absolute. He’s glad he did because he was able to submit three opponents for the gold. He had two kneebars and a choke for the win.
To see the full results, go here: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000294/en-US/Results.pdf
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