CageCraze.com is back with the second installment of “The North-South Position” with Brian Hemminger and Chad Cunningham. Tonight we square off again by picking the four televised fights from this Saturday’s “Strikeforce – Diaz vs. Cyborg” card on Showtime. Brian won the first contest by picking 3/5 fights correctly on the UFC Fight for the Troops 2 card while Chad logged a paltry 2/5 picks correctly. Chad went out on a limb and picked George Roop to upset Mark Hominick and he paid dearly. As always, comments are encouraged, so let us know what you think. Brian has decided on Chad’s punishment for losing: he must write a haiku poem about Thomas “Wildman” Denny’s mutton chops.  Take it away Chad:

Aim for the mutton

Hit him right on the button

Like Nick Diaz did

Nick Diaz vs. Evangelista “Cyborg” Santos

Strikeforce Welterweight Championship

(Chad) This is the biggest fight of Evangelista Santos’ career and he can definitely win this fight against Nick Diaz. I think that “Cyborg” has a chance at catching just about anyone, including Nick Diaz.  I just think that Diaz is too hot right now for that to happen. Diaz is on an eight fight win streak since his 2007 loss to K.J. Noons.  Diaz will have an edge if the fight goes to the ground but I do not think he needs it to go to the ground to win.  Diaz has shown he can go toe-to-toe with great strikers like Robbie Lawler (also on this card) and K.J. Noons.  I see Diaz picking Santos apart with his jab throughout the first round.  ”Cyborg” makes it into the second round but is stopped via TKO by Nick Diaz.

(Brian) I wouldn’t necessarily say this is the biggest fight Santos has ever had.  The man has faced incredibly tough competition throughout his career including former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Gegard Mousasi and current UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, losing both fights via first round TKO.  He’s fighting Diaz two weight classes lower than he fought Mousasi and Rua, and if his last fight against Dream welterweight champion Marius Žaromskis is an omen, he will be very powerful and dangerous.  Nick Diaz has recently been talking a lot about facing UFC champ Georges St. Pierre and Strikeforce middleweight Jason “Mayhem” Miller in interviews.  He could very well be looking past Santos.  Despite his 18-13 career record, Santos is a very dangerous man and it could cost Diaz to overlook him.  I think Santos shocks the world by swarming Diaz and knocking him into another dimension in the clinch with knees in the 2nd round.

Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza vs. Robbie Lawler

Strikeforce Middleweight Championship

(Chad) I think this comes down to whether or not Robbie Lawler can catch Jacare before being taken down. Once on the ground, will Lawler be able to fend off submissions for up to five rounds? I am a fan of Robbie Lawler but I am hesitant to bet that he will be able to keep this fight standing. If Jacare can make it out of the first two rounds he will wear Lawler down and submit him in the third round. Even if I am wrong, I am confident that the championship rounds will be superfluous. Someone is leaving the cage unconcious on Saturday night.

(Brian) Strikeforce middleweight champ Jacare Souza surprised many when he ignored his world champion Brazilian jiu jitsu skills and made his first title fight with Tim Kennedy a five round stand-up affair.  While Jacare has been improving his striking, he’s not an idiot.  Robbie Lawler is one of the most powerful punchers in the middleweight division and if Jacare stands with him for five rounds, he’s probably going to get knocked out.  Lawler recently decimated former UFC contender Matt Lindland at the violent St. Louis show in December and he is confident.  Look for Jacare to score one of his “Souza” takedowns and secure a submission in the first or second round similar to when Jake Shields had his submission of the year candidate in 2009.

Roger Gracie vs. Trevor Prangley

(Chad) Trevor Prangley is the type of fighter that will give everyone a stern test. He may not be able to defeat the fighters in the upper echelon of the sport, but anyone that fights him will know that they were in a battle.  That is the quality about Prangley that makes this fight very interesting. He is arguably in the declining years of his career, and he faces someone that is on the rise.  Roger Gracie can stand with Prangley and fluster him with his jab but he is obviously the most dangerous on the ground.  I think that Prangley will give Gracie fits in this fight, but Gracie will pull out the win via a hard-earned decision.

(Brian) Roger Gracie and Trevor Prangley are both arguably coming off the biggest wins of their careers.  Prangley recently defeated former UFC contender Keith Jardine at Shark Fights 13 while Gracie submitted former UFC heavyweight champion Kevin Randleman at Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery this past May.  There’s no doubt that once this fight gets to the ground, Gracie will have a tremendous advantage.  Roger Gracie is currently the most accomplished jiu jitsu practioner in the world, having won the Mundials a record 10 times.  Prangley must do everything he can to keep this fight standing or he will have zero chance.  Gracie’s standup still has a lot of work and if Prangley can keep the fight there, he could hurt Gracie, even knock him out.  Sadly, I don’t think it happens.  Gracie is a tactician and he will have a gameplan for getting this fight to the ground and get the finish via submission in the first round.

Herschel Walker vs. Scott Carson

(Chad) There has been a lot of banter about Herschel Walker not deserving to fight on a televised card at this point in his career, and while that may be true in terms of his accomplishments in MMA, it would not make financial sense for Walker to be buried on the undercard. There really is not another fight on the undercard that fans would want to see more than the Walker fight, in terms of interest or relevancy for the promotion. This fight was made to give Walker another stepping stone, and I do not think that Scott Carson has the tools to derail the Herschel Walker “experiment.” Walker will come out smoother and more confident in this fight and put Carson away via TKO in the first round.

(Brian) It makes zero financial sense for Herschel Walker to lose this fight.  Strikeforce needed a guy they thought he could easily defeat and they feel they’ve found it with Scott Carson.  Carson (4-1) scored four wins from 1999-2001 and mysteriously didn’t fight for nearly ten years, losing his comeback fight this past June via first round knockout.  Carson also used to fight at light heavyweight so Walker will likely have a size advantage as well.  Walker (1-0) is one of the greatest athletes of our time, and at 48 years old, he’s still in incredible physical condition and has put in a lot of time with the American Kickboxing Academy alongside tough heavyweights Cain Velasquez and Daniel Cormier.  With how little we know about Carson, he could pull a miracle out of his hat like Chad Griggs against Bobby Lashley in 2010, but it’s not very probable.  I fully expect Walker to steamroll Carson with a first round knockout or submission.

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]]> http://myhousesportsgearonline.com/2011/01/27/the-north-south-position-with-chad-and-brian-predicting-strikeforce-%e2%80%93-diaz-vs-cyborg/feed/ 0 http://myhousesportsgearonline.com/2010/12/21/trevor-prangley-vs-roger-gracie-rumored-for-january-29-in-san-jose/ http://myhousesportsgearonline.com/2010/12/21/trevor-prangley-vs-roger-gracie-rumored-for-january-29-in-san-jose/#comments Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:45:48 +0000 Five Ounces of Pain http://fiveouncesofpain.com/?p=31744 At 3-0, and entering the prime of his career in terms of age, 29-year old Roger Gracie seems poised to potentially emerge as the representative of his family’s tradition Mixed Martial Arts has been looking for since their wide-ranging success over the formative years of the sport. Already considered to be one of the world’s top Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu practitioners after record success in ADCC and the BJJ World Championships, Gracie’s lack of consistency in the MMA ring has only been reserved to the rarity of his fights, as all three of his victories have come by way of submission though are spread out over a three-and-a-half-year period.

However, it looks as though signing with Strikeforce has finally cured the infrequency of his appearances in the cage, and fans may finally start having some answers in terms of how far Gracie can go in MMA.

According to a report first broken on MMARising, Gracie will look build off his win over Kevin Randleman this past May against seasoned veteran Trevor Prangley at Strikeforce’s upcoming show on January 29 in San Jose.

The bout marks the first time is his career he will have fought twice in the same twelve-month span, while comparably his opponent will enter the match-up with 10X the in-ring experience including career wins over Keith Jardine and Niko Vitale, as well as accomplished submission-grapplers like Travis Lutter and Matt Horwich. Additionally, Prangley has only been tapped twice in his career with his last loss via submission coming almost six years ago.

On top of Gracie’s attempt at continuing to live up to his last name, the card in question is also expected to feature a title-fight between middleweight champ Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and devastating striker Rob Lawler, as well as Herschel Walker in action and rumored appearances by Jason Miller, Tim Kennedy, and Nick Diaz.Similar Posts:

• Ronaldo Souza set for first title-defense against Robbie Lawler on January 29
• Keith Jardine vs. Trevor Prangley set for Shark Fights 13
• Nick Diaz fighting in January against unnamed opponent
• Report: Matt Lindland vs. Trevor Prangley set for Affliction II
• “Jacare” expresses interest in UFC, satisfaction with Strikeforce

Sergio Penha is one of the newest members of an elite club in Brazilian jiu-jitsu who have earned the red and black belt. After being a black belt for thirty-one years, he was awarded his red and black belt on June 7th at the 2010 BJJ World Championship alongside Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti and Mauricio Motta Gomes (Roger Gracie’s father).

Perhaps you have also heard of Sergio Penha for being “the man who almost beat Rickson Gracie“. That’s right, Penha was the closest to breaking the aura of invincibility of the lion of the Gracie family: Penha had racked up a significant lead against Rickson when in the final moments Rickson came back and submitted Penha just before the whistle blew.

And how many jiu-jitsu practitioners who have reached black belt do you know that were never a brown belt? I didn’t know any, until now. That’s right, Penha skipped brown belt altogether.

We will hear about all the above stories and much more straight from Rio de Janeiro native Sergio Penha himself in this episode of The FightWorks Podcast. But if there is one theme in the show, it is his sincere appreciation for the wonderful benefits that jiu-jitsu brings us.

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
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Sergio Penha displays the certificate awarded by the IBJJF certifying that he has reached red and black belt.

by Jon Broster

Manchester, in north west England is famous for many things: Manchester United (the world’s most famous football team), Oasis (leading exponents of Brit-Pop music), it is home to a number of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu academies and is also the location of the British Amateur Wrestling Association’s headquarters, as well as being only a short distance from Wigan, the home of Billy Riley’s Snake Pit the legendary catch wrestling gym. As such, it is perhaps surprising that it has not held a BJJ competition over the last few years. Perhaps even more surprising is the fact that this competition was organised by Gus Oliveira of Grab & Pull who is based in Brighton on England’s south coast, some 200 miles away. Gus has been running the Grab & Pull Brighton Open for some time now, so I was expecting a well run event.

Sugden Sports Centre is part of the University of Manchester and is a very pleasant venue – it was clean, airy and spacious enough for the number of competitors involved. The competition was run over six mats and started pretty much on schedule. Right from the start it became clear that although there were six mats, there were not six referees in attendance. In fact, anyone used to attending competitions held further south would have been surprised to see no black belts refereeing at all – the highest ranking referee was Oli Geddes who is a brown belt under Roger Gracie. The standard of refereeing was, however, good, with very few complaints about bad decisions. The lack of referees did mean that the event progressed a little more slowly than was expected and meant that there were no absolute divisions contested. The event was well organised, with relatively clear announcements and divisions running when the organisers said they would.

As is becoming the norm at UK competitions, the standard of competition was high, with some excellent displays of skill in all divisions. It was good too to see a large number of academies represented on the results table.

One thing that must be mentioned is the excellent medals, specifically designed and cast for the event – truly worth competing for. Overall, I had a thoroughly enjoyable day and will almost certainly compete again next year.

- Caleb

It was shaping up to be another excellent year for Gracie Barra’s Romulo Barral. Barral was the gold medalist of the medium heavyweight black belt division and silver medalist in the absolute division in 2009, and he was on track to repeat in 2010. Going in to the final day of the 2010 Brazilian Jiu-jitsu World Championship, Romulo was set to face Tarsis Humphreys in a rematch of last year’s final at the medium heavyweight division, and had another rematch in the finals of the absolute division later that day lined up against fellow Gracie Barra athlete, the indestructable Roger Gracie. But it was not meant to be.

Romulo Barral is attended to by paramedics at the 2010 BJJ World Championship in Long Beach.

During Barral’s match against Humphreys, he sustained a knee injury that ended the match. Humphreys, who has been incorporating more leg attacks since 2008, torqued Barral’s knee in an unusual leg lock just under the six and a half minute mark in a scoreless match. Barral was done for the day.

The FightWorks Podcast caught up with Romulo Barral yesterday to learn how his knee is doing. Barral visited a doctor last week who referred him for an MRI. The MRI results have come back and reveal that Barral has an MCL that is mostly torn, and a partially torn ACL. He is now wearing a “big brace”, and has been told to return in 30 days for another MRI to determine how well his body recovers on its own, or whether surgery will be required.

At this point “it’s 50-50″ said Barral, who was not referring to the 50-50 guard but the chances he will indeed need surgery. Barral is hoping to know sooner rather than later so he can begin recovery and get in gear for the 2011 Pan-Ams and Mundials.

by Philippe Balmant

I traveled from New York City with the (mG)inaction team to Long Beach California for the 4 day Mundials event for my first time ever. I found myself in a feeling of Jiu-Jitsu Nirvana. When first arriving at the Walter Pyramid I was blown away. This looks like something out of the movie Stargate. I said to myself, “What a perfect venue to host the Mundials.” Once inside the electricity is running through my body. I felt a great festive atmosphere inside the Pyramid. This event marks my first time linking up with the entire Alliance team. Meeting Mestre Jacare and the General Fabio Gurgel to me was worth the trip alone. Watching the white/blue belts competing in 8 rings at the same time kept me looking everywhere.

The acai stand was my source of a much needed refreshing energy boost when one was needed. I limited myself to two acai bowls per day. One thing was obvious from jump street, that this energy I felt was only going to go up, till the black belt finals on Sunday exploded in full effect! From Friday through Saturday the matches were coming and going non stop. One thing I found hard was when there were 3 or 4 world champions fighting in different rings all at the same time, now that was crazy. When Sunday June 6th arrived, where there were 8 rings are now only two.

There is a connection at the Mundials, like to the BJJ life source we all share, within your own team, between academies from fighters to supporters. It’s a high dose of Jiu-Jitsu on its biggest platform with a sprinkle of a carnival type atmosphere. I fell in love with it. My best experience was meeting Rickson. My favorite moment was when my professor Marcelo Garcia won his 4th black belt Mundial title, even though the last 8 seconds had me on Skype with God. Yes!!!!

Great matches, great victories, gracious defeats, quick submissions, a back and forth war, by 1 point, by 1 advantage, or by judges decision, with BJJ history being made. Mega props to Roger Gracie. The 2010 Mundials had it all. By the end I had pretty much lost my voice, was running around on pure adrenaline and hollering at Caleb and Dan from The Fightworks Podcast. Podium, medals, pictures. That’s all folks. Except for the voice of Tony Torres still in my head saying, “You have now been DQ’d………” Nobody says it better than that guy.

A few hours later with a celebratory dinner for team Alliance, the General gives us our first toast in which he brings to light that today June 6th 2010 marks 28 years since the legendary Mestre Rolls Gracie passed away. With Alliance winning its 5th World title, and Mestre Jacare receiving his red & black belt, our entire Alliance team ended this amazing night with joy, laughter and happiness.

- Caleb

The author and his Alliance teammates.

We have had World Championships before here on The FightWorks Podcast, but I do not think we have ever had coverage like you will find in today’s show. Among the frenzy of activity among Brazilian jiu-jitsu’s best competitors, there was a similar tornado of reporting taking place. This episode contains comments from big players at the Mundials this year (in no particular order):

• New red and black belt Mauricio Gomes, father of 2010 absolute and super heavy weight champion Roger Gracie
• Multi-time world champion Saulo Ribeiro (Gracie Humaita)
• 2010 Ultra heavyweight world champion Rodrigo Cavaca
• Lloyd Irvin, head of the ever-stronger Team Lloyd Irvin
• Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles, who earned the silver medal after a narrow loss to Atos Jiu-Jitsu‘s Rafael Mendes
• Romulo Barral, whose injury in the finals of his weight division prevented him from competing in the absolute final against Roger Gracie.
• 2010 medium heavyweight champion Tarsis Humphreys
• Brown belt British competitor Oliver Geddes
• 2010 rooster weight bronze medalist Felipe Costa
• Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti and Fabio Gurgel, the leaders of 2010 male and female team champions, Alliance.

Finally, before winding down, we will hear from the elite combat sports trainer Martin Rooney, whose book Ultimate Warrior Workouts was recently published. Rooney follows up on a conversation we had with him at the beginning of this year where he offered ways to help jiu-jitsu practitioners reach their goals in 2010. A timely conversation given the accomplishments we hear about in today’s show!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
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Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles (Alliance) on his way to the finals at the 2010 BJJ World Championship.

Rodrigo Cavaca (CheckMat), the 2010 ultra heavyweight world champion at black belt.

From the proverbial “thirty-thousand foot view” to examination of microscopic details that others miss, not many are able to put together a review as detailed as this piece volunteered by J-Sho on the men’s competition at the 2010 BJJ World Championship. (If anyone would like to contribute a review of the women’s brackets, please get in touch.) All photos courtesy of cohost Dan. Enjoy! – Caleb

With the free live web stream provided by Budovideos and the live blogging of Caleb on the FightWorksPodcast giving many 1,000s of BJJ fans a window into proceedings, this, the 15th Mundials of the modern era did not disappoint. Upsets, submissions, controversy and the crowning of the greatest player of our generation.

10 male Black Belt finals, 2 advantage decisions, 1 referee’s decision, 1 close out, 1 injury, 2 submissions, 3 points victories – that was what this weekend came down to.

Some numbers to start us off…

28: Brazilian quarter finalists (from a possible 36). Well, it is called Brazilian Jiu Jitsu…

16: Roger Gracie’s row of submissions in these past 2 Mundials ended by a game Ricardo Abreu

15: The numbers of Black Belt medals Roger has picked up at the Mundials since 2003; the number of Mundials that Wellington “Megaton” Dias has competed in.

10: Roger Gracie’s black belt gold haul since 2003

8: The number of absolute finals Roger has been in since 2003

7: Number of degrees on those Red & Black belts now worn by Mauricio Gomes and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti (2 of Rolls Gracie’s “Famous Five”) and Sergio Penha.

6: Felipe Costa now has six bronze medals in his division.

5: The absolute silver medals that remind us Roger is human too sometimes; the number of men’s titles Alliance took this year, matching their haul last year – still some way short of the 8 Gracie Barra managed in 2002 (admittedly after Nova Uniao removed themselves from CBJJ competition).

4: The absolute semi finals that Xande Ribeiro has faltered in (2004 Jacare Souza, 2005 Braulio Estima, 2007 Romulo Barral, 2010 Romulo again); the number of Gracies contesting black belt divisions (3 of whom were in Medio); the number of Americans quarter-finalists (Rafael Lovato Jr, Bill “The Grill” Cooper, JT Torres, Ryan Hall)

3: The number of absolute gold & double golds Roger has won; the number of Gracies contesting Medio Black Belt this year (Clark, Kayron, Kron); the number of Japanese quarter-finalists (Naoya Uematsu, Makoto Sawada, Matsumo Yoshihiko); the number of major finals Rafael Mendes has now beaten Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles in (World Pro Gi, ADCC, and Mundials).

2: The number of records Cobrinha missed out on (most titles in one division in a row; most Pan Ams and Mundials in the same year in a row);

1: Closed out finals. Granted a small number of but still 1 too many in my opinion; the number of Gracies other than Roger to have medaled at Black Belt since Royler Gracie in 1999 (Kayron); the round that saw the shock exit of the reigning champ Guilherme Mendes to Paulo Melo; the number of Australian quarter-finalists (Mick Wilson); the number of non-Brazilian Medalists (Lovato).

Tarsis Humphreys’ leg attack ends the Mundials aspirations of Romulo Barral.

Meio Pesado

Tarsis Humphreys (Alliance) vs. Romulo Barral (Gracie Barra)

A repeat of last year’s final (and with the prospect of more déjà vu for Romulo to come) saw Romulo control much of the match from the top before Tarsis caught Romulo’s foot and twisting his leg in all sorts of seemingly unnatural positions. Romulo was forced to submit due to his injury and hobbled past Roger waiting for his own match. Tarsis was ecstatic to get what some may be surprised to learn is only his first black belt Mundials gold. Fans would be left waiting to see if Romulo could possibly recover for the Absolute final or if Roger would get a walkover.

Tarsis wins by leg lock @ 6m23s.

Roger Gracie refrains from snapping Demente’s arm in two.

Super Pesado

Roger Gracie (Gracie Barra) vs. Ricardo “Demente” Abreu (Nova Uniao)

Déjà vu for Roger as well, a repeat of last year’s finals on the cards for him as well. Gracie has submitted all en route to both finals. Would the end of this match be the same as last year? Abreu (no relation to Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu) pulled guard and seemed to try to sweep Roger but Roger’s base was proof against this initially. Another attempt and he swept Roger to get some points on the board but Roger promptly reversed, Demente then reversed, almost took Roger’s back (had the hooks in but no control) forcing Roger to regain his composure and successfully defend the position.

Abreu found himself defending from the half guard, with Roger briefly passing, taking the back, trapping an arm and leg and then engaging in some seemingly armbreaking armbar attempts from different positions. Demente, living up to his name perhaps, did not tap even though from some angles the arm seemed clearly hyper-extended. The commentators speculated Roger was being a good sportsman by not cranking it on further. With a scramble ending out of bounds, Roger pulled guard and then dragged the arm, looking for the back (as per his earlier match vs. Bruno Bastos). Taking the back again and stretching out Ricardo, he secured 4 points to take it to 4-2.

Demente’s attempts to protect his neck were initially successful but Roger then underhooked an arm, rolled to his back and then worked for a choke. Demente had put on a very solid defense, proving more game than any other competitor Gracie had faced this weekend but Roger worked to transition to the mount and started looking for his trademark choke from mount. Demente was again able to put up some very solid defense and Roger was not able to repeat his feats of last year (winning all matches by submission and beating Demente in the final by submission), winning by 13-2. Roger secured his 7th weight division black belt gold in a row and 9th Gold overall and would be left waiting to see if he would contest the Absolute final for his 10th.

Roger wins 13-2.

Galo

Bruno Malfacine (Alliance) vs. Caio Terra (Gracie Elite)

Another rematch from last year saw Malfacine looking to continue his domination of this weight, having won both the CBJJ and CBJJE Mundials last year and the Pan Ams and Brasilieros this year. The match saw Terra, representing the newly formed Gracie Elite team, on the bottom and Malfacine on the top for the majority of the match, doing an excellent job of negating Caio’s guard. Terra’s sweep attempt and scramble to take the back at the death almost unseated Bruno, but the advantage awarded was not enough to snatch victory.

Malfacine wins 0-0 (3-2).

Pluma

Samuel Braga (Gracie Barra) vs. Pablo Silva (Gracie Barra)

The shock exit of Guilherme Mendes to Paulo Melo in the first round was unforeseen; the closing out of the bracket was not. Braga bowed out to Silva, taking his first gold, with Samuel giving up the opportunity to take his third. Braga gets to take this silver home though, having been DQ’d last year after showing disdain at Guilherme Mendes’ post fight celebration.

Silva wins by gentlemen’s agreement.

Rafael Mendes’ hand is raised in another defeat of his rival Cobrinha.

Pena

Rafael Medes (Atos) vs. Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles Maciel (Alliance)

The king vs. the pretender to his throne. With Cobrinha having already submitted former champ Mario Reis again and looking to surpass the kind of featherweights Royler Gracie and take his 5th consecutive gold, Mendes shot straight to pull half guard and then started working for a leg or foot lock rather than going for his trademark 50/50 guard. With Mendes and Cobrinha tied 3-3 in head to heads so far and Cobrinha’s avowed intention to retire from competition (temporarily at least), would the king leave on a high, or would he be forcibly dethroned? Mendes was 2-0 up for an early sweep but Cobrinha returned the favour for 2 points of his own at the 4 minute mark.

Leg spaghetti (trademark Caleb) ensued with both men jockeying for position and both men then going for toeholds. Cobrinha’s flexibility was defense enough but Rafael managed to score another sweep and 2 advantages in the meantime. Cobrinha threatened a kneebar and used that to get another sweep to tie the match on points if not advantages. Cobrinha snapped on a wickedly tight footlock, Rafael took one too but neither man could finish.

A kneebar by Mendes also went nowhere but 2 points appeared and then disappeared from the board for Cobrinha, 4-4 (3-1) for Mendes so far with 90 seconds left and all to play for. Cobrinha looked for another footlock, Mendes replied in kind, the clock ticked on, less than 30 seconds to go. More footlock attempts, Mendes lost his but Cobrinha is dethroned, 4-4 (5-3) and Mendes and Atos have finally stopped the relentless Alliance medal haul this weekend. Let us hope Cobrinha changes his mind and we see these two continue their rivalry.

Mendes wins 4-4 (5-3).

Leve

Michael Langhi (Alliance) vs. Celso Vinicius (Gracie Elite)

With Langhi looking for his 2nd gold and Celsinho his 4th, the number 0 figured heavily here, with no points or advantages scored in the first 9 minutes. A sweep attempt by Langhi saw some frantic attempts by Celsinho to seal his victory as this one went to the referees. Almost nothing to call between them! Would Langhi get it for the near sweep or Celsinho for maintaining his top position? Langhi had done enough with the sweep and took his second gold. By Michael’s own reckoning, he has not lost in more than 2 years. Celsinho will no doubt be looking to break that run at the next suitable juncture.

Langhi wins by referee’s decision.

Marcelo Garcia works to escape the closed guard of Claudio Calasans.

Medio

Marcelo Garcia (Alliance) vs. Claudio Calasans (Atos).

A very strong field this year with all 8 quarter finalists confident of victory (3 CBJJ world champions and 2 world champions under other federations amongst them). The final was another Atos/Alliance contest, with Calasans looking to maintain his momentum of 2010, having beaten ADCC and Mundials champ Braulio Estima twice at the World Pro Gi this year (and under BJJ math, if Calasans beats Braulio and Braulio beats Marcelo, can Claudio beat Marcelo too?). Garcia, who has dominated middleweight since 2004 and the disappearance of Terere from the competition scene, was looking for his 4th black belt gold here and probably some personal redemption having lost out to Pablo Popovitch in the ADCC final last September. He had been impressive en route to the final, but so had Calasans. Calasans attempt to launch Roger into orbit in the absolute of last year was not totally successful, but his top game was initially match for Marcelo’s guard game. Claudio pulled off a butterfly guard pass on no one in particular and then got wrapped up for a footlock sweep by Marcelo.

Calasans worked from guard and looked to work a cross collar choke, but to no avail. Wristlock fans were briefly elated then disappointed. You won’t see Marcelo’s posture in guard advocated on his instructional videos, but when you make the rules, you can break them too I guess (don’t try this at home kids). Calasans working grips to try set up an unconventional looking omoplata, tried to threaten the sweep but could not fix the requisite grips and with the clock moving regularly (even if the competitors weren’t) he would still need to score to prevent the online BJJ community inventing new superlatives to describe Garcia. Calasans shot his leg out but Garcia stuffed it and went for his high step over guard pass. Claudio worked from open, then half guard and was rolled by Marcelo in a scramble. 8 seconds to go. A takedown would be needed to draw. An awesome flurry of sweep and throw attempts by Claudio was not enough and Marcelo’s ownership of the title best Middleweight in the world continues, for the moment at least.

Marcelo wins 2-0.

Alliance’s young title hunter Bernardo Faria defeats Xande Ribeiro.

Pesado

Xande Ribeiro (Gracie Humaita) vs. Bernard Faria (Alliance)

Garcia was all smiles after his final, by contrast when the camera panned to Saulo and Xande, they were deep in thought, Xande not having not had a great day yesterday, tested by Antonio Braga Neto and then beaten by Romulo Barral in the Absolute division. Pesado has seen a number of young guns emerge recently, with Alexandre Ceconi, Cyborg, Faria, Rodrigo Pinheiro adding to the elite ranks of Braulio & Xande. With Braulio injured and Cyborg campaigning successfully at Ultra Heavy this year it was Faria (who has taken double gold at the Pan Ams this year) who made it to the final hurdle. He started brightly, shooting for half guard and starting to look for his omoplata game. Xande’s day seemed brighter on Sunday, storming to another final, the last person to beat Xande in a weight category here was Roger and that was back in 2005 when Xande stepped up to Super Pesado to go after Roger.

Faria working mostly from the bottom and Xande on the top, Faria worked hard for a takedown with Xande desperately defending; Faria even pulling Xande back into the centre of the mat to try to launch the throw. Faria went back to the deep half guard, from the other side this time, 0-0 (2-1) in favour of Xande with little time left. Xande looked to flatten out Faria and work for mount, but with a double underhook Faria managed to sweep and get 2 pts. 0-2 (2-1) with 2 minutes left. The Alliance cheering squad prepared themselves to explode. 90 seconds and Xande trying to work his legs in, but Faria took control and prevented his game plan. Faria then pulled Xande back into the centre of the mat to maintain his momentum and prevent the restart. Xande indicated Faria was stalling to win the match, but he himself has probably benefited from riding out the clock before and he could not break Faria’s grip on his belt, his gi pants, or on the title.

Faria wins 2-0 (1-2).

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu peers from the depths as Rodrigo Cavaca seals his fate.

Pesadissimo

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu (Carlson Gracie Team) vs. Rodrigo Cavaca (Checkmat)

An oft-maligned division with few serious competitors, not this year, a very deep talent pool this year with the presence of Peinado, Cavaca, Braga Neto, Abreu, Luiz “Big Mac” Teodoro, Gabriel Vella, Roberto Tozi, Marcio “Pe de Pano” Cruz and Marcio Corleta (4 of them World Champions) making for some intriguing match ups. The surprise of this bracket surely the giant Australian “Big Mick” taking the back and choking the versatile “Big Mac”.

The final came down to Cyborg, seeking revenge for Cavaca beating him by footlock in the absolute quarter finals yesterday and Cavaca having easily triangle one legend of the game (Pe de Pano) on his run to the final, seeking a gold to help blot out the memory of another (Roger) manhandling him yesterday. Cavaca has already won this category at the Brasilieros this year and his run must have left him confident. A different Abreu (in case anyone (Caleb) wasn’t sure) from the one who went the distance with Roger earlier, had triangled Braga Neto in the semis and looked to continue a successful campaign at a weight 2 above his normal division. Cavaca fighting from guard, Cyborg looking to pass, but Cavaca with a sweep to go ahead. Cavaca eying Cyborg’s foot hungrily like Pe de Pano & Big Mac at a churrascaria, he set his grips slowly then changed his mind and went for a straight footlock. Fixing his position, then arching back and Cavaca has his first Mundials black belt title, 6 wins from 7 this year and the memory of his defeat to Vella in the final erased.

Cavaca wins by leg lock @ 2m49s.

Absolute

Roger Gracie (Gracie Barra) vs. Romulo Barral (Gracie Barra).

With Romulo badly injured in his final against Tarsis, and the women’s absolute final closed out by Alliance team mates Luanna Alzuguir and Gabi Garcia, the day’s proceedings were bought to a close. Roger as three time Absolute, 3 time Double Gold winner and now ten time black belt world champion, his 2010 campaign ending on a whimper and not a bang this time, but not before making clear that closing out a division is not an option in his world and additionally that he is going to be back on these mats for some time to come. Barral was clearly disappointed to have not contested the Absolute final, but can take heart in having put on some amazing matches this weekend; we wish him a speedy recovery.

Roger wins by walkover.

And the aftermath

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, like it says on the tin, it’s Brazilian: Still only two non Brazilian gold medalists in 15 years and based on this year, no stand out likely to join them soon. Of the 36 quarter finalists, only 8 were non Brazilian with 4 Americans, 3 Japanese, and 1 Australian all adding up to 1 medal this time around. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu continues to go from strength to strength in the United States and elsewhere and there are many talented and accomplished players, particularly from Japan and the US, but it seems we are still some way from breaking the Brazilian domination of the sport.

Anti-Venom: Mendes proved again he can win by taking Cobrinha out of his comfort zone, albeit the place he takes them to is sometimes light on action. Cobrinha will surely not let the advantage of 4-3 lay with his rival for too long and I think their rivalry will continue shortly.

Many could quickly dismiss this as another 50/50 stall-fest, restating that the goal of BJJ is to positionally dominate and/or submit your opponent, but that is predicated on you actually being able to do that to them. That does a disservice to this particular final, which I think was an intriguing technical battle. Perhaps the casual observer is spoiled by getting to see Roger and others dominate and finish their opponents in short order and this raises an unreasonable expectation as to how a match should look – if you are submitting or dominating your opponent at the black belt level, it is probably because there is a gulf in skill and/or fitness between you and your opponent.

In many combat sports, when two very similarly or evenly matched people are competing, it is probable that the ensuing match will not be visibly spectacular. By the time you reach the semi finals, one should assume that the competitors are all likely to be reasonably matched. An additional consideration, to quote the old chestnut “styles make fights”, not every match is going to be the perfect visual feast of 100 mile an hour acrobatic top game vs. tricky inverse rolling guard game. Sometimes with a clash of styles or where two people with the same style meet, the resulting match will be hard on the eye. This does not mean it is not a skillful affair, just not perhaps to your taste – if you don’t like watching this style of match, then don’t.

Let us give credit where it is due; Mendes handily beat most of his opponents with the exception of Ryan Hall, in part because Ryan Hall plays a similar game to Mendes. Cobrinha blitzed all his other opponents, including a former world champ Mario Reis, seemingly able to impose his game pretty much at will. But he had to engage in the “leg spaghetti” of the final because Mendes is just as good as he is – you don’t become the only black belt to beat Cobrinha (and 4 times at that) just by being able to stall. Cobrinha in this one instance does not possess the necessary incremental skill over his opponent to impose his game or to prevent Mendes from playing his own game. Evolution in positions and movement and tactics and counters is a key facet of BJJ; the 50/50 is just one such evolution that Atos’ opponents are still coming to terms with.

Can’t tap this: Ricardo “Demente” did something improbable this weekend, somehow defending an armbar from Roger Gracie on a hyper-extended limb and thwarting multiple other submission attempts from Gracie to deny him another perfect Mundials. Reports he rushed outside to buy a lottery ticket and discovered the Higg’s Boson on his way to the store are unverified at this time.

All your base belong to us: Alliance repeated their feat of 2009 with 5 of a possible 10 male black belt golds winging their way back to Atlanta. But for Mendes, it could have been 6, a recent record, albeit still short of Gracie Barra’s 8 in 2002 after Nova Uniao pulled out of CBJJ competitions. With champions like Garcia, Malfacine, Faria, Tarsis & Langhi and strong supporting cast in Peinado, Nogueira, Lepri, Moraes & Cobrinha, let alone the small army of warriors at lower belts, they are THE dominant force on the competition scene. They took a very good new addition to the team (Malfacine) and helped him become the most dominant rooster weight in a decade, the first back to back champion at that weight since Omar Salum in 1999/2000.

That having been said, there are still a few gaps in their armory. With the departure of Gabriel Vella, they have lost a decorated veteran campaigner in the Ultra Heavy and Absolute divisions With Leo Leite turning out for his cameo appearances for Brasa these days and Comprido a). also part of Brasa but even so b). retired, they miss their other active Super & Ultra Heavy players of previous years. For a team which can claim 2 of the best 3 or 4 players in the world in Leve and Medio, they are still reliant on one elite individual in Feather and Medium-heavyweight and have arguably had no serious contender in Light Feather since Ricardo Vieira in the early 00’s.

Quibbling over this is may be like trying to point out a small speck of dirt on a fine cashmere jumper, but the Absolute title defines these games to an extent and Alliance have not had a viable challenger for the throne since Comprido back in 2000. Other teams can, for the moment rest easy knowing that there is still gold to be struck out there.

Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s cheering section celebrates Rafael Mendes’ gold medal.

A New Act: Guilherme Mendes was surprisingly defeated in the first round when many (myself included) considered him a shoe-in for the final. Melo deserves full credit for the win, although some will wonder if the weight cut for Mendes was in some way a factor. Regardless, Atos Jiu Jitsu have been consistently showing us that at major tournaments that they have strength in depth in the lighter weights, with their team of Claudio Calasans, Rodrigo Caporal, Bruno Frazatto, Jonatas Gurgel, Gustavo Campos, Gilbert “Durinho” Burns, Eduardo Ramos, Rafael Mendes, Guilherme Mendes. Alliance will have worthy competitors from this team for some time to come.

Gracie Humaita’s cheering section at the 2010 BJJ Mundials.

Look on my works ye mighty and despair: In stark contrast to the riches on their teamsheet for much of the past 15 years, Gracie Humaita have shrunk to having only a handful of potential medalists, one, granted, is one of the best of the last decade, but even he has off days as evidence by this weekend and the next best chance is his student, also in his division, limiting their options for Gold.

Royler, Saulo & Xande make up the most dominant teacher/student force in the history of the sport, with 26 black belt gold and 44 medals at the Mundials, ADCC and Copa do Mundo between them. But with the former two retired, of Humaita’s 8 golds in the last 7 years, Xande alone has won 6 and if he retires to focus on MMA or if training for MMA prevents him from recapturing his past form, does that spell the end of Gracie Humaita as a force at the Mundials at this level?

Lonely at the top: The stats are impressive: 1st 3 time absolute champion; 1st 3 time double champion; 8 absolute finals in a row; 7 weight class finals in a row; 7 weight class gold medals in a row; 2009/2010 run of 16 submissions; 15 black belt medals at the Mundials (10 Gold, 5 silver) and submitted 2 of the other champions at the weekend (Cavaca and Tarsis).

With the records books updated, we must reflect that often a Mundials will be made by Roger being taken to the wire, being beaten, even if just by the tiniest of margins, but with Xande in a poor (for him) run of form, with no Jacare prowling the mats, with Pe de Pano now gone as a force on the mats and despite the emergence of a lot of talent in the Pesado ranks, no other real contender on the scene, how long will the sport hold his interest? For Ali to be the greatest, he needed Frazier, Norton, Foreman to propel him to that peak and keep him there. Roger similarly needs at least one great rival to make next year compelling since this year was another Godzilla vs. Tokyo affair. Either Tokyo needs to learn to fight back, or one of the rival teams needs to perfect their Mecha-Godzilla and fast.

Close outs, a necessary evil?: The odds are stacked against such things happening, but some teams do have real depth in a given division – thankfully we only saw one this weekend, but to many fans it tarnishes the victory of the “winner”, regardless of the arguments that sometimes when people are team-mates and friends, they don’t want to compete against each other. At least Braga didn’t ask for a game of Rock/Paper/Scissors.

(Left to right) Sergio Penha, Mauricio “The Bear” Motta Gomes, and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti receive certificates for their red and black belts from the IBJJF.

The Three Seven Degrees: Certificates commemorating their elevation to the small group Black and Red belts were presented to Mauricio Gomes and Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti (2 of Rolls Gracie’s “Famous Five”) and Sergio Penha. These men have been living and breathing Jiu Jitsu longer than many competitors this weekend have even been alive. For their legacy, Mauricio has produced (both literally and through coaching) the greatest BJJ player of our age; Jacare, created one of the strongest sport BJJ team’s of the decade and Sergio, also a very successful coach, will always been known as the person who came closest to the impossible feat of defeating Rickson Gracie.

A Free Lunch: An amazing gift to BJJ fans, a free live stream for both days of the weekend. Gone are the days of brief text messages from people at Tijuca Tennis Club to the outside world, now with the FightWorksPodcast live blogging by Caleb, the Live stream and the Twittering by Graciemag and others, technology has helped revolutionise how we enjoy the Mundials, in as much as those not there can actually enjoy it without relying on terrible hand shot footage on YouTube or waiting a few months for the DVD.

Shawn and Caleb again did a great double act presenting the Budovideos live stream and we must all thank Budovideos for that. Having said that, with only one camera and the matches selected at the whim of the producers, often changing mid match, I wonder if there is an opportunity for Budovideos to enhance this offering, maybe have multiple cameras to choose from and to charge an appropriate fee for this service. Few might quibble with paying 20 or 30 dollars for premium access to action over the weekend.

Hail to the Chef: It would be remiss to remark about the free lunch and not mention all those who pulled together this feast of BJJ. From the organization and direction of Marcelo “Siriema” Araújo, Alvaro Mansur and others, to the referees and judges, desk staff, mat officials, first aid team, to the unmistakable voice of Tony Torres and those poor souls he DQ’d and of course to all the competitors, coaches and supporters… well done.

See you next year.

What a day! The first day of black belt men and black / brown belt females is behind us at the 2010 BJJ World Championship and what a tornado of action. While every year’s Mundial showcases the best jiu-jitsu athletes on the globe, no event has ever felt as stacked as this year’s. Big stories of the event of course include Roger Gracie’s continuing dominance, the dense field of talent in the men’s middleweight division, Alliance’s female competitors, Team Lloyd Irvin’s persistent ascendance, and of course many others.

In this recap of the action on Saturday, we speak with the following jiu-jitsu personalities and try to bring just a taste of the intense competition here yesterday:

• Tracey Goodell (Team Lloyd Irvin)
• Hillary Williams
• Lloyd Irvin
• Vinicius “Draculino” Magalhaes
• Luca Atalla of GracieMag

Make sure you join us on Sunday June 6 for the live broadcast of the BJJ World Championship on budovideos.com/online!

[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (recommended)
[mp3] Download the show

Kayron Gracie came up big this weekend with a triangle victory over Tiago Alves.

Tracy Goodell (Team Lloyd Irvin) celebrates a victory over Alliance’s Jackeline Oliveira at the 2010 BJJ World Championship. Goodell won both her weight division and the absolute division.

The independent test were ordered by the Strikeforce organization over concerns that the Missouri Office of Athletics would only be doing random drug testing instead of testing all contestants for performance enhancing and/or drugs of abuse.

“Strikeforce: Heavy Artillery” took place last Saturday at the Scottrade Center in Missouri.

Overeem, who has faced countless accusations in the past, including ones from his opponent Brett Rogers, came up clean.

Other fighters tested included Antonio Silva, who had served a previous suspension for testing positive for banned substances in the past, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Joey Villasenor, Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Antwain Britt.

Not yet available, were the test results for Brett Rogers, Andrei Arlovski, Roger Gracie and Kevin Randleman.

HT: MMAjunkie.com