The 2022 IBJJF World Masters tournament took place from Thursday September 1st through Saturday September 3rd and was the biggest tournament in history with over 6,000 competitors. There were 28 mats spread across the Las Vegas Convention Center, all of which were filled with masters athletes. These athletes included Master 1 black belts, many of whom still compete in the adult division, all the way to Master 7 athletes who have been training and competing for decades. The team title was highly contested this year, with Alliance, Gracie Barra, CheckMat, and Six Blades all fighting for the first place trophies.

Master 1 - Jhonny Loureiro and Melissa Stricker Win Open Class Gold

The Master 1 black belt divisions took place on Thursday September 1st and were action-packed from start to finish. At light-feather, it was Joao Miyao of Cicero Costha who placed first. His road to gold included three victories, with a win in the final by over twenty points. The featherweight champion was Felipe Arruda of Alliance. Felipe won five matches and claimed the Master 1 featherweight gold for the second year in a row.

GF Team’s Jaime Canuto had a busy weekend at Jiu-Jitsu CON. At World Masters, he competed in the middleweight division, winning five matches to get to the top of the podium. The 51 person middleweight bracket ended with Jaime and Jhonny Loureiro of Alliance in the final. It was a close match that Jaime won 2-0 to capture the middleweight title.

The Master 1 medium-heavyweight division was one of the toughest of the entire tournament. Fabio Alano, Yago De Souza, Gabriel Procopio, and Fausto Godoy all entered the division and had a real shot at coming home with gold. Sergio Rios of Brasa, however, came out on top after putting on one of the best performances of the event. He won five matches, collecting multiple submissions along the way. The final was against Gabriel Procopio of Brazilian Top Team. The match went to a referee’s decision that was awarded to Sergio. Sergio would go on to the open class, where he placed third.

A pair of CheckMat competitors took home gold at heavyweight and super heavyweight, respectively. Gabriel Almeida won heavyweight after winning five matches while Arnaldo Maidana won super heavyweight with four wins.

The open class winners were Jhonny Loureiro and Melissa Stricker. Johnny competed in the middleweight division earlier in the day, taking second place to Jaime Canuto of GF Team. He came back in the open class with three victories to claim gold. Melissa Stricker won heavyweight gold with one match and had four more in the open class to stand on top of the podium one more time.

Master 2 - Queixinho Submits All His Opponents at Featherweight

Also competing on Thursday September 1st were the Master 2 black belt competitors. At rooster weight, Rafael “Barata” Freitas of Smartjits took gold after winning four matches. Ares BJJ leader Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho won the Master 2 featherweight division. He had five fights and five submissions on the day, putting the submission oriented style he’s become known for on full display.

Middleweight Piter Frank of Alliance had one of the most spectacular performances of the tournament. He first won the middleweight division with six matches, including multiple flying armbars. He then entered the open class where he won another two matches to take home double gold. Piter has one of the most dynamic and unpredictable styles in jiu-jitsu and he used that style to great effect in all of his matches.

Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s Josh Hinger took home gold at medium-heavy. Josh won double gold at World Masters in 2020 utilizing his style of solid takedowns, pressure passing, and submissions. His gold in 2022 was his third at World Masters in his career.

Jennifer Case of Renato Tavares Association also won double gold. Jennifer had two matches at super heavy and three matches in the open class.

Master 3 - Shaolin Wins Lightweight Gold for Nova União

In the master 3 category, Vitor “Shaolin” Ribeiro of Nova União took home lightweight gold. The IBJJF World Champion has remained active as a competitor in the masters divisions, putting his classic and technical jiu-jitsu on display every year. Shaolin looked sharp throughout the event and had five matches to reach the top of the podium this year. The master 3 medium-heavy division was full of talented athletes and concluded with a final between Jorge Santiago of Xcell Jiu-Jitsu Academy and Fabio Leopoldo of R1NG BJJ. It was a very close match with Jorge winning a referee’s decision to take home a World Master’s title.

The open class winners were Gustavo Campos of Atos Jiu-Jitsu and Marion Reneau-Perez of Unique Logic Jiu-Jitsu HQ.  Gustavo Campos won double after winning a total of nine matches between the heavy weight division and the open class. Marion Reneau-Perez hit the top of the open class podium with three victories.

Master 4 - Roberto Godoi and Samantha Freitas Win the Open Class

The master 4 divisions were full of highly ranked competitors vying for World Master gold medals. Roberto Godoi of G13 BJJ won the master 4 open class with three wins. During the event Roberto received an award for placing second overall in the master 4 rankings for the 2021/2022 season. Samantha Freitas of R1NG BJJ also received an award for her ranking, placing first overall in master 4 for the 2021/2022 season. She won master 4 open class gold with two victories.

Masters 5, 6, & 7 - Megaton Has Huge Weekend in Vegas

At master 5, Marco Aurelio Buchaim Regos won three matches to win master 5 open class gold. Marco placed third at super heavy after winning two matches in that division earlier in the day. Super heavyweight Paulo Castro received an award for being the top ranked master 5 male athlete for the 2021/2022 season. He won another gold in the master 5 super heavy division at the World Master. Top ranked master 5 female Sonia Plavcan of Alliance placed first in the lightweight division after winning two matches.

Wellington “Megaton” Dias is one of the most active competitors of all time. Despite qualifying for the Master 6 category based on his age, Megaton is often competing in the adult divisions at the toughest tournaments in the sport. The 2022 edition of the World Master was a big event for Megaton as he not only won the master 6 lightweight division, but also received a 7th degree red and black belt certificate and an award for placing first overall for all master 6 male black belts.

Other important results included Renier Nuno of Fight Sports winning two matches to take home open class gold and #1 ranked Cynthia Fink of Princeton Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu winning master 6 lightweight gold with two victories.

2022 World Master male team results:

1.  Alliance
2.  Gracie Barra
3.  CheckMat

2022 World Master female team results:

1. Gracie Barra
2. Alliance
3. Six Blades Jiu Jitsu