The 2023 American National Jiu-Jitsu Championships took place from July 6th through 8th at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gi, no-gi, and kids divisions were filled with many athletes looking to add more gold medals to their 2023 collections. The convention center was also packed, creating an energetic vibe throughout the whole weekend.

Horlando Monteiro & Jackson Nagai Hit 100% Submission Rate In The Gi

Nova Uniao’s Horlando Monteiro returned to competition back in mid-June after nearly a year layoff due to injury. The 2018 European Champion was set on making a statement, and he did exactly that. Horlando had three matches in the medium-heavyweight division, winning all three by submission. Throughout his competition career, Horlando utilized the collar sleeve and double sleeve positions to setup triangles and omoplatas and he showed why he’s so dangerous from there in his first two matches.

In his first match he hit an armbar from the omoplata against Clay Mayfield just 30 seconds into the match. That victory put him in the semifinal against Pan Champion Ronaldo Junior. The last time they met was at the 2019 Long Beach Open where Ronaldo won via armbar. Ronaldo started the match strong, nearly taking Horlandos back before they rolled out of bounds. On the restart, Horlando pulled to closed guard. As Ronaldo stood up to pass, Horlando attacked a triangle from the collar and sleeve grips, turning the attack into an armbar and getting the tap 58 seconds into the match. The final was against Vitor Peres of Gracie Barra. This time Horlando got to show off his top game. He used a throw by pass to expose his opponent’s back and finished with a rear naked choke to secure his gold medal and 100% submission rate.

Another athlete who had a 100% submission rate at American Nationals was Jackson Nagai of CheckMat. In his first match, Jackson racked up 46 points before tapping his opponent with a foot lock. His semifinal was against Alef Brito, a 2019 and 2020 American National Champion. The match was very close until about six minutes in, when Jackson passed Alef’s guard to score the first points of the match. Jackson forced Alef to expose his back with a canto choke attempt and finished with a choke from the back. He’d return to the no-gi middleweight division on Saturday July 8th, where he took 3rd place.

Ronaldo Junior Returns From Injury To Take Open Class Gold

Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s Ronaldo Junior started 2023 on fire. He won multiple IBJJF opens, an IBJJF GP super fight, and took 3rd at the Pans after putting on one of the best matches of the year against Jansen Gomes. Unfortunately an injury put a halt to Ronaldo’s momentum and kept him out of the 2023 World Championships. He made his return at the American Nationals and started his campaign in one of the most stacked divisions of the event, medium-heavy.

After winning his first match with a choke from the back, Ronaldo advanced to the semifinal against Horlando Monteiro. Ronaldo nearly took the back in the beginning of the fight but was reset to the center after they went out of bounds. Horlando pulled guard and finished Ronaldo with an armbar from the triangle, putting their overall record against one another at 1-1. The loss lit a fire in Ronaldo and he signed up for the open class.

Ronaldo’s run in the open class was very impressive not only because of the resilience he showed after losing in his division, but also because of the caliber of his opponents. His road to the American National absolute title included wins over Mateus Rodrigues, Jackson Nagai, and Gabriel Silva. Now that Ronaldo is healthy, we’ll likely see him competing at the same pace he was to start the year.

Elisabeth Clay & Elder Cruz Win No-Gi Absolute Titles

The standout no-gi competitor of the weekend was Elisabeth Clay of Ares BJJ. After placing second and third in the gi, Elisabeth came back to win two gold medals in no-gi. Her first match was at middleweight, where she submitted Isa Bruno-Reiber by rear naked choke in under forty seconds. Her victories in the open class were also extremely dominant. The semifinal was against Maria Ruffato of Brazilian Top Team, who won the no-gi heavyweight division earlier in the day. Elisabeth finished this match with an outside heel hook. Her final was against Thamara Ferreira, who had beaten her the day before in the gi. The no-gi match was very different, however, as Elisabeth finished her with an inside heel hook variation, ending her day with three matches and three submissions.

Elder “El Monstro” Cruz put his takedown and guard passing skills on full display at the American Nationals No-Gi. In the heavyweight division, Elder defeated three tough opponents to take first. He then jumped into the open class and won three more matches against high level opponents, moving his record to 6-0 for the event. It was Elder’s first double gold campaign as a black belt, a goal that took a full year to accomplish.

Other Important Results

Melissa Stricker of Alliance was the female open class champion in the gi. She defeated Thaynara Dias and Thamara Ferreira to become the absolute champion. 2020 Pan Champion Josh Cisneros returned to action in the no-gi lightweight division. Josh showed a very well-rounded game in victory, using takedowns, sweeps, and guard passes to win three matches.

Marco Mendes and Everton Teixeira made their black belt gi debuts in the featherweight and rooster weight divisions, respectively. Marco won four matches, two of which he finished with submissions. Everton won three matches, finishing his quarterfinal by submission and winning his other matches by points.

CheckMat Wins Third Straight Team Title

At the 2021 and 2022 American Nationals, the team champions were CheckMat. The Signal Hill, California based academy had two black belt gold medalists in the gi and two in the no-gi divisions at this year's American Nationals, helping them claim both team titles. The 2021 World Champions have continued to grow stronger, with great performances in 2023 from both veterans and new black belts.

2023 American National Jiu-Jitsu Championship Overall team results:

1. CheckMat

2. Carlson Gracie Team

3. Gracie Barra

2023 American National No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu Championship team results:

1. CheckMat

2. Gracie Barra

3. Carlson Gracie Team