The IBJJF returned to the Ginásio Hamilton Linhares Cruz on Saturday November 26th for the Balneario Camboriu International Open. As one of the last events in Brazil in 2022, many elite athletes were motivated to put on great performances heading into the new year. CheckMat were the overall team gi and no-gi champions, driven by gold medal finishes across all belt ranks.

Recently formed Fratres Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu team also had a great showing, especially at black belt. Their black belt gold medalists at the Balneario Camboriu Open included Natan Chueng (lightweight), Luis Fernando De Oliveira (super heavy and open class), Thomas Ugandan (ultra-heavy), Sabatha Lais (medium-heavy), and Amanda Magda (open class).

2022 has been quite the year for Amanda Magda. She most recently won the open class at the Fortaleza Open just a few weeks ago. “In the absolute I won my first fight with a standing submission. And in the final my teammate Sabatha closed the absolute with me. Next year I start the competitions with the Europeans. I hope this year I have learned a little so that I can perform well next year. I grew a lot with the competitions this year. It's very different to be almost a master 4 and fight in an adult category. I feel happy to be able to enjoy these moments.” Amanda’s fantastic results in 2022 will play an important role as she chases a major title in 2023.

Amanda’s Fratres Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu teammate, Luis Fernando De Oliveira, won two matches at super heavy and two matches in the open class to win double gold. The no-gi open class winners were GF Team athletes Antonio Assef and Mayara Moreira. Antonio commented on his performance, stating “I’m very satisfied with the performance. I fought injured and managed to be the champion without worsening the injury. There was one fight in the category and two in the absolute. Now I'm working to reach 100% for the Worlds No-Gi.” This year’s Worlds No-Gi are just a few weeks away, with the event starting on Thursday December 8th in Anaheim, California. Mayara also shared her thoughts on her no-gi open class gold. "I only had one fight in no-gi where I was absolute champion with a submission. In the others I was alone in the bracket. My next competition will be at Brasilia Open next weekend.”

The featherweight and lightweight champions at the Balneario Camboriu Open were Matheus Onda and Natan Chueng, respectively. Matheus discussed his results in the gi, saying "I had two matches! In the semifinal I won by submission and in the finals by points. I’m happy with my performance. I was able to play a lot of the closed guard that I was training. I will try to fight Europeans in January.” Matheus would also go on to win gold in no-gi. Natan provided insight into his run to the top of the podium. "I had two fights. In the first I swept, took the back, and finished with the rear naked choke. In the second I swept, passed guard twice, and mounted. I felt good fighting. My next competition will be the European Championship in 2023 in Paris. I like to always fight aggressive, looking for the submission.”

Two additional athletes who took gold were CheckMat’s Lucas Protasio and Dream Art’s Lucas Gualberto. Protasio commented on his day at the event, stating, “I had 3 matches. In the first one I submitted my opponent and in the other two I had some wars. I felt good about the performance. I had fun and I gave my best and it is what is. It was good to test myself one more time in the middleweight category.” Lucas spoke about his experience on the day and discussed when we’ll see him back on the competition scene. “I had three matches today. My performance was good. I had great chances to submit my matches but I didn’t. Now I’m looking at Europeans. I won this championship in 2019 at brown belt and now I want to repeat that as a black belt."

2022 Balneario Camboriu team results:

1. CheckMat
2. Atos Jiu-Jitsu
3. Fratres Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

2022 Balneario Camboriu No-Gi team results:

1. CheckMat
2. Gracie Barra
3. Atos Jiu-Jitsu