The 2022 Curitiba Spring Open took place on Saturday October 8th and Sunday October 9th at the Ginásio do Tarumã in Brazil. At the last Curitiba Open back in March, CheckMat won gi the no-gi titles. The 2021 World Champions would hit that same mark again this weekend with gold medal performances across all categories. Gracie Barra and Alliance would place second and third, respectively. The following is a recap of some of the best performances from the event.

Alliance brought two of their elite competitors to Curitiba in Gabriel Oliveira and Marcus “Scooby” Ribeiro. Gabriel competed in the super heavy and open class divisions, taking silver in his weight and gold in the open. “I had a total of 3 fights. I submitted two fights and I’ve been feeling really good fighting. Mainly in Curitiba my body was very tired because I have been fighting without rest for many weekends and even so I managed to perform well. I am very satisfied with the CBJJ/IBJJF events because I managed to improve my jiu jitsu a lot in each of them. And next year I will arrive very well prepared for the Grand Slam events, starting with the Europeans.”

Gabriel’s Alliance teammate Marcus “Scooby” Ribeiro returned to competition in Curitiba to take on the ultra heavy division with five athletes in the bracket. In his semifinal match, Scooby used a series of dynamic guard passes to get around his opponents legs and into the mount. His opponent bumped him off the mount position and Scooby used the transition to secure a choke from side control less than two minutes into the match. He used a different strategy in the final, pulling his opponent to the closed guard, sweeping, and finishing with an armbar as his opponent attempted to frame on his shoulder. Scooby went 2-0 in ultra heavy with two submission finishes. He would go on to make the open class final, where he took silver to his teammate. “I had good fights. I managed to impose my game and finish my fights in ultra heavy and the open class. I intend to fight some more opens this year and stay active for the main season of next semester.”

In the female open class division it was Amanda De Oliveira who came out on top. Despite qualifying for the Master 3 division, Amanda consistently tests herself against some of the best adult competitors in the world. In Curitiba she won two open class matches to claim gold. “I'm very happy that even at 44 years old, I can challenge myself fighting in the adult category. Women are fighting harder and harder. It's amazing.”

Lightweight Gabriel Rollo scored a 100% submission rate in Curitiba. The CheckMat athlete had two matches in his division, scoring sweeps, guard passes, and submissions on his way to gold. His first submission was a choke from side control that he locked up following a knee cut guard pass. Then, in the final, Gabriel hit a series a sweeps before passing and securing a mounted cross choke. “Today I managed to put my pace on more calmly. In the semifinal I managed to sweep and pass the guard with some difficulties because my opponent had a lot of dangerous attacks. I managed to get to side control and finish with an old school choke. In the final I managed to sweep and then I found the right moment to pass and mount and finish with a choke.”

No-Gi divisions took place on Sunday October 9th. 2015 World Champion Claudio Calasans returned to competition in Curitiba in the medium-heavy division. “This was my first time fighting in an IBJJF no-gi tournament. I had three matches, winning two by points and the final by submission with an armbar from closed guard. My goal is to fight this next year as an adult where the next ones are the European Open in the gi and the Worlds. Next week I’ll be 39 years old.” Calasans showed a well rounded game by playing top and bottom position throughout his three victories.

The no-gi open class champions were Juliana Silva of Ceconi KMKZ and Lucas Alves of Dream Art. Juliana won her only match in the open class via points. Lucas had two open class matches, winning both matches via rear naked choke.

2022 Curitiba Spring International Open team results:

1. CheckMat
2. Gracie Barra
3. Alliance

2022 Curitiba Spring International No-Gi Open team results:

1. CheckMat
2. Gracie Barra
3. Alliance