This year’s Fortaleza International Open took place at the Ginásio Paulo Sarasate în Fortaleza, Brazil. The event returned for the first time since 2019 and brought out big teams such as Nova União, Gracie Barra, ZR Team Association, CheckMat, Ares BJJ Team, and SAS Team.

Israel Almeida of GF Team was the adult male black belt double gold champion in the gi. In the middleweight division, Israel had two matches and two submissions. The first submission was an armbar Israel set up as his opponent attempted to recover from a sweep attempt. The armbar put Israel in the final, where he took his opponent’s back and finished with a bow n’ arrow choke. Israel would need three more wins in the open class to secure double gold. In the quarter and semifinal matches, Israel took his opponent’s backs and finished with chokes. The final was against Herico Hesley of Nova Uniao, an ultra heavy athlete who won his division earlier in the day. Israel pulled guard and transitioned from a sweep attempt, to an omoplata, to a triangle. The sequence was enough to get the finish, Israel’s fifth on the day.

“I was very happy to have been champion here in my hometown. After six years without competing here in Fortaleza, I had five fights and finished the five fights. I was very happy with my performance. Having my father and mother cheering for me up close motivated me even more to have this beautiful performance,” stated Israel.

Amanda Magda has been on a tear in competition in the past few months. She’s won gold at the Salvador Spring, South American, and the Curitiba Spring Open in recent months. Despite qualifying for the master 3 division, Amanda has consistently tested herself in the adult division and has come out on top. Amanda defeated three opponents in the open class in Fortaleza to add yet another title to her resume.

The no-gi open class gold medalists were Leonardo Goncalves of Gracie Barra and Karen Correia of Zenith BJJ. Leonardo and Karen both won two matches to secure the open class gold medals.

2022 Fortaleza International Open team results:

1. Nova Uniao
2. CheckMat
3. BLEC

2022 Fortaleza International No-Gi Open team results:

1. Nova Uniao
2. ZR Team Association
3. Gracie Barra