The Houston Fall International Open took place on Saturday November 5th and Sunday November 6th. Of the standout performances in Texas, Andy Murasaki of Atos put on one of the best performances of the event. After winning gold last weekend at the Charleston Open, Andy competed both with and without the gi in Houston. In the gi, Andy defeated both of his opponents by submission. He had two more matches without the gi on Sunday, winning his first match by submission and his final by points.

Another competitor who won all of her matches in Houston was Raquel Canuto of CheckMat. Raquel won two matches at middleweight in the gi on Saturday and also won the no-gi open class on Sunday with two more wins. Melissa Stricker of Alliance was the gi open class champion in Houston.

The male open class champions were Fellipe Andrew of Alliance and Victor Hugo of Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu. Coming off an incredible victory at the IBJJF FloGrappling Grand Prix, Fellipe competed in the gi in the heavyweight and open class brackets. He won two matches at heavyweight and another two in the open to take double gold in the gi. Victor Hugo had two matches at ultra heavy and three in the open class without the gi, displaying dominant jiu-jitsu and going 5-0 on the weekend.

After a great performance at the Pan No-Gi a few weeks ago, Francisco Lo entered the medium-heavy gi division at the Houston Fall Open. He had three victories, all by way of submission, to take home gold. In his black belt debut, Mario Alvarado of UACTP won his two matches to claim the top spot on the podium. Mario was promoted to black belt in July of this year following a stellar run at brown belt that included a Pan title at light feather.

Italo Moura of Unity Jiu-Jitsu won no-gi gold at medium-heavy and had the following to say about his performance. “In my first fight I focused more on the stand up part, exchanged ties, and focused on controlling my opponent and exposing him. I scored with a takedown off of his shot and pressured on top until I made him expose the back. I finished him using a rear naked choke. In my second fight I used a different approach and pulled guard, and my goal was to sweep and stay on top. I did it eventually and exposed his back. It also led to a rear naked choke from the back.”

2022 Houston Fall International Open team results:

1. Gracie Barra
2. BJJ Revolution Team
3. GF Team

2022 Houston Fall International No-Gi Open team results:

1. Gracie Barra
2. Six Blades Jiu-Jitsu
3. GF Team