With the 2023 World Jiu-Jitsu Championships just around the corner, several highly accomplished black belt competitors traveled to Houston for the 2023 Houston International Open. One of those competitors was Matheus Gabriel, a 2019 World Champion who made his IBJJF debut this past weekend in Texas.

Currently based out of Katy, Texas, Matheus has been hard at work building his academy, Inevat Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. He spoke about his return to IBJJF competition. "It was really good to be back, especially here in Houston. Now it’s my home. I moved to Houston last year and I have my own gym so it was really good to fight here and also to see all my friends and my student there. It was an incredible feeling. The matches were really good. I had three matches total. I subbed the first match and the semifinals and finals I won by points. I was really calm and didn’t feel a lot of pressure. I had a lot of confidence in all the matches. I wish I could’ve submitted all my opponents, but it’s a part of the process."

Matheus’ CheckMat teammate Nathalie Ribeiro also competed in Texas, dropping down to the featherweight division from her usual lightweight category. She had two matches at feather, winning both to take gold in the division. Nathalie will fight her next two tournaments, the San Diego Open and the World Championships, in the featherweight division as well.

In the medium-heavy division Francisco Lo won two matches to take gold. Medium-heavy included Sebastian Rodriguez, Bruno Matias, Manuel Ribamar, and Mateus Rodrigues, making it one of the toughest divisions of the event. "I had good fights in Houston. In my first fight I faced Matheus Rocha from Gracie Barra and I fought Ribamar in the final match. I passed his guard and I tried to go to knee on belly but I only got an advantage. I only got the guard pass points."

Coming off a third place finish at the Brasileiros, Pedro Alex of GF Team won the absolute division in the gi in Houston. He gave some insight into each of his matches."I finished my first match at ultra-heavy with a clock choke against Igor in 30 seconds. In the open class, I won my first match with Joshua by points, scoring two takedowns. The second match with Roberto was similar. I scored one takedown for points and almost scored with another, but I didn’t stabilize. The third match with Rodrigo was 0-0 and I won by referee decision."

Other standout performances came from Giancarlo Bodoni and Roberto Jimenez. Giancarlo took gold in the no-gi open class. He defeated Michael Laci and Igor Schneider to take first place. Roberto competed at heavyweight in the gi, where he submitted all three of his opponents.

2023 Houston Open team results:

1. Gracie Barra

2. BJJ Revolution Team

3. GF Team

2023 Houston Open No-Gi team results:

1. Gracie Barra

2. GF Team

3. Alliance