The IBJJF Absolute GP went down this past Friday at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California. As one of the most stacked GP brackets in recent memory, the matches delivered non-stop action from start to finish. In addition to the absolute bracket, there were also five super fights with some of the most exciting competitors on the scene. Between the Absolute GP bracket and the super fights, there were plenty of memorable moments that left viewers eagerly anticipating the next grand prix event.

Kaynan Duarte Wins Absolute GP Title And $40k

Atos Jiu-Jitsu’s Kaynan Duarte has had quite an impressive 2022. He won his second World title back in June and entered an Absolute GP bracket that was absolutely loaded with great competitors. Kaynan’s opening match was against Elder “El Monstro” Cruz of CheckMat, who was making his black belt debut in the gi. After pulling guard and setting up his favored de la riva position, Kaynan swept to score an early two points. Once he got on top, he controlled the pace as Elder attempted to get some offense going from half guard. Kaynan got to the side control position after he forced Elder to turtle, but Elder recovered his guard shortly after. The match ended 2-0, 3-0 advantages for Kaynan, who moved on to face Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu in the semifinal.

In the semifinal match, Kaynan used a similar strategy, pulling guard on Cyborg. Instead of using de la riva, however, Kaynan opted for double sleeve control. As Cyborg attempted to free himself of the control, Kaynan off balanced him and swept him to the side to go up 2-0. Cyborg attempted to use the reverse de la riva to sweep Kaynan and was able to stand up on a single leg, but Kaynan defended beautifully and broke free of the position. He pulled to closed guard, where Cyborg attempted to pass for the majority of the remainder of the match. The final score was 2-0 and put Kaynan in the final against GF Team’s Gutemberg Pereira.

GF Team’s Gutemberg Pereira had an amazing run to the final. In his opening match against submission specialist Francisco Lo, he passed the guard twice and finished a kimura from side control. He then submitted Rider Zuchi with a choke from the back just two and a half minutes into their semifinal match. In the final, Gutemberg pulled right to his de la riva guard and looked to get underneath Kaynan’s hips. Despite Gutemberg’s solid attempts to off balance and sweep, Kaynan’s top position and base were enough to avoid Gutemberg’s attacks.

After a reset on the feet about three minutes in, Kaynan pulled guard and hit a quick sweep to the side with collar and elbow grips. Gutemberg did everything he could to reverse the position but Kaynan held the top position to get the two points. Gutemberg managed to get to the single leg x and worked various grips to try to sweep Kaynan. But it was Kaynan’s base, once again, that helped him maintain his lead. Kaynan nearly took the back off of a scramble with less than two minutes left in the match but Gutemberg was able to recover his guard. Kaynan maintained top position until the clock expired and secured the Absolute GP title and $40k, a huge accomplishment for the 2X World Champion.

AOJ’s Jessa Khan Gets Super Fight Submission Victory

Coming into their GP super fight, Jessa Khan and Kaori Hernandez had competed against one another multiple times in the colored belts. In the pre-fight press conference, both Jessa and Kaori spoke of their evolution since their previous matches and were excited to put their work on display. The match started with both athletes fighting for grips from the guard position. Once Jessa got the grips she wanted, she took top position and passed the guard with a cross grip on the pants. She transitioned to the back and then again to the mount and racked up seventeen points throughout the sequence. Kaori was able to work her way out of many bad positions and ended up on top in Jessa’s closed guard. The end of the match came shortly after, however, as Jessa locked a triangle from a lapel control and finished an armbar on the outside arm. It was a dominant performance by the AOJ black belt who seems to be getting better every time she competes.

Atos Jiu-Jitsu Athletes Gracie and Murasaki Win Super Fights

In addition to Kaynan Duarte, the Atos Jiu-Jitsu team also had two athletes competing in super fights at the Absolute GP. In a very intriguing stylistic matchup, 2020 European Champion Jonnatas Gracie faced 2022 World Master Champion Sergio Rios. Jonnatas has been one of the best black belt adult competitors on the scene, consistently hitting the podium at major championships since his black belt promotion in 2019. His opponent, Sergio Rios, is one of the most exciting competitors in jiu-jitsu, winning the majority of his matches with creative submissions. He won the World Masters medium-heavy division this year, but has also competed and won many open tournaments in the adult division.

Jonnatas started the match strong, pulling guard and sweeping for a quick two points. They exchanged sweeps but it was an attempt by Sergio to get back to his feet that allowed Jonnatas to find his way to the back. He remained patient as he worked for his hooks, eventually scoring the points for the back and then transitioning to the mount to put the match at 12-2. Sergio was able to escape and come on top in Jonnatas’ closed guard, but the point deficit proved too big to overcome. The final score was 16-4 in favor of Jonnatas.   

In another super fight featuring an Atos competitor, 2022 Worlds silver medalist Andy Murasaki faced 2021 brown belt World Champion Mateus Rodrigues in a medium-heavyweight match. Andy and Mateus had fought before at blue and purple belt, but have evolved tremendously in recent years as they’ve ascended their respective divisions. The match started with both athletes fighting for grips and position on the feet with Andy pulling guard thirty seconds in. Most of the next five minutes were spent with Andy on bottom trying to attack while Mateus used his base and balance to avoid any danger.

An attempt by Andy to get underneath Mateus’ hips turned into a scramble and a single leg position for Mateus. Andy showed tremendous poise and balance, defending the position for nearly four minutes before one of his many collar drag counters finally paid off. The reversal put Mateus on his back and scored Andy the two points that sealed the victory. The victories by Kaynan, Jonnatas, and Andy gave Atos an undefeated record on the night.

Roosevelt Sousa Uses Pressure to Defeat Johnatha Alves

In what was considered by many jiu-jitsu fans to be the most anticipated super fight of the night, Fight Sport’s Roosevelt Sousa faced AOJ’s Johnatha Alves in an open weight match. Roosevelt weighed in at 261.2 lbs. to Johnatha’s 175.8 lbs. The match started with Johnatha pulling guard and looking to slow down Roosevelt’s forward pressure. Roosevelt took advantage of his significant size advantage, however, getting an under hook and slicing his knee through Johnatha’s guard to get the guard pass points. From the side control, Roosevelt nearly secured the mount, but Johnatha was able to recover to the half guard and eventually get back to del la riva. Johnatha struggled, however, to launch effective attacks against the size and pressure of the Fight Sports black belt. A late omoplata attempt from Johnatha was the last bit of offense he could muster, but it was not enough to overcome Roosevelt’s 3-0 lead. It was an important win for Roosevelt, whose next challenge will be at the Worlds No-Gi in December.

Eduardo “Dudu” Gets The Win Over Zach Kaina In Back And Forth Match

In the only brown belt super fight of the night, CheckMat’s Eduardo “Dudu” Granzotto took on Zach Kaina of AOJ. Coming into the match, the two featherweights had fought three times, all in 2022. Though Dudu was able to come out victorious in all their prior encounters, each match was close and played out differently than the one before. Both athletes pulled guard to start the match, with Dudu coming up on top quickly before going right into a guard pass attempt. He nearly secured the guard pass but Zach was able to invert and reset the position. Zach went right into a triangle attempt, but Dudu was able to posture out of it. A deciding point of the match came with just two minutes left, as Zach used a lapel control to stand up and get behind Dudu. As Zach pulled Dudu backwards in an attempt to set his hooks in place, Dudu cleared the legs and rotated his body to come up in top side control. Dudu used the position to lock a d’arce choke but Zach resisted the submission until the time expired. Dudu earned the victory with three advantages to Zach’s one.

If you missed any of the IBJJF Absolute GP event, be sure to go to FloGrappling to catch all the replays.