Purple belt adults competed on days two and three of the 2023 Pans. Among the many great performances were those of Dream Art athletes Beatriz Gutierrez and Rafael Borges, who both won double gold despite being feather and middleweights, respectively.

Beatriz Gutierrez, Featherweight & Open Class Champion - 8 fights, 5 submissions

Featherweight Beatriz Gutierrez competed on Thursday March 23rd and put on an incredible performance full of submissions. The Dream Art athlete put her passing on display in the weight class, using it to get to the back and finish with chokes in three of those matches. Her other finish was a straight ankle lock. Despite a big size disadvantage in her open class matches, Beatriz was able to overcome four more opponents. She finished another straight ankle in her first open class match and then won her next three by points to become the 2023 Pans purple belt double gold champion.

Rafael Borges, Middleweight & Open Class Champion - 9 fights, 4 submissions

In the purple belt middleweight division, Dream Art’s Rafael Borges won gold after submitting four of his five opponents. His submission attacks were all chokes as he got finishes with a cross choke from closed guard, a rear naked choke, and two collar chokes from the back. Rafael had four more fights in the open class, winning all of them via points.

Gisele Menezes, Medium-Heavy Champion - 3 fights, 3 submissions

GF Team competitor Gisele Menezes came into her first major tournament of 2023 after a successful 2022 gi season where she won Brasileiro gold and took second at the Worlds. She put on her best performance yet at the Pans, submitting all three of her opponents at medium-heavyweight. Her final match was a beautiful showcase of her takedown and submission skills. Gisele used a drop seoi nage to take her opponent down and then finished with an armbar, getting the tap in under a minute.

Gustavo Ogawa, Featherweight Champion - 4 fights, 3 submissions

In the adult male purple belt featherweight division, Gustavo Ogawa of AOJ took gold. He submitted three of his four opponents on his way to the top of the podium. His best submission of the day came in his second match, where he hit a flying triangle and rolled straight to the mount, ultimately getting the finish from his back.

Be sure to catch all the replays from the 2023 Pan Jiu-Jitsu Championships, exclusively on FloGrappling.