4/25/2022 By: Danny O'Donnell

In the last IBJJF tournament in Brazil before the Brazilian Nationals in early May, the Rio Fall International Open took place on April 23rd and 24th. The event featured gi and no-gi divisions and saw some of the country’s best athletes take the mats to compete for gold.

Number one ranked female adult black belt Gabrieli Pessanha won the super-heavy and open class divisions in the gi in Rio. At super-heavy she submitted Victoria Amaral before entering the open class. She had another three matches in the open, defeating Jessica Caroline of Caio Terra Association Brazil in the final. Gabrieli will head into the Brazilian Nationals looking to complete the next step of the double grand slam, having won her weight and the open class at both Europeans and Pans this year.

In the featherweight division, Samuel Nagai of CheckMat took first place. His run to the final included a highlight reel armbar in which he jumped over his opponent’s seated guard right into the submission. He won a total of four matches on the day. Nagai will join Kennedy Maciel, Diego Sodre, and Fabricio Andrey in a stacked featherweight division in a few short weeks at Brazilian Nationals.

Ygor Rodrigues of CT MR competed in both gi and no-gi divisions in Rio. In the lightweight division in the gi, Ygor won four matches to win gold. In no-gi, he competed as a middleweight, winning another three matches and putting his record at 7-0 for the weekend. At heavyweight, Rider Zuchi won three matches to take gold. He also competed in the open class where he won another two matches and took second to his NS Brotherhood teammate Leandro Carlos Santos.

Pedro Alex of GF Team helped lead the squad to both gi and no-gi team titles. On Saturday, Pedro won the ultra-heavy division in the gi with two victories. On Sunday in no-gi he had a total of five wins, two in his weight class and another three in the open. Natalia Zumba of Alliance won no-gi double gold, winning matches in both the medium-heavy and open class divisions after finishing second at middleweight in the gi on Saturday.

2022 Rio Fall International Open team results:

1. GF Team
2. Nova Uniao
3. Gracie Barra

2022 Rio Fall International No-Gi Open team results:

1. GF Team
2. Gracie Barra
3. CheckMat