With less than two weeks to go before the 2023 World Championships, many athletes based in or around San Diego made the trip to the Harry West Gymnasium for the 2023 San Diego Spring Open. Standout performances from Fellipe Andrew, Melissa Stricker, and Osvaldo “Queixinho” stood out along with the overall performance of team Atos, who won the overall team title in the gi.

Heading into the San Diego Open, Alliance’s Fellipe Andrew had won gold medals at the Europeans, Brasileiros, and the LA Open with an 18-1 record in 2023. Fellipe was on a mission to showcase his abilities from the mount position in San Diego, finishing four of his five fights from there.

“I’m very happy with the performance I had this weekend. I tested my game giving 100% in all positions, the way I intend to fight at the Worlds. Now the preparation continues. Tomorrow I’ll be training again because I want to be as prepared as possible for this Worlds! I managed to submit four of my five fights I had from the mount position, practically without mistakes. Three of my submissions came from kata gatame from mount and one was an armbar from mount. I had a very good performance, fighting on top in all my matches and with a lot of pressure.”

Fellipe’s teammate and 2021 World Champion Melissa Stricker won the female absolute title in the gi. She’s been very active thus far in 2023, competing and taking gold in Denver, Chicago, Nashville, and Los Angeles, a pace she’s confident will be a big factor at the Worlds.

“I’ve been fighting a lot in the last few weeks and that’s part of my preparation for the main goal, which is the Worlds. I’m feeling good and prepared and I’m looking forward to showing my jiu-jitsu at the Worlds. I’m counting the days to step into the Pyramid and leave all of me on that mat.”

Despite qualifying for the master 2 division, Osvaldo “Queixinho” continues to prove that his jiu-jitsu is better than ever. He dropped down to the featherweight division in San Diego after two of his students were up at lightweight. Queixinho commented on making the weight on short notice, his matches, and his preparation for the World Championships.

“It was a little bit of a rush to make the weight on short notice but it was actually good for me because it helped me to get ready and get more prepared and focused for Worlds, which is in two weeks. I’m pretty much on weight right now so I just need to keep eating clean and keep training. I had two fights in San Diego. The first one I won by armbar from closed guard. I was able to feel the fight and I was still getting used to the weight and I felt good and strong and I ended up getting my positions fairly comfortably and I finished with the armbar. The second fight was a little more intense between me and my opponent. I got a takedown in the beginning and then we both got sweeps. Then at some point I tried a knee slice, he defended and I did a back step and I went for a kneebar, where I was able to get the finish.”

Nathalie Ribeiro also returned to competition in her new weight division, featherweight. She won her only match and will stay at featherweight for the Worlds. The no-gi open class champions were Rachel Robinson of One Jiu-Jitsu USA and Adam Bradley of B Team. Adam had three matches in the open class and won all of them by submission.

2023 San Diego Spring Open team results:

1. Atos Jiu-Jitsu

2. CheckMat

3. Alliance

2023 San Diego Spring Open No-Gi team results:

1. CheckMat

2. Atos Jiu-Jitsu

3. 10th Planet Freaks