Another highly anticipated no-gi tournament went down on Saturday, October 14th, as the Sul Americano No-Gi took place at the Arena Cel. Wenceslau Malta in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. GF Team was extremely impressive at the event, winning adult male, adult female, juvenile, and master team trophies.

Among the fantastic individual performances was that of middleweight Alexandre Jesus. The Esporte Dez athlete won three matches on his way to gold. He spoke about his day, stating, “Today I had three fights and managed to finish all three of them. The first fight I ended with an armbar, the second I ended with a straight footlock, and the third I ended by RNC. Nobody scored on me in this tournament. My next competition will be the Rio BJJ Pro. My main goal this year is in December at the Wolds No-Gi where I'm going to take gold.”

Other highlights of the event included the performances of the open class champions. GF Team’s Pedro Alex started his day in Rio in the ultra heavyweight division, where he took third place. He’d return to the open class later in the day, where this time he managed to make it to the top of the podium. “I was feeling really good today, confident to make my strategy happen, even more now that I invested more time to improve my no-gi game during the time that I stayed in the US. My next tournament will be the Rio BJJ Pro on October 28.”

The female black belt open class champion was Maca Vicentini. Maca won the 2023 World Championships as a brown belt and was awarded her black belt on the podium. She spoke about overcoming an injury to make a highly successful debut at her new rank. “Today was my first competition after my knee meniscus surgery and my debut in the black belt. I had five fights in total. I was happy with my performance and to have arrived with the right foot at black belt. I can’t wait to fight the next no-gi championships. At the end of the month I’m going to the European No-Gi and in December to the Worlds No-Gi.”

Full results for the 2023 Sul Americano No-Gi can be found at ibjjf.com/results.

2023 Sul Americano No-Gi adult male team results:

1. GF Team - Jiu Art

2. Gracie Barra

3. Nova Uniao

2023 Sul Americano No-Gi adult female team results:

1. GF Team - Jiu Art

2. Nova Uniao

3. CheckMat

2023 Sul Americano No-Gi juvenile team results:

1. GF Team - Jiu Art

2. Carlson Gracie Team

3. Fernando Terere (FTBJJ)

2023 Sul Americano No-Gi master team results:

1. GF Team - Jiu Art

2. Nova Uniao

3. Gracie Barra