The 2023 Sul Americano, a prestigious two-star event, concluded at the Ginásio Poliesportivo José Correa on Sunday, September 17th. The competition, known for its elite level of competition and the opportunity to earn substantial ranking points, witnessed several well established athletes earn important victories in Sao Paulo, Brazil. We caught up with four of the champions to hear their thoughts on their performances.

2023 European and Pan Champion Jessica Caroline returned to competition at the Sul Americano, continuing her stellar 2023 campaign.“I've been training a lot to improve my performance in competitions. In this South American Championship I had two fights, finishing the first with a crucifix choke and winning the final on points. I had an excellent performance with a forward and aggressive jiu-jitsu. The next step is the Brazilian National No-Gi. I’m very excited for this competition, where I have five victories in the colored belts. It will be my first one at black belt. I want to thank my team R1NGBJJ, my sponsors, and everyone who is with me on this journey.”

Uanderson Ferreira, who won the Europeans as a brown belt in January, returned to IBJJF competition in spectacular fashion. He used to pace and dynamic movements to earn four victories. Uanderson commented on his performance, stating “I had four fights and I got the submission in two of them. I feel very well. I’m very happy. My final was a war. Mauricio Oliveira is very tough and he has a lot of skills. I did my best and thank God I got the win. For me it was a very hard final.”

The adult male black belt open class champion was Harryson Pereira of Ataque Duplo. After taking third in the super heavy division, Harrison came back in full force to claim the absolute title. “I believe I had a good championship. I had eight fights and I managed to finish some,” explained Harryson. “My next championship will be the Curitiba Open. I’m coming off a series of championships and coming away with victory and I intend to continue training and fighting everything I can."

Amanda Magda won the 2023 Europeans in the adult heavyweight division at the age of 45. She’s continued to test herself at the adult ranks this year, and did so again at the SuloAmericano. She remarked on her day, stating “I had two fights in the adult heavyweight category and finished both of them with arm locks. I repeated last year's result but improved my performance.  We have a very strong team of girls at Fratres. We have all different weights and different types of games.  We are very complete in the gym, training harder and harder.  Next championship we're going to is the BJJ Pro in Rio de Janeiro.

Other notable results included 2022 World Champion Meyram Alves winning the featherweight division after four victories and Brígida Felipe winning the adult female black belt open class after securing three wins. Brigida came into the absolute bracket as the eighth seed. Please visit https://ibjjf.com/events/results for full Sul Americano results.

2023 Sul Americano adult male team results:

Alliance

Fratres Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Nova Uniao

2023 Sul Americano adult female team results:

1.   Fratres Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

2.   Nova Uniao

3.   GF Team

2023 Sul Americano juvenile team results:

CheckMat

Melqui Galvao Jiu-Jitsu

Qatar BJJ / Vision Brasil

2023 Sul Americano master team results:

1.   Alliance

2.   Gracie Barra

3.   CheckMat

2023 Sul Americano novice team results:

1.   Gracie Barra

2.   PSLPB Cicero Costha

3.   ZR Team Association