Claudio Calasans, Leandro Lo’s opponent at Copa Pódio. Photo: Ivan Trindade
Copa Pódio promoters have announced the name of Leandro Lo’s adversary for the superfight of the Sep. 8 event that will also feature a middleweight Grand Prix.
Claudio Calasans (Atos) is the man pitted against Lo in a ten-minute, no-gi, under 82kg bout. The Cicero Costha pupil has a lot of momentum going in, having just grabbed both the middleweight and open titles at the Rio Open this past weekend. The match is going to take place right before the GP’s final, providing the audience with some world-class Jiu-Jitsu, and the GP finalists with some rest before their decisive encounter.
The GP has an astounding line-up in Keenan Cornelius (Atos), Yan Cabral (Aranha/Nova União), Alexandro Ceconi (Ceconi Team), Travis Stevens (Renzo Gracie), Jaime Canuto (GFTeam), Renato Cardoso (CheckMat), Diogo Moreno (Soul Fighters), Kit Dale (Checkmat), Paulo Miyao (Cícero Costha) and Felipe Preguiça (Gracie Barra).
But that’s still not all, as San Diego’s Clark Gracie will represent his town in the Duel of Cities versus Manaus’s Diego Borges. This one has a catch in that it has no time limit – meaning it can only end via submission (aside from the unlikely referee stoppage), which could potentially generate an epic fight for the ages.
Pódio Cup – Middleweight GP
Tijuca Tennis Club, Rio de Janeiro
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Duel of cities (till tapout)
Diego Borges (Manaus) vs. Clark Gracie (San Diego/EUA)
Middleweight GP (under 86kg)
Yan Cabral
Keenan Cornelius
Alexandro Ceconi
Diogo Moreno
Jaime Canuto
Travis Stevens
Kit Dale
Renato Cardoso
Paulo Miyao
Felipe Preguiça
Special fight (10-minute, no-gi)
Leandro Lo vs. Claudio Calasans
