Anyone hoping for a hotly disputed contest wasn’t disappointed by Copa Predador, a tournament held last weekend in Teresina, a town in the Brazilian state of Piauí. The winner of the black belt absolute was Helder Bibi (Orions/Nova União), who beast the masters-aged Ginkles Lucas (SAS) in the final.
Ginkles had been winning the match by 3-0 up until the seventh minute, when he ran out of gas and gave up, conceding Helder the win and the BRL 500 prize that went with it.
Ginkles Lucas won the ultraheavyweight division, and Marcelo Moreira (Orions/Nova União) was top spot at middleweight.
Now at brown belt, Denis Chokito (DBK) came up spades with his basic and effective Jiu-Jitsu. He routed his opponent in the open weight semifinal by 17 to 0. In the final, facing Waldemar Junior, he used a white belt sweep, with his hand on the belt, mounted and wisely waited for his moment to strike.
When the opponent bridged to escape mount, Denis sunk a reverse armbar that earned him BRL 300 and the gold medal. “I got the gas money for the trip home,” joked the Ricardo Costa student.
In the final points tally, Orions/Nova União placed number one in the team list, SPIJJO took second, and SAS took third.