Leo Nogueira winning at the South American Championship. Photo by Gustavo Aragao
The current superheavyweight world championship and absolute world runner-up, Léo Nogueira’s trip to Florianópolis, Brazil, for the 2012 South American Championship turned out to be worthwhile.
After helping Mauricio Shogun train in Curitiba, the Alliance black belt pushed on a bit further down south and fulfilled his mission in the CBJJ championship’s absolute division with a faultless performance.
But the two Leanardos’ task in the open-weight division was no easy one.
At one end of the bracket, Léo Leite defeated CheckMat’s medium-heavyweight revelation Renato Cardoso on points. In the semifinal, the Gigi Paiva student had to outdo local star Alexandro Ceconi, a heavyweight to be taken seriously. Leite again imposed his game, with a safe performance, and secured victory on points.
At the other end, Léo Nogueira was rampant, and got the submission in every one of his matches, the most notable of which was the electrifying semifinal against Guto Campos of Guetho Academy, whom he finished with a forearm choke.
Promise kept (refresh your memory here), and the Léos merrily shared the spoils of their conquest.
Marina and Talita faced off in the absolute
The level in the female division was at a peak this Saturday. And Sunday marks the absolute final, where black belt stars Marina Ribeiro of CheckMat and Talita Nogueira of Ryan Gracie Team will lock horns for the gold.
Who do you have taking it? Share your prediction below.
To check out the official results in real time, stay tuned to the CBJJ website by clicking here.
Check out the black belt brackets here.
