Worlds No-Gi at the Pyramid tomorrow
The fighting brackets for the World No-Gi jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship are out. We took a look at the black belt division and found out there’s a lot of great fighters in there so you should expect some great fights this weekend.
Without fear of controversy, we decided to analyse each category and name our favorites.
Here are our bets .
Rooster
Caio Terra
Caio Terra should be in the final against Alliance’s Fabio Passos. Caio is the favorite for the title, but the instructor at Cobrinha Jiu-Jitsu for sure has some moves under his rashguard to try snatching that gold medal.
Light-featherweight
Laercio Fernandes (right)
A category without a clear favorite. If you look at the IBJJF 2012 male black belt ranking, you will find Laercio Fernandes in the 40th position and Rafael Freitas in the 46th. The two will meet in one of the semifinals. The winner there can be considered to have more chances for the gold. On the other side of the bracket, Henrique Rezende and Gabriel dos Santos do not show on the Top 100 list.
Featherweight
Cobrinha
Four times world champion with the gi and three times world champion without the gi, Rubens Charles Maciel has the curriculum and the skills to be considered the big favorite. In Cobrinha’s way to the highest step of the podium, you will find Osvaldo “Queixinho” Moizinho in the semifinal, and Samir Chantre, Justin Rader or Ed Ramos in the final match.
Lightweight
Leandro Lo
When you look at the bracket, it is hard not to picture the semifinals being Lucas Lepri vs. Jonathan Torres and Leandro Lo vs. Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes. At a second glance, you may consider the possibility of Zachary Maxwell upseting Tanquinho. Either way, it is also hard not to picture Lo in the final as the favorite for the gold medal.
Middleweight
DJ Jackson
Why not an All-American final match? Lloyd Irvin’s DJ Jackson and Paragon’s William “Bill” Cooper for sure have the skills to overcome their opponents. Clark Gracie and Murilo Santana want to spoil the party and also have the talent to do it.
Medium-heavyweight
Romulo Barral
On one side of the bracket, Kleber Oliveira, Victor Bonfim, Bruno Antunes and Pablo Popovitch will fight fiercely for a spot in the final. On the other side, it is hard to imagine Romulo Barral out of the god medal decider.
Heavyweight
Rafael Lovato Jr
Rafael Lovato Jr wants his third world no-gi championship and has trained a lot to achieve it. Roberto “Tussa” Alencar, David Avellan, Diego Herzog and Eduardo Telles should be his toughest obstacles.
Super-heavyweight
Xande Ribeiro
Another division with two stand out favorites. Xande Ribeiro and Bernardo Faria are the men to be beaten and most probably won’t be. The final match has all the ingredients to be a great one.
Ultra-heavyweight
Roberto Cyborg
Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu is the most well known name here, but that does not necessarily make him the favorite. The other competitors may still be unknown to a larger audience, but sometimes that is what makes them even more dangerous.
Female
Lightfeather
With only three competitors, Nyjah Easton stands out as the most likely to win the gold medal. It is up to Sofia Amarante to upset her plans.
Feather
Again a three-athletes division, the category has Ana Carolina Vidal as the favorite, but Sayaka Shioda is known to be a dangerous opponent.
Lightweight
Beatriz Mesquita is the favorite, but she needs to be careful not to be caught off guard, as it has happened before.
Middleweight
A one-fight division, Luiza Monteiro and Penny Thomas will battle for the gold. Luiza, younger, can be considered favorite, but that means almost nothing against experienced and very dangerous Penny.
Medium-heavyweight
Michelle Nicolini is all alone.
Heavyweight
Fernanda Mazzelli carries the weight of favoritism against Tammy Griego.
So, there you have it. A brief analysis of each division of the black belt for the Worlds No-Gi, this weekend.
What do you think? Do you agree or do you think we are way off on our bets?
Feel free to comment!
