Xande Ribeiro (in black) at latest Copa Pódio event, last January, against Keenan Cornelius (photo by Gustavo Aragão)
Old chums and staunch rivals, Alexandre Ribeiro and Bráulio “Carcará” Estima have faced off at the 2007 European Open, two ADCCs and in other memorable match-ups. Now they’re set to face off once again, on the 1st of May.
At the next Copa Pódio event, Xande and Bráulio will defend their respective cities, Manaus and Recife, in the Inter-Cities Challenge, a super-match scheduled to take place just before the Lightweight Grand Prix finals at Rio de Janeiro’s Hebraica Club on Labor Day.
The big news regarding the old duel has to do with the rules: advantage points will not be counted, as explained to GRACIEMAG.com by the tournament’s promoter, Jeferson Maycá, who worked hard right through Brazilian carnival to make sure everything will go to plan.
“I’d already mulled over this possibility before, but only now, encouraged by some athletes and especially by the brothers Xande and Saulo, did I decide to put the idea of eliminating advantage points to practice,” the founder of Copa Pódio explains. “Let’s see how the match goes. As Saulo Ribeiro put it, an advantage point isn’t a goal in Jiu-Jitsu,” he adds.
Besides this clash of titans, there are three names confirmed for the lightweight GP: Michael Langhi (Alliance), Diego Borges (CheckMat) and the current champion, Leandro Lo (Cicero Costha). There’s a good likelihood Jonathan Torres (Lloyd Irvin) will be announced shortly.
In what is being billed as the “Triple Bout”, GFTeam is guaranteed to take part in the three super-matches against a rival team yet to be announced. Another major attraction is Rodolfo Vieira, who will lock horns with a soon-to-be-announced opponent.
Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for further news, and take part in the discussion: can advantage points be nixed without hindering the athletes? What do you think? Share your opinion with us in the comments field below.
