A reminder of how the groups work: The 10 competitors are split into two round-robin groups of five, fighting everyone else in their group.
Points are awarded for winning by submission (5), points (3) or advantage (2), with 1 point for a draw. The top two competitors in the group at the end of the round-robin will advance to the finals.
Andre Borges of BJJ Heroes helps guide you through the event by breaking down the competitors from the Copa Podio Lightweight Grand Prix, analyzing and assessing their games ahead of this weekend’s competition.
EDWIN NAJMI
Another superstar in the making, Gracie Barra’s Edwin Najmi made the triangle choke his most utilized weapon as a brown belt, something that helped him earn a world title in the division.
Najmi entered the black belt category late in 2015, and although it is common to think that the major league of our sport will force competitors to change their games, Najmi has managed to continue winning his battles from his killer open guard, with all his victories so far coming by way of submission.
DILLON DANIS
One of the most versatile young talents in the world of grappling today, Dillon Danis has the complete package: tenacity, endurance and athleticism combined with amazing skills on top and bottom. His willingness to take chances made him a fan favorite on the American grappling scene as a brown belt, and as this will be one of his first showings on a major platform, expect fireworks.
Danis’ strongest asset might also be his greatest enemy. Dillon often abandons dominant positions to dive on submissions, and although his style worked tremendously in his favor as a brown belt, this approach remains untested at the highest level as Danis has less experience competing in the big leagues of the sport when comparing to the majority of athletes on the card.
Experience aside Danis is a tremendous addition to Copa Podio, a competitor who doesn’t know the word “stall” and one of the bigger names on the card. If we were to give the viewers advice for this one, it would be ‘don’t blink’.
DIEGO BORGES
Diego Borges is a complete grappler with a style similar to that of Davi Ramos. Strong and explosive, Borges had a tremendous career in the lower belt divisions of the sport where he earned three world titles. Since arriving at black belt Diego has also worked on his wrestling with the Bulgarian wrestling squad, so expect some clean takedown game from the Manaus native.
Diego is a former Copa Podio runner-up, having lost the final against Leandro Lo by 1 advantage back in 2013. His performances on the jiu-jitsu circuit since then have been hot and cold, but on a good day Borges is capable of beating anyone on this card.
PATRICK GAUDIO
Coming in as a late replacement for Jaime Canuto, Patrick possesses a different set of skills from that of his team mate. The 2014 IBJJF and UAEJJF brown belt world champion is very well-rounded, being apt on all areas of the game, with a strong drop seoi-nage, athletic guard passing and a crowd pleasing open guard.
Another asset Gaudio brings to the Copa Podio GP is his size. Usually a middle heavyweight (88kg / 194lbs), Patrick should be one of the biggest athletes on the mat on game day.
LUAN CARVALHO
Luan may be the shorter athlete on the card but what he lacks in height he makes up for with his work ethic and mental toughness. Luan is one of the rare cases of an athlete who has been doing tremendously well at black belt, completely disregarding his not-so-bright track record in the lower belt divisions of the sport – a true testament to his ‘never say die’ attitude.
Luan Carvalho may very well be the dark horse of the tournament. Competing out of the small town of Macaé near Rio de Janeiro, Carvalho has had a rampant start at black belt conquering three of the toughest tournaments in Brazil. His eye-opening wins over big names of the sport (such as Michael Langhi, Rodrigo Caporal, Juan Caio Kamezawa, Thiago ‘Baiano’ and many others) earned Luan the respect of the grappling community.
