Once again, Alliance took the number one spot in the team results of the Brazilian Nationals with 116 points in the adult division. A big contribution toward that trophy was the success of a generation of competitors waiting for their chance to shine in the spotlight: the brown belts. 

Alliance’s team of brown belts took home five golds, four silvers and three bronze medals over the weekend, with standouts Nicholas Meregali and Isaque Bahiense both taking home two medals. 

Bahiense closed out the middleweight category with his teammate Flavio Junqueira, taking silver. Bahiense then closed out the absolute with Meregali, this time taking gold and the heavyweight opting for silver (after winning gold in his own division).
** CORRECTION — Bahiense disputed the absolute brown belt final with Meregali, winning 2-0 via a sweep. 

An-almost guaranteed medalist would have been Tayane Porfirio, who was registered to compete. The brown belt ace was sick and taking antibiotics, so had to withdraw. 

The full list of Alliance brown belt medalists is as follows: 

Gold 

• Vagner Reis da Silveria – light featherweight 
  
• Flavio Junqueira – middleweight 
  
• Leonardo Rivero Guzzi – middle heavyweight 
  
• Nicholas Meregali – heavyweight 
  
• Isaque Bahiense – absolute 
  

Silver

• Felipe Linhares Arruda – featherweight 
  
• Isaque Bahiense – middleweight 
  
• Max Mendes – ultra heavyweight 
  
• Nicholas Meregali – absolute 
  

Bronze 

• Lucas Emanuel Theodore de Oliveira – light featherweight 
  
• Fernando Andrade dos Reis – super heavyweight
  

Watch the best brown belts in the world compete at the 2016 IBJJF World Championships, available to watch live or on replay exclusively here on FloGrappling!