It was a long day of high-level jiu-jitsu on Sunday at the Tijuca Tennis Club, the biggest jiu-jitsu stage in Rio de Janeiro. There were hard-fought grip battles, somersaults and savage leg attacks, and the male and female divisions stirred up the audience. 

Dimitrius Souza and Beatriz Mesquita both took double gold at the 2016 IBJJF No-Gi Brazilian nationals, while Kim Terra finally conquered a title that he had chased for four years.

Dimitrius Souza versus Max Gimenis in the black belt absolute final. Photo: Carlos Arthur Jr.

At heavyweight, Dimitrius Souza (Alliance) had a great fight against Victor Bomfim (GF Team), a real war of backtakes. At the end of time, Souza took the match on points. 

The super heavyweight division was all GF Team, as teammates Max Gimenis and Leo Maciel won their respective semifinals and closed out the bracket. 

In the absolute, Souza and Gimenis faced each other in the race for gold. After working on the ground exchanging backtakes and transitions, Souza managed to slip out and get the back. Gimenis fought hard to get out of the choke, but Souza switched his attack from the back and got an armbar to finish. 

Beatriz Mesquita on the back of Jaqueline Oliveira in the female black belt absolute final. Photo: Carlos Arthur Jr.

In the female black belt division, just one fight was necessary for Beatriz Mesquita to ensure the middleweight title. She beat Adriana Martins via points and returned to beat Jaqueline Oliveira in the absolute, winning via choke from the back. 

The lightweight title was disputed by Kim Terra (CTA) and Fabio Caloi (Alliance), and it was a real war (see main image). With his advantage in experience (Terra placed silver in this tournament three years in a row), Terra controlled the action and won via points. 

In other action, Isaque Paiva (Saikoo) shined again after defeating Bruno Celio (GFTeam) for featherweight gold, and Hiago Georges (PSLP Cicero Costha) gave no chance to Kelvyn Bridges (Game Fight), winning the light featherweight final by triangle.