Highs And Lows From IBJJF No-Gi Worlds
Highs And Lows From IBJJF No-Gi Worlds
Now the dust has settled on No-Gi Worlds let’s take a look at some of the biggest winners and losers.
Now the dust has settled on the 2017 IBJJF World No-Gi Championship, let’s take a look at some of the biggest winners and losers from the final major tournament of the year.
High: Caio Terra wins 10th straight World No-Gi title
Caio Terra was not to be denied! He claimed his tenth straight world no-gi title, a feat unmatched by anybody else. The no-gi roosterweight king beat Jimmy Santiago III and Tomoyuki Hashimoto to claim gold in a division that was light on numbers but high on talent.
Terra immediately announced his retirement upon winning gold, bidding farewell to the tournament he has dominated for so long.
WATCH: Caio Terra vs Jimmy Santiago III
Low: The pullouts!
What was up with the pullouts this year? First, a ton of names dropped out about a week out from the event citing injuries or other commitments. Then, a bunch of notable names (Edwin Najmi, Dustin Akbari, Tim Spriggs, Mike Perez, for example).
Worse still were the four (yes FOUR) names who signed up for the absolute division on the day of the tournament only to withdraw. Pulling out once the brackets have been set affects how the seeding is made, and unfairly creates easier and harder paths to the finals for those who have true intentions of competing. At No-Gi Worlds there is no condition whereby athletes must reach the podium to qualify for the absolute – maybe the IBJJF should consider introducing this policy.
High: Lucas “Hulk” does double gold
This was Lucas Barbosa’s fourth no-gi title in three years. The Atos black belt claimed double gold, winning both the super-heavy and openweight divisions.
Not only that but true to his name Hulk has steadily been getting bigger and more powerful! In 2015 Barbosa won medium heavy, in 2016 he took gold at heavyweight and he returned this year for super-heavy and the absolute. Huge achievement for the 25 year old.
WATCH: Lucas Barbosa vs Joao Assis – Super Heavyweight final
Low: David Mitchell’s unsportsmanlike heel hook
We’ve gone over and over the incident in the opening round of the absolute division. David Mitchell of Team Alpha Male (but repping Carlson Gracie) was down 16-2 against Diego Ramalho of ZR Team.
Visibly frustrated, he entered a reaping position and purposely cranked a heel hook for an instant DQ. Of course he was well aware of the rules, which can only mean he intended to get disqualified instead of losing via such a huge point difference. Unsportsmanlike and unnecessary.
High: Atos squad go hard
With three 2017 black belt world champs leading from the front in Josh Hinger, Keenan Cornelius and Lucas Barbosa, Atos claimed the team trophy for the FOURTH year in a row.
Top dogs at No-Gi Worlds since 2014, Atos claimed major victories by placing two on the podium in the purple belt absolute (Conner Deangelis with silver and Adam Bradley with bronze) and closing out the brown belt absolute (Kaynan Duarte and Jonnatas Gracie).
Low: Competitors getting beat by the scale
It’s not often we see such high level athletes miss weight, but it happens on occasion. Standouts Jackson Sousa of Checkmat and Johnny Tama of Alliance both missed weight and could not participate in their divisions. Luckily, both managed to enter the absolute. Tama lost in the opening round to Kit Dale, while Jackson Sousa took bronze by fighting his way through to the semi final.