From the 23rd to the 26th of January at the Casal Vistoso municipal sports complex, in Lisbon, Portugal, the Europeans will kick off the 2014 Ibjjf season.
Schedule: http://ibjjf.org/championships/european-open-2014-schedule/
Athlete list: http://static.ibjjfdb.com/Campeonato/000232/en-US/RegistrationsByCategoryAndAcademy.pdf
Brackets: http://events.ibjjf.com/
*** Black Adult Masculino – Galo / Rooster-weight / under 58kg ***
Reigning Champion: Koji Shibamoto (2012), Brandon Mullins (2013)
Contenders: Caio Terra, Koji Shibamoto, Takahito Yoshioka
What might happen: Bruno Malfacine is missing here. He’s the only one with a real chance to beat Caio Terra. We should see a final between Caio Terra and Koji Shibamoto. Terra has been on fire for the past year and will take this easily.
*** Pluma / Light Featherweight / under 64kg ***
Reigning Champion: Carlos Vieira Holanda (2012), Laercio Fernandes (2013)
Contenders: Jordy Peute, Rafael Freitas, Joao Miyao, Gabriel Wilcox
What might happen: It looks some of the regular rooster weights have gone up a weight class to avoid Caio Terra. The bracket is missing big names such as Gui Mendes, Bruno Malfacine, Laercio Fernandes, Samir Chantre. Joao Miyao sticks out here and he’s in great competition form at the moment as he won the WPJJC Sao Paulo trials last weekend. Watch for Joao Miyao to meet Rafael Barata Freitas in the final, and Joao Miyao to take the gold.
*** Pena / Featherweight / under 70 kg ***
Reigning Champion: Bruno Frazatto (2012), Rubens Cobrinha (2013)
Contenders: Rafael Mendes, Gianni Grippo, Samir Chantre, Paulo Miyao, Gabriel Marangoni.
What might happen: Cobrinha is missing here however the king Rafa Mendes is back. Looking forward to see a Rafa Mendes vs Paulo Miyao showdown in the final. Both trained together but Rafa still seems too good to beat. Rafa takes this one.
*** Leve / Lightweight / under 76kg ***
Reigning Champion: Roberto Satoshi Souza (2012) Michael Langhi (2013)
Contenders: Sinistro Iturralde, Michael Langhi, AJ Agazarm, Oliver Geddes.
What might happen: Michael Langhi is the favorite here. look out for Sinistro, Aj Aagzarm and UK’s Oliver Geddes who are hungry new(ish) black belts. How can you bet against Michael Langhi taking the gold especially with Leandro Lo, JT Torres and Roberto Satoshi not present.
*** Medio / Middleweight / under 82,3kg ***
Reigning Champion:Victor Estima (2012), Claudio Calasans (2013)
Contenders: Luca Anacoreta, JT Torres, Victor Silverio, Claudio Calasans.
What might happen: Last year’s champion, Calasans is here. Anacoreta and Silverio are two new black belts that could surprise a few experienced guys here. However the final looks like it could be between Jt Torres and Claudio Calasans. The much bigger Calasans will take over JT in the end.
*** Meio-Pesado / Middle-Heavyweight / under 88,3kg ***
Reigning Champion: Rodrigo Fajardo (2012), Romulo Barral (2013)
Contenders: Keenan Cornelius, Renato Cardoso, Vitor Toledo, Rodrigo Fajardo, Maximiliano Carvalho, Thiago Silva.
What might happen: This bracket is stacked. Romulo Barral is not here but ultra aggressive Checkmat prodigy Renato Cardoso is in great form, having won last week’s WPJJC trials in Sao Paulo and submitting Serginho Moraes. However a big name stands out here: Keenan Cornelius! The first semi should be Fajardo vs Silva. and the second semi: Keenan Vs Renato Cardoso. Final is Fajardo vs Keenan. keenan wins his first IBJJF major tournament.
*** Pesado / Heavyweight / under 94,3kg ***
Reigning Champion: Rodolfo Vieira (2012) Dimitrius Souza (2013)
Contenders: Yuri Simoes, Jackson Souza, Ricardo Rezende, Johannes Wieth, Tarcisio Jardim, Leonardo Maciel,
What might happen: Look out for This year’s JJ expo winner Ricardo Rezende, In form new black belt Jackson Souza, and last year’s silver medalist Leonardo Maciel. Yuri Simoes hasn’t competed in a while so his form is a mystery but he was top 5 last year in his weight division. Looks like it’s going to be either Ricardo Rezende or Leonardo Maciel vs Jackson souza in the final. Look for a Rezende vs Souza and Rezende takes it.
*** Super-Pesado / Super-Heavyweight / under 100,5 kg ***
Reigning Champion: Bernardo Faria (2012) Bernardo Faria (2012)
Contenders: Antonio Peinado, Vedran Ikic, Igor Silva, Chris Bowe, Lucio Lagarto, James Puopolo, Rafael Lovato Jr
What might happen: The first semi should be Rafael Lovato Jr vs Peinado and the second Puopulo vs Lagarto. The final loooks like a Lovato vs Lagarto with Lovato taking this.
*** Pesadissimo / Ultra-Heavyweight / over 100,5kg ***
Reigning Champion: Alexander Trans (2012) Alexandre Trans (2013)
Contenders: Bruno Matias, Alexander Trans, Bruno Matias, Ricardo Evangelista, Rodrigo Cavaca.
What might happen: Last year Alexander Trans took the gold once again. Could he make it a threepeat? He has been training hard in the UAE. Expect to see Trans advance to the semi final and meeting Cavaca there. Trans is hard to beat on his home turf in Europe. He will once again reign supreme.
*** Absolute ***
Reigning Champion Rodolfo Vieira (2012) Leo Nogueira (2013)
Contenders: Claudio Calasans, Keenan Cornelius, Renato Cardoso, Jackson Souza, Ricardo Rezende, Rafael Lovato Jr, Cavaca, Alexander Trans, Lucio Lagarto etc…
What might happen: It’s hard to say who will take the absolute when we don’t know in advance who will participate. Anyone of these contenders can take it. Let’s wait and see.
