Absolute
In a much anticipated match against Erberth Santos, Buchecha scored a slim victory. He won 6 to 4. You might say the cooler heads prevailed and that Almeida was determined to keep up with the pace and assert himself right from the start. Erberth Santos was the pleasant surprise of the tournament eliminating Faria in the semifinals and providing an all around great performance in all his matches. However it wasn’t enough and in the end Buchecha won and reclaimed the Absolute category.
Ultra Heavyweight
Only a year after suffering a horrific knee injury Marcus Almeida Buchecha made a triumphant comeback and reclaimed the Ultra heavyweight throne from Gabriel Lucas. This time Buchecha was facing Joao Gabriel in the semifinals and James Puopolo in finals. He managed to win both matches via submissions, armbar over Gabriel and armlock over Puopolo.
Super Heavyweight
Super Heavyweight category was previously conquered by Bernardo Faria. He was by far the favorite to win this division prior to competing in the Absolute category and getting injured in a match with Erberth Santos. In the end Leo Nogueira managed to conquer the division going through both Luis Panza and Alex Ceconi.
Heavyweight
Heavyweight category was bound for a change since Xande Ribeiro was absent from the brackets. Andre Galvao took advantage of this opening and secured a victory, first over Cassio Francis in the semifinals then after Jackson Sousa via referee decision.
Medium Heavyweight
Leandro Lo reaffirmed his dominance in the Medium Heavy division but this time he was representing the new founded NS Brotherhood. As you could note in our previous post, this team seriously cut into team Cicero Costa’s ranking. Lo winning was no surprise given his amazing performances at Copa Podio, Pan ams and World pro. Lo went through Keenan Corenlius in the semifinals only to be met with Romulo Barral in the finale. Lo won 5 to 0.
Middleweight
While 2015 was arguably one of the best years for 2015 Worlds Middleweight champion Claudio Calasans, he didn’t manage to affirm his dominance in this division. While Calasans didn’t even make it to semifinals, last year’s 3rd place winner Otavio de Sousa managed to win this year. He was met in the finals by Arges who was at the top of his leglock game but since they were both from Gracie Barra, Sousa was awarded gold by closeout.
Lightweight
Last year Michael Langhi reigned over Lightweights in the Pyramid Arena. This year, however, his teammate Lucas Lepri managed to conquer the World. He had a tough time with JT Torres in the semifinals. Ended up winning by advantages. What he lacked in the semi finals he more than made up for in the finals where he lead by 12 to 0 following it up with a choke from the back.
Featherweight
Rafael Mendes pulled off a 6th World title. His laser-sharp focus and precision have payed off yet again. Many tournament absences in last year didn’t really affect Rafa. This time he went through Moizinho in the semis via submission triangle/armlock and followed that up with a tight advantage victory over Marcio Andre who previously managed to eliminate Rubens Cobrinha.
Light Featherweight
Category of Light Featherweight also had a repeat winner. Paolo Miyao prevailed yet again. He used most of this past year to establish himself as more than a berimbolo specialist. Last year was hist first competition as light featherweight. He was the only one on that podium that managed to complete the success of the previous year. Paolo Miyao first won over Isaac Doederlein in semifinals. He met with Ary Farias in the finale where he won 4:2.
Roosterweight
Last year Roosterweight was conquered by Bruno Malfacine. He managed to pull off a repeat in 2016. It seems he had the hardest time in the finale facing returning Caio Terra. After conquering José Barros in the semis via armlock he flew into plenty of resistance by Terra but managed to win due to 2 advantages.
