The Brazil National Pro – Trials for the 2015 World Pro Abu Dhabi – was held last weekend in Sao Paulo.

In the men’s black belt, the big name was Erberth Santos. The young athlete of only 20 years old won gold in weight and absolute, and guaranteed himself a spot in the World Pro and, to boot, even took one thousand US dollars as prize money. In his first season as a black belt, Erberth made it to the final of the category up to 95 kg with Augusto Ferrari. The fighter Lloyd Irvin / Guigo Jiu-Jitsu beat his opponent by two advantages to zero. After the conquest, he returned to the mat for the absolute contention. After chocking out Juan Kamezawa, Erberth faced Frederico Almeida in the final of the open weight and applied a tight triangle for the win.

Erberth told Tatame:

“I am very happy because it was my first event as a black belt. Facing so many tough guys and getting to be champion is very rewarding. A guy that surprised me was that Thiago Gaia. I won it 2-0, but the guy is very strong. I’ve never seen such a strong guy like him.”

In the female division, Monique Elias won the absolute but fell short at weight. Monique, the student – and wife – of Mario Reis beat world champion Bia Mesquita in the semifinals by two advantages – in a controversial match beacause of the referee decision – and, in the end, applied an armbar on Luane Santos to ensure the gold. However, despite the great performance in the open weight, Monique could not repeat the excellent performance in the category and therefore does not have a guaranteed a place in the World Pro.

Monique and Talita Treta faced off in the 75 kg division. As they were the only athletes entered in the weight concerned, they advanced to the final automatically. Treta won by advantages.

“It was not as good championship because I did not win what should win. I do not want to be in the absolute, because I knew I’d end up getting tired and would not be 100% in the category. The fight with the Bia was a good fight, cool, I felt comfortable. Treta, however, is really very good and been competing for several years. Now, I will focus 100% to be well in Singapore and see if I can make the move to fight in Abu Dhabi, “said Monique.

Common practice – and controversy – in Jiu-Jitsu championships around the country, the closing of of category (or gentleman’s agreement) was banned in Brazil National. The organization determined that even if the two athletes who reach the final are from the same team, they have to fight.

The current double gold world champion qualified for the World Pro in United Arab Emirates. The black belt from Gracie Humaita beat Nadia Melo by an advantage in the semifinal of weight and in the final submitted Luane Santos.

Results black belt:

Men

Under 65kg
Jose Tiago defeated Paulo Miyao by armbar

Under 75kg
Mario Reis defeated Fabio Caloi by points

Under 85kg
Claudio Calasans defeated Rafael Nicholas by advantages

Under 95kg
Erberth Santos defeated Augusto Ferrari by advantages

Over 95kg
Thiago Gaia defeated Rafael Cavaca by advantages

Absolute
Erberth Santos defeated Fred Almeida by triangle

Women

Under 65kg
Bia Mesquita defeated Luanne Santos by choke

Under 75kg
Talita Nogueira defeated Monique Elias by advantages after a 2×2 on the scoreboard.

Over 75kg
Andresa Correa defeated Luana Gomes on points

Absolute
Monique Elias defeated Luana Gomes by armbar