Rodolfo Vieira, Leandro Lo, Luiz Panza. Photo: Eduardo Ferreira

Rodolfo Vieira had a perfect performance at Copa Podio heavyweight GP last night in Rio de Janeiro. Of the six fights he did, Rodolfo finished five opponents, including the final against Leandro Lo , in the Final the heavyweight GP. The only fight where he didn’t submit, was the first one against Lo. In the qualifying round, Rodolfo and Lo tied 0-0 with no advantages.

The GP had 10 athletes that were divided into two groups. Lo and Rodolfo were on the same side and beat all their other opponents. After five rounds,  Lo and Vieira, the American Trevis Stevens and Luiz Panza were qualified for the semifinals. The surprise was the absence of the world champion Leonardo Nogueira, who was eliminated in the quarter final.

In the semifinal, Leandro Lo defeated Luiz Panza 6 × 4, while Rodolfo Vieira beat Travis Steves by choke from the back. In the final, Rodolfo took Lo’s back and finished with a choke.

Rodolfo defeats Lo in the final

Results:

Challenge of Cities: Franco Marini (Buenos Aires) submitted Magid Hage (San Diego) with a foot lock 9min55s

Special Fight: After a draw in points (10 × 10) in normal time, the fight went to sudden death and Felipe Preguica sweeped Guto Campos to win 12 × 10

GP of heavyweights

First round:
The brown belt Tim Spriggs defeated Luiz Panza by 3 × 2 (guard pass) 

American Travis Stevens submits Ricardo Bastos with an armbar
Rodolfo Vieira leads ​​7 × 0 before submitting Alexandre Souza with an armbar
UFC fighter, BJJ black belt Alan Belcher was defeated by Faisal Alkitbe ​​brown belt (UAE) 2 × 0 (throw)

Second round:
Luiz Panza submits Ricardo Bastos with a triangle
Léo Nogueira defeated Tim Spriggs 5×0
Rodolfo Vieira leads 4×0 before submitting Faisal Alkitbe ​​with a choke from the back
Leandro Lo defeated Alexandre Souza by 4 × 0 (two sweeps)

Third round:
Leonardo Nogueira defeated Ricardo Bastos by 2 × 0
Luiz Panza defeats Travis Stevens with a foot lock 45 seconds in.
In a tough fight,Leandro Lo defeated Faisal Alkitbe ​​by one advantage.
In 2min30s, Rodolfo Vieira leads × 12 0 over Alan Belcher and submits him with a choke from the back.

Fourth round:
Leonardo Nogueira and Travis Stevens tied without points
Tim Spriggs defeated Ricardo Bastos by 2 × 0
In 1min45s, Leandro Lo leads 4 × 0 against Alan Belcher and finished with a choke from the back
Alexandre Souza leads 2 × 0 and submitted Faisal Alkitbe with an armbar

Fifth round:
Travis Stevens defeated Tim Spriggs for 7 × 0
Luiz Panza and Leonardo Nogueira tie 2 × 2 in advantages
Alexandre Souza leads by 2 × 0 and submits Alan Belcher with an armbar
Rodolfo Vieira and Leandro tie at 0 × 0

Semifinal:
Leandro Lo defeated Luiz Panza 6 × 4
Rodolfo Vieira leads 2 × 0 and submits Travis Stevens with a choke from the back.

Third place fight:
Luiz Panza beats Travis Stevens by footlock

Final:
Rodolfo Vieira leads ​​4 × 0 vs Leandro Lo and submits with a choke from the back.