Just a week after after getting promoted to black belt by Andre Galvao, Keenan Cornelius entered the black belt division with a bang. He submitted all his four opponents and won his weight and the absolute at the 2014 WPJJC West Coast Trials which were held held this Sunday, September 22, at the Walter Pyramid, in Long Beach California.
The trial gives BJJ competitors the chance to win the right of competing next year at the 2014 WPJJC, in the UAE, with all expenses paid (flight, accommodation etc). 23 travel packages were up for grabs for the weight divisions of the black belt (black/brown belt in the female division) and also for the winners of both heavy and light absolute divisions for the brown, purple and blue belts.
In his weight division, Keenan beat Morris Ayala and then submitted Gustavo Pires from the back. In the absolute, he he beat Eliot Kelly by choke from the back and then beat Magid Hage by armbar from the guard and won the 1,000$ cash prize.
The winners of the travel packages in the black belt division were:
Female Brown/Black
-119lb – Patricia Santos (Check Mat)
-132lb – Mackenzie Dern (GH)
-145lb – No Contest
+158lb – Tammy Griego (GB)
Male Black belt
-141lb – Samir Chantre (Caio Terra)
-167lb – Osvaldo Moizinho (Caio Terra)
-180lb – Carlos Diego Ferreira (Atos)
-207lb – Keenan Cornelius (Atos)
+220lb – João Assis (Check Mat)
