As the dust settles on 4 days of action at the 2019 IBJJF world championships, we look back on the winners, looser, controversies and unusual stories that came out of the Pyramid, Long Beach California.
Referee’s Rule the Roost
Throughout the competition, there have been some surprise outcomes during this year’s world championships. This year saw Keenan Cornelius’ first teamless outing at Worlds. After an incredible win against Nicholas Meregali where he won two points to zero (Meregali had ten advantages for submission attempts), he was thwarted once again by the IBJJF referees during his semi-finals match against Leandro Lo. With the match ended with Zero points or advantages from both competitors, the referees decided to award the win the Lo, even though Keenan was evidently working hard than Lo, who was seemingly stalling on the bottom.
Keenan then jumped onto social media to say that he was unable to continue his Worlds journey after hurting his ribs in the contest with Lo.
Unfortunately, Keenan was not the only person to have the rug pulled out from them by the referees as 2019 seemed to once again show that you should never leave the result to the referees, who seem to go for the fighters their fans of, rather than the actual winners.
Mega Closeout for Cicero Costa Team
While the 2019 World Championships had a fair share of closeouts, nothing compared to the 4 man closeout of the Light-Featherweight division, where all 4 members of Cicero Costa Team (Hiago George, Tiago Barros, Paulo, and João Miyao) closed out. A dominant force in the lighter weight division of the sport.
Records Made and Broken
The 2019 Championship saw the dreams crushed for many but made for the lucky few. 2019 saw the return of Marcus Almieda ‘Buchecha’ as he was able to keep the G.O.A.T status alive by claiming another double gold, seeing his combined black belt titles go to 13, after Leandro Lo returned the favour by closing out with his close friend and awarding him the gold in the Absolute final.
A shocking moment came as Michael Musumeci became the only American to become a three-time world champion in two different divisions. After his semi-final win against Bruno Malfacine saw Bruno refuse to shake his hand (with the ol’ schoolyard fake out to hair swipe), Musumeci took only 12 seconds in the final to tap Rodeni Barbosa by straight ankle lock.
Mikey’s sister Tammi, who is most well known for having her arm broken by Michelle Nicolini in 2015, also took home the gold in her division. Not bad for a pair of siblings who spend more time dedicated to their Academic pursuits instead of their sporting.
Steroids Make a Comeback at the 2019 Worlds
In an unusual turn of events, Instagram page @BJJ_Steroids had a hilarious way of spending their 2019 World Championships. Sneaking around worlds discriminating against many high-level competitors, especially ATOS team members, who they claimed to be juicing.
While steroids are the elephant in the room for the sport, the lack of proper testing and suspensions means that many high-level competitors have supposedly cheated their way to the top. And this outing from @BJJ_Steroids included many Instagram stories of them taking pictures of ATOS founder Andre Galvao and reposting threats from various ATOS team members.
The result of this meant an innocent bystander was given a thorough shakedown by ATOS black belt Lucas Barbosa, which was documented by @BJJ_Steroids, who was actually on the other side of the hall.
Male IBJJF Worlds 2019 Results
Roosterweight
Quarter Finals
- Mikey Musumeci def. Koji Shibamoto by 8×2 pts
- Bruno Malfacine def. Caio Terra by decision (6×6 pts)
- Rodnei Barbosa def. Carlos Alberto by RNC
- Cleber Sousa def. Tomoyuki Hashimoto by 6×4 pts
Semi-Finals
- Rodnei Barbosa def. Cleber Sousa by 2×1 adv, 0x0 pts
- Mikey Musumeci def. Bruno Malfacine by 10×8 pts
Finals
- Mikey Musumeci def. Rodnei Barbosa by straight-ankle lock
Light-Featherweight
Quarter Finals
- Tiago Barros def. Alex Sodré by 2×1 adv, 4×4 pts
- João Miyao def. Rene Lopez by 2×1 adv, 2×2 pts
- Paulo Miyao def. Pablo Mantovani by 7×2 pts
- Hiago George def. Pedro Dias by 2×0 pts
Semi-Finals & Finals
- Cicero Costha (PSLPB) Team close out
Featherweight
Quarter Finals
- Osvaldo Queixinho def. Luciano Queiroz by straight-ankle lock
- Matheus Gabriel def. Gianni Grippo by 4×2 pts
- Márcio André def. Leonardo Saggioro by 1×0 adv, 2×2 pts
- Isaac Doederlein def. Rafael Mansur by straight-ankle lock
Semi-Finals
- Márcio André def. Isaac Doederlein by 4×2 pts
- Matheus Gabriel def. Osvaldo Queixinho by 4×2 pts
Finals
- Matheus Gabriel def. Márcio André by armlock from triangle
Lightweight
Quarter Finals
- Rodrigo Freitas def. Ygor Rodrigues by double-collar choke
- Johnny Tama forfeit to training partner Lucas Lepri
- Renato Canuto def. Michael Langhi by 2×0 pts
- Lucas Valente advances to SF. due to both athletes on the other side of his bracket being DQ’ed for passivity (Leon Taffa and Levi Jones-Leary).
Semi-Finals
- Lucas Valente def. Renato Canuto by 1×0 adv, 0x0 pts
- Lucas Lepri def. Rodrigo Freitas by bow and arrow choke
Finals
- Lucas Lepri def. Lucas Valente by decision, 0x0 pts
Middleweight
Quarter Finals
- Jaime Canuto def. Otavio Sousa by decision, 0x0 pts
- Isaque Bahiense def. JT Torres by 4×2 pts
- Marcos Tinoco def. Michael Liera by 5×0 pts
- Gabriel Arges def. Claudio Calasans by 6×4 pts
Semi-Finals
- Isaque Bahiense def. Jaime Canuto by toe hold
- Gabriel Arges def. Marcos Tinoco by 2×0 pts
Finals
- Gabriel Arges def. Isaque Bahiense by 3×2 adv, 2×2 pts
Medium Heavyweight
Quarter Finals
- Felipe Pena def. Nisar Loynab by 8×2 pts
- Matheus Diniz def. Lucas Barbosa by 2×0 pts
- Gustavo Batista def. Matheus Spirandeli by 2×0 pts
- Renato Cardoso def. Rudson Mateus by 4×3 adv, 2×2 pts
Semi-Finals
- Felipe Pena def. Matheus Diniz by 2×0
- Gustavo Batista def. Renato Cardoso by double-collar choke
Finals
- Felipe Pena def. Gustavo Batista by decision, 2×2 ots
Heavyweight
Quarter Finals
- Kaynan Duarte def. Adam Wardzinski by armbar
- Fernando Reis forfeit to training partner Dimitrius Souza
- Vinicius Ferreira def. Patrick Gaudio by decision, 0x0 pts
- Leandro Lo def. Jackson Sousa by 4×2 pts
Semi-Finals
- Kaynan Duarte def. Dimitrius Souza by 2×0 pts
- Leandro Lo def. Vinicius Ferreira by DQ (headbutt)
Finals
- Kaynan Duarte def. Leandro Lo by 5×3 pts
Super-Heavyweight
Quarter Finals
- Guilherme Augusto def. Gutemberg Pereira by 3×0 pts
- Mahamed Aly def. Igor Schneider by kimura
- Luiz Panza def. Wellington Peroto by triangle
- Nicholas Meregali def. Helton Jose by 2×0
Semi-Finals
- Nicholas Meregali def. Luiz Panza by triangle armbar
- Mahamed Aly def. Guilherme Augusto by 2×0 pts
Finals
- Nicholas Meregali def. Mahamed Aly by double-collar choke
Ultra Heavyweight Finals
Quarter Finals
- Felipe Bezerra def. Victor Honório by 3×2 adv, 2×2 pts
- Ricardo Evangelista def. Eduardo Lopes by toe hold
- Max Gimenis def. Renan Vieira by wristlock
- Marcus Almeida def. Thomas McMahon by 11×0 pts
Semi-Finals
- Ricardo Evangelista def. Felipe Bezerra by arm-in Ezekiel choke
- Marcus Almeida def. Max Gimenis by 10×2 pts
Finals
- Marcus Almeida def. Ricardo Evangelista by points
Open Weight
Quarter Finals
- Marcus Almeida def. Felipe Pena by split decision (4×4 pts)
- Leandro Lo def. Luiz Panza by triangle armbar
- Keenan Cornelius def. Nicholas Meregali by 2x0pts
- Fellipe Andrew def. Vinicius Ferreira by decision (2x2pts)
Semi-Finals
- Leandro Lo def. Keenan Cornelius by decision (0x0 pts)
- Marcus Almeida def. Fellipe Andrew by WO (no show, injury)
Finals
- Marcus Almeida close out with Leandro Lo
Female IBJJF Worlds 2019 Results
Roosterweight
Finals
- Mayssa Bastos def. Rikako Yuasa by 1×0 adv, 6×6 pts
1 – Mayssa Bastos
2 – Rikako Yuasa
3 – Serena Gabrielli
3 – Thamires Aquino
Light-Featherweight
Finals
- Tammi Musumeci def. Amanda Monteiro by 1×0 adv, 0x0 pts
1 – Tammi Musumeci
2 – Amanda Monteiro
3 – Gezari Matuda
3 – Kristina Barlaan
Featherweight
Finals
- Ana Carolina Schmit def. Bianca Basílio by decision (2×1)
1 – Ana Carolina Schmit
2 – Bianca Basílio
3 – Ffion Davies
3 – Ariadne Oliveira
Lightweight
Finals
- Beatriz Mesquita def. Charlotte Von Baumgarten by choke
1 – Beatriz Mesquita
2 – Charlotte Von Baumgarten
3 – Jena Bishop
3 – Gabi McComb
Middleweight
Finals
- Ana Carolina Vieira def. Laurah Hallock by arm-in ezekiel choke
1 – Ana Carolina Vieira
2 – Laurah Hallock
3 – Samatha Cook
3 – Jessica Swanson
Medium-Heavyweight
Finals
- Andresa Cintra def. Luiza Monteiro by double-collar choke
1 – Andresa Cintra
2 – Luiza Monteiro
3 – Rafaela Bertolot
3 – Melisa Cueto
Heavyweight
Finals
- Nathiely Jesus def. Fernanda Mazzelli by double-collar choke
1 – Nathiely Jesus
2 – Fernanda Mazzelli
3 – Isadora Silva
3 – Melisa Cueto
Super-Heavyweight
Finals
- Claudia Doval def. Venla Luukkonnen by armlock
1 – Claudia Doval
2 – Venla Luukkonnen
3 – Jessica Flowers
3 – Alison Trembley
Open Weight
Finals
- Nathiely de Jesus def. Beatriz Mesquita by 4×0
1 – Nathiely de Jesus
2 – Beatriz Mesquita
3 – Isadora Silva
3 – Ana Carolina Vieira