The IBJJF Sao Paulo Open 2023 took place on November 18th and 19th, 2023 and there was exciting matches involving some of the top gi competitors on the planet and several ADCC medalists. Guilherme Lambertucci won the gi absolute division but he only managed to get a bronze medal in the ultra-heavyweight division before that. He shared the third spot on that podium with Cleyton Flores, who got another bronze medal from the no gi version of that weight class too. Pedro Lucas was the man who ended up winning that gi division though, while Oziel Santos and Lucas Maquine did the same at roosterweight and featherweight respectively.
Elder Junior impressed at medium-heavyweight, taking home a gold medal while Lucas Gualberto had to settle for a bronze. The gi heavyweight division in particular stood out for being stacked with top talent though, as Vinicius Liberati and Lucas Alves standing on the third spot on the podium. Gabriel Brod won the gold medal at that weight class and again on the next day in no gi, as he beat Hygor Brito and Leonardo Goncalves in the respective finals. Brod added another gold medal to his collection by winning the no gi absolute division as well, while ultra-heavyweight no gi champion Antonio de Padua had to settle for a bronze medal.
De Padua beat gi super-heavyweight gold medalist Anderson Kauan in the final of his no gi weight class, while Cleyton Flores got another bronze medal there. The no gi super-heavyweight division only had two men in it, but Vinicius Lessa beat Lucas Alves in the only match. The biggest moments on the second day of the IBJJF Sao Paulo Open 2023 came in the lighter weight classes though, as Mica Galvao won gold at middleweight and a reigning ADCC World Champion competed too. Diogo Reis won the 66kg division at ADCC 2022 and he put in another flawless performance here to win the featherweight division.
There were some fantastic female competitors stepping on the mats at the IBJJF Sao Paulo Open 2023 as well, with Fratres Jiu-Jitsu getting some brilliant results. The team collectively won almost every single adult black belt division in the gi, with Jessica Dantas winning both the featherweight and absolute divisions. Thalyta Silva got silver in the absolute after winning the middleweight division, while Sabatha Lais won medium-heavyweight. Amanda Magda completed the female team’s amazing run at this event by beating Izadora Silva and taking home the gold medal at heavyweight. Silva even returned on the next day to win the no gi absolute, beating Roberta Ribeiro in the final while lightweight champion Izabel Seki got a bronze medal there.
