There were several top competitors in attendance at the IBJJF Tampa International Open on February 25th and 26th, 2023, with a handful of ADCC veterans leaving with the most medals on the day. The gi edition of the tournament was first up and there were a number of great performances throughout the weightclasses. Pedro Dias and Matheus Galvao won the light-featherweight and middleweight division respectively, with both men being a cut above the majority of those attending the event as experienced high-level competitors.
Roosevelt Sousa put in the best performance of the day though, as he won both the ultra-heavyweight and absolute division to become the only man to take home two gold medals in adult black belt divisions on the first day. That shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise, given that Sousa is a phenomenal competitor and the Brazilian won the first ADCC trials last year. He wasn’t alone the entire weekend though, as the no gi edition kicked off on Sunday and another absolute champion was crowned. Dante Leon is another veteran of ADCC 2022, and he also took home two gold medals after winning both the middleweight and absolute divisions.
Jon ‘Thor’ Blank was also competing in the medium-heavyweight division and he enjoyed the same success as his fellow former ADCC competitors as he also won gold at his weight. Thamires Monteiro also impressed in the women’s middleweight division on both days, beating back some stiff competition in order to take home a pair of medals both in the gi and in no gi along with another gold in the no gi absolute division. Elsewhere in the women’s divisions of the IBJJF Tampa International Open 2023, Brenda Ariane won a pair of gold medals in the gi divisions by winning the absolute and her weightclass while Erin Harpe won gold at heavyweight in no gi.
