The IBJJF Rio Fall Open 2024 took place on April 6th and 7th, 2024 and there were some seriously entertaining matches in the black belt divisions. There was only one double champion in the gi on the first day, as it was Gabrieli Pessanha who won gold medals in both the super-heavyweight and absolute divisions. The men’s absolute champion was Cleyton Flores and he won that after settling for a bronze medal at ultra-heavyweight, although he did beat the gold medalist in the absolute final. There was a double champion in the men’s no gi divisions the next day though, as Leonardo Lemos walked away with ultra-heavyweight and absolute titles.
There was a huge surprise in the no gi absolute division though, as Lemos had to beat the lightweight champion Kaua Gabriel in the final. There were plenty of other top no gi grapplers competing too, as Lucas Alves emerged victorious at heavyweight and Marco Quieroz won gold in the medium-heavyweight division. An appearance by Welerson Goncalves was a bit of a surprise too, and he took silver in the light-featherweight division after winning the same weight class in the gi on the previous day. He was one of many top competitors in the gi too, particularly at medium-heavyweight and super-heavyweight where Alex Munis and Gabriel Oliveira stood on top of their respective podiums.
The women’s divisions at the IBJJF Rio Fall Open 2024 featured just as many talented grapplers, but there were a lot more upsets there. The first surprise came at light-featherweight when Jessica Dantas had to settle for a silver medal behind Andressa Tolentino, although Dantas did come back for a bronze medal in the absolute. Next to her on the third place on the podium there was Amanda Magda, who had just finished winning a tough heavyweight bracket. Maria Claudia was on the receiving end of an upset too, as she lost out to Evellyn Azevedo in the final of the featherweight division.
