The IBJJF Denver Open 2023 took place on May 6th and 7th, 2023 and the event attracted a number of top grapplers to compete. Francisco Lo managed to take home the most gold medals from the weekend, as he won the no gi medium-heavyweight division along with the absolute division both in the gi and in no gi. He had to settle for a silver medal in the gi medium-heavyweight division though, as he lost out to Shane Fishman in the final. He did get revenge the following day though, as he beat Fishman in the final of their no gi division.
Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira also made an appearance at the event to compete in the gi, where he won the featherweight division. The middleweight gi division featured an excellent final match too, as Marcelo Fausto beat Michael Liera Jr. to take home the gold medal. Fausto also managed to earn a silver medal in the absolute division behind Lo, and Liera Jr. returned on the second day to win the master 1 middleweight division in no gi. Adam Wardzinski was the other big name competing in the men’s gi divisions and he also left with a gold medal, at heavyweight.
The women’s divisions were very busy too, with Melissa Stricker Cueto, Luciana Mota, and Emily Fernandez winning golds at heavyweight, medium-heavyweight, and lightweight respectively. All three women competed in the absolute division too, with Fernandez taking bronze and Mota beating Stricker in the final. The no gi divisions on the second day were a little quieter than the first day, but Eliot Kelly made an appearance to win gold at super-heavyweight and a silver medal in the absolute division. Another surprising name on the sign-up sheet of the IBJJF Denver Open 2023 was Samir Chantre, who led Ares BJJ from the front and won gold in the master 1 lightweight no gi division.
