The IBJJF New Orleans Open 2024 took place across February 3rd and 4th, 2024 and the tournament delivered some great moments on the mats. Jon Satava was one of the most notable names at the event, although he only competed in the gi on the first day of the weekend. He entered the middleweight division and ended up walking away with a gold medal from that weight class, despite the other talented grapplers in it. The biggest accomplishment in the gi came from Yan Paiva though, as he won the absolute division shortly after getting given a default gold medal at super-heavyweight.
Jose Jurema might have lost to Paiva in the final of the absolute division, but otherwise it was a fantastic performance from him in winning gold at super-heavyweight. Jurema did return on the second day to compete in no gi as well, but ended up being given a default gold this time around after no other competitors entered his weight class. Austin Oranday also competed on both days of the tournament, although he actually managed to find matches both times. He won gold medals in the medium-heavyweight division both in the gi and in no gi, beating different opponents in each bracket.
David Weintraub was another notable name competing in the no gi divisions on the second day, and he managed to stand on top of the podium in the featherweight division. The women’s divisions were incredibly small at the IBJJF New Orleans Open 2024 and in fact, Kennedy Franklin was the only woman who entered an adult black belt weight class in the gi. Although she was given default gold medals there, she did manage to get one match on the second day in the no gi absolute division. She managed to beat Lorena Balli in order to take home the gold medal there.