The IBJJF Houston Open 2024 took place on April 13th and 14th, 2024 and there was several exciting matches between elite competitors over the course of the weekend. Pedro Alex left with the biggest title on the first day as he won the absolute division, but he had to settle for a bronze medal in the ultra-heavyweight division. It was Daniel Ribeiro who beat Alex in the semi-final at ultra-heavyweight and he went on to beat Ricardo Evangelista in the final to take home the gold medal. Francisco Lo occupied the second position on the podium in the absolute division, shortly after he won a bronze medal at medium-heavyweight.
Matheus Luna was the man who beat Lo at medium-heavyweight and he went on to win the gold medal in that division too. There were several great matchups in the gi in fact, particularly at heavyweight where Joao Rocha beat Yan Paiva in the final. The women’s middleweight saw Jaine Fragoso beat Deise Leonanjo in the final as well, another match that wouldn’t look out of place at a major tournament. The women’s absolute division was interesting too, with Nathalie Ribeiro beating Fragoso in the final after she took a default gold medal at lightweight.
Austin Oranday stood out over the course of the IBJJF Houston Open 2024 too, as he started by winning a silver medal in the gi medium-heavyweight division and a bronze medal in the absolute. He then won gold in the no gi medium-heavyweight division but lost to Bruno Matias in the only match of the absolute division. There weren’t many female competitors in the no gi brackets, but that absolute division was won by Jaine Fragoso shortly after she got a default gold at middleweight. Richar Nogueira also won two gold medals, as he emerged victorious in both the gi and no gi lightweight divisions.
