The IBJJF Orange County Fall Open 2024 took place on November 24th, 2024 and the promotion made an unusual decision by only putting together gi brackets for this event. It still appealed to quite a few high-level competitors and there was no shortage of action on the mats. The women’s divisions in particular were pretty busy at black belt, and the absolute division in particular producing some fun matchups. Melissa Stricker won gold there after getting a default gold at heavyweight and she had to beat some tough opponents in order to do so, including the super-heavyweight champion Maria Vicentini in the final.
Karen Terra also competed in the absolute, but she had to settle for a bronze medal after a default gold at featherweight while Mariana Rolszt and Mayara Melo also got default gold medals at roosterweight and middleweight respectively. The men’s absolute division also resulted in some unusual matches that fans wouldn’t get to see very often, and it was Rider Zuchi who stood on top of that podium. Zuchi beat the ultra-heavyweight winner and a pair of lighter Ares BJJ black belts in that bracket, and he also won the only match in the super-heavyweight division earlier on in the day too.
The two Ares BJJ competitors standing next to him on absolute podium at the IBJJF Orange County Fall Open 2024 were Alef Brito and Danilo Moreira in second and third place. That wasn’t the only time that Brito and Moreira shared the podium together that day either, as they shared the middleweight final and Brito took the gold medal. The final notable name competing in the tournament was Guilherme Fernandes, and the Art of Jiu-Jitsu black belt won a gold medal in the lightweight division to help contribute towards his team lifting the team trophy ahead of Gracie Barra by a convincing margin.
