The IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix 2023 took place on September 1st, 2023 and every single match delivered fantastic results for the fans. This should come as no surprise, as every IBJJF Grand Prix event has featured some of the best grapplers on the planet and the lineup for this tournament looked as though it would be the most stacked one yet. Although the absolute grand prix was undoubtedly the main attraction for fans watching and in attendance, there were also several superfights featuring elite competitors like Tainan Dalpra, Cole Abate, and many more.
We conducted a full preview of the event beforehand and the vast majority of our predictions came true, including those for the main event tournament. Both Victor Hugo and Nicholas Meregali stormed through the first two rounds of the grand prix, submitting their opponents in impressive fashion. Hugo took less than 2 and a half minutes to get through his two matches and Meregali needed just a little under 8 minutes to get through his. Their final match was the only one that neither man was able to finish and although Hugo was his biggest challenge of the night, Meregali managed to score the only points of the match in order to take home the grand prize.
There was several great moments and impressive performances in the superfights as well, particularly from Janaina Lebre. She was facing Emily Fernandez and although she was the favorite coming into the match, she looking to be on a whole other level once they stepped onto the mats. She dominated the match from start to finish, racking up 12 points before submitting Fernandez. Cole Abate and Eduardo Granzotto had a fun and incredibly close match in what was their respective IBJJF black belt debuts, with Abate winning thanks to two advantages he managed to score.
IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix 2023 Full Results
Victor Hugo defeats Horlando Monteiro via Submission – Ezekiel Choke (1:25)
Fellipe Andrew defeats Steffen Banta via Decision – Points (2-0)
Nicholas Meregali defeats Francisco Lo via Submission – Smother Choke (4:15)
Gutemberg Pereira defeats Paulo Merlin via Decision – Points (5-0)
Semi-Finals
Victor Hugo defeats Fellipe Andrew via Submission – Triangle Choke (1:03)
Nicholas Meregali defeats Gutemberg Pereira via Submission – Lapel Choke (3:36)
Final
Nicholas Meregali defeats Victor Hugo via Decision – Points (2-0)
Superfights
Tainan Dalpra defeats Yan Paiva via Submission – Straight Armlock (2:40)
Cole Abate defeats Eduardo Granzotto via Decision – Advantages (2-0)
Ronaldo Junior defeats Sebastian Rodriguez via Decision – Advantages (6-0)
Janaina Lebre defeats Emily Fernandez via Submission – Ezekiel Choke (6:31)
Jackson Nagai defeats Natan Chueng via Decision – Points (8-2)
The full IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix 2023 event replay, including all of the above results, is available to watch on FloGrappling.
