The IBJJF Betim Open 2023 took place on July 1st and 2nd, 2023 and the tournament featured several of the best grapplers from all around Brazil. There was plenty of surprising results too, particularly on the first day in the men’s divisions when Helder Rodrigues came out of nowhere to win the absolute. He stopped Leonardo Lemos from walking away with two gold medals in the gi, after Lemos managed managed to win the ultra-heavyweight division. He beat Guilherme Lambertucci in the final of that weight class and he did it again on the second day in no gi, although Lambertucci got his revenge in the absolute division when he beat Lemos and took home his only gold medal of the weekend.
Oziel Santos looked like the safe bet to win the gi light-featherweight and no gi featherweight divisions but ended up with a bronze medal and a silver medal respectively, as Luiz Arruda won both. Elioenai Braz also put in a good performance over the course of the weekend, as he managed to win the super-heavyweight division both in the gi and no gi. Brenda Larissa also made the trip to compete under both rulesets but unfortunately there was no women signed up for the light-featherweight division either day and she had to settle for two default golds. Thais Felipe was another big name signed up for the women’s divisions, but she ended up with a silver medal in the lightweight gi division as her teammate Maria Nunes took home the gold.
There were several other competitors who only signed up for the second day of the IBJJF Betim Open 2023 too, most notably Ruan Alvarenga in the lightweight division. Alvarenga won gold against some tough opposition, shortly before another top competitor managed the same feat in the medium-heavyweight division. Servio Tulio left with the gold medal from there, and both men delivered plenty of action for the fans in attendance.
