The IBJJF Cleveland and Houston Fall Opens 2024 both took place on the same weekend, as some of the best grapplers in the US went to either state across October 12th and 13th, 2024. One of the biggest storylines in Cleveland came in the women’s no gi divisions, where Sophia Cassella faced Amanda ‘Tubby’ Alequin across two matches for her black belt debut. They each managed to get a win on points to end the day 1-1 against one another, with Alequin winning the first match to win featherweight gold and Cassella winning the second to stand on top of the absolute podium.
Alequin was signed up to compete in the gi on the first day too, but there were no opponents for her there. Two other big names made an appearance in the gi, as Alex Sodre won the lightweight division and Jefferson Nascimento won gold at middleweight. There were a few more notable competitors stepping on the mats in IBJJF Houston Fall Open 2024 than there was in Cleveland though, and that made for an exciting gi absolute division. Yan Paiva won gold at ultra-heavyweight and Carlos Henrique stood on top of the middleweight podium before they met in the final of the absolute, where Henrique won to become the double champion.
Henrique came back on the next day to win the no gi middleweight division as well, and he wasn’t the only man to come away with three medals. Joao Nicolite was given default golds in the gi and no gi heavyweight division before earning a bronze in the no gi absolute. Gabi Schuck won double gold in the no gi absolute and at medium-heavyweight, while the men’s no gi divisions saw Daniel Ribeiro win gold at ultra-heavyweight and silver in the absolute. Samuel Nagai was the final major player who stepped on the mats in Houston, and he came away with a gold medal in the gi lightweight division.
