The IBJJF Portland Open and Atlanta Fall Opens both took place on the same weekend on September 21st and 22nd, 2024 and there were some incredible grapplers competing across both of the tournaments. Cole Abate was perhaps the biggest name stepping on the mats in Atlanta and he managed to win both the gi and no gi lightweight divisions, beating An Vu in the no gi final after Vu earned another silver in the gi at featherweight. There were fantastic competitors in some of the even lighter weight classes too, as Emilio Hernandez won the no gi featherweight division and Everton Teixeira was given a default gold in the gi roosterweight division.
ADCC veteran Jon ‘Thor’ Blank was the final top competitor standing on top of the podium in Atlanta, as he won the no gi middleweight bracket. There weren’t too many female BJJ black belts competing in Atlanta unfortunately, and there were no matches in the regular weight classes. Things were a little different in Portland though, as there was quite a few great no gi matches in the women’s divisions. Emily Nicholson won gold at lightweight by beating Andreza Morais in the final, while the heavyweight and absolute divisions saw the same match repeat itself. Maria Ruffatto won gold in both of those brackets, while Elizabeth Mitrovic had to settle for a pair of silver medals behind her.
Top ATOS black belt Rolando Samson also chose to compete at the IBJJF Portland Open 2024 instead of the Atlanta Fall Open, and he came away with two gold medals for his efforts. Samson won both the gi and no gi medium-heavyweight divisions, winning all three of his matches by submission in a flawless performance. Marcio Pires was another notable name, although he only collected a default gold medal in the gi ultra-heavyweight division. Fans were also treated to an appearance by Wellington ‘Megaton’ Dias, as he competed against adult grapplers and also had to settle for default medals at lightweight and in the absolute.
