Melqui Galvao has put in some fantastic work since leaving Fight Sports and branching out to create his new solo team, with the IBJJF Rio Summer International Open being their debut tournament without being part of an affiliation. The team fielded several athletes in both the gi and no gi versions of the event over the weekend and they all did a fantastic job, propelling Melqui Galvao Jiu-Jitsu to the top few places of the team standings. Even more impressive is the fact that the majority of Galvao’s top competitors didn’t actually step on the mats at all.
In the end, the team competing under the new name of Melqui Galvao Jiu-Jitsu managed to reach eighth place overall in the gi and an impressive fourth place in no gi. It’s worth considering that all of the athletes competing train either in the original Manuas location or in the brand new Sao Paulo gym, as many of the teams above them in the standings like Gracie Barra or Alliance Jiu-Jitsu have dozens of affiliate gyms available to draw competitors from.
While the whole team at Melqui Galvao Jiu-Jitsu did a fantastic job over the weekend, some of their competitors stood out for truly impressive performances representing their new affiliation. Nikolas de Souza Ramos and Kauã Gabriel De Araujo Barbosa shared the top two spots on the podium in their weightclass in both gi and no gi, before doing the same in the no gi absolute division as well. Iago Siqueira Chagas and Alessandro Oliveira Botelho won their respective black belt divisions in gi and no gi, while Julio Cesar Suzigan Martins is clearly one to watch for the future after winning an incredible four gold medals in the blue belt juvenile division.
The full results for the IBJJF Rio Summer International Open gi divisions can be found here, and the no gi divisions can be found here.
