The IBJJF Orange County Open 2023 took place on October 21st, 2023 and there were several big names competing across different divisions at the event. Only gi divisions were available at the tournament but there was still plenty of action regardless. There were only two competitors at light-featherweight but it was a good match, with Keven Carrasco beating Zach Kaina for the gold medal. There were more matches in the heavier divisions and even more action as a result, particularly in the middleweight division where Johnatha Alves beat the recently-promoted Rafael Silveira in the final.
It was Adam Wardzinski who walked away with the biggest achievement of the day though, as he managed to win gold in the absolute division as well as at super-heavyweight. He had to beat some tough opponents too; most notably Paulo Merlin in the final of his weight class and Mateus Rodrigues in the final of the absolute division. Rodrigues had just come off winning the heavyweight division, and he wasn’t the only big name competing in the absolute as well. Eduardo Granzotto had won the featherweight division earlier in the day and he occupied one of the third-place spots on the podium, while heavyweight bronze medalist Caio Vinicius took the other bronze medal.
Pablo Lavaselli won the lightweight division, and there was no shortage of elite female competitors at the IBJJF Orange County Open 2023 either. Margot Ciccarelli won the women’s lightweight division and she beat Jaine Fragoso in the final match in order to do so. Fragoso returned in the absolute division but had to settle for a silver medal there, as Melissa Stricker beat her in the final shortly after winning the heavyweight division. Maria Ruffatto competed as well, but she lost to Cueto in the only match at heavyweight and ended up taking a bronze medal in the absolute.
