The IBJJF London Fall Open 2024 took place on October 12th and 13th, 2024 and the tournament attracted some of the most talented and exciting competitors from all around Europe. Kjetil Lydvo was the double champion on the first day, winning both the ultra-heavyweight and absolute divisions in the gi. He registered a solid win over the medium-heavyweight bronze medalist Austin Oranday in the final of the absolute, and Oranday returned the following day to earn a default gold in his no gi weight class. Undoubtedly the biggest name competing on the first day was at super-heavyweight though, as Adam Wardzinski took home gold there.
Matheus Rangel made an appearance in the middleweight division on both days, and he won a bronze medals in the gi and a silver medal in no gi behind Pedro Silva. There were a few female BJJ competitors in the gi but only a single match in each weight class, with some standout performances. Mara Kelly and Astrid Scholin won light-featherweight and lightweight respectively, before Scholin tried her hand in the absolute and lost to ADCC veteran Nia Blackman. An honorable mention goes out to Josefine Modig too, who won the biggest brown belt weight class at featherweight and won silver in the absolute.
The no gi divisions at the IBJJF London Fall Open 2024 featured some big names too, starting with David Weintraub winning the featherweight division. The biggest story came in both the heavyweight and absolute brackets though, as a veteran Roger Gracie Academy representative met one of the team’s most impressive prospects in the final of both divisions. The heavyweight final saw Charles Negromonte let Faris Ben-Lamkadem take gold, but they decided to battle it out in the absolute final. Negromonte was able to use the benefit of years of experience to come away with the win, standing on top of the. podium in the no gi absolute.
