The final of the black belt master 1 featherweight division at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2024 ended in controversy when one competitor decided to launch a body kick at the other. It was a truly bizarre ending to the match and not something that anybody would expect to see at a grappling tournament, particularly one at this level. It’s sadly not unheard of for fights to break out at events, but it’s more commonly seen either with lower level competitors or at local events rather than a black belt final match in one of the four major IBJJF no gi tournaments of the year.
There was plenty of big names competing at the event and some of the best grapplers in the world managed to stand on top of the podium in the adult black belt divisions, so naturally most of the other divisions fly under the radar a little. Then footage emerged of the black belt master 1 featherweight final between Renzo Walltter Martinez Barazarte and Venino Marciano Rondon de Lima Junior, and the community immediately took notice. Things went south incredibly quickly, as the two men were less than 30 seconds into the match and were still both standing and handfighting when the clip begins.
They appear to lock hands in the classic ‘mercy-grip’ position and Lima Junior is able to use the grip to apply a quick wristlock to Barazarte, causing him to cry out in pain. Barazarte didn’t waste any time to find out whether the referee was going to award his opponent the win or not, as he immediately stepped forward and threw a kick at Lima Junior’s body. Lima Junior caught the kick comfortably and the referee was quick to step in at this point, shoving Barazarte away from his opponent. Barazarte then drops to the ground and starts rolling around in pain, clearly holding his hand limply.
Barazarte starts pointing to his hand and is clearly complaining about the wristlock that his Lima Junior attempted, while Lima Junior looks visibly confused by the whole exchange. The referee then pulls them back to the middle and announces that Barazarte has obviously been disqualified for throwing the body kick, declaring Lima Junior the winner and the black belt master 1 featherweight champion at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship 2024. Barazarte storms off the mat in frustration at this point and due to the disqualification he received in the final match, he was not awarded the silver medal in the division either.
The footage of a black belt throwing a body kick at his opponent after the final match at the IBJJF No Gi European Championship was shared to the official X account of the BJJ Otter:
Maaan this whole sequence is embarrassing I’m not gonna lie to you 😂 pic.twitter.com/ENZAG0tVcW
— BJJotter (@JiujitsuOtter) October 21, 2024
