Sunday, September 27 9:00 pm PT: Barcelona belongs to Braulio Estima.
In the 2009 ADCC absolute championship, the Gracie Barra black belt showed he was not content with just simply having captured the 88-kilogram division title, and was magnificent in conquering the open-weight field, culminating with a victory over 99-kilo division champ Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro in the finale.
The inverted triangle that Estima used to tap Andre Galvao in the 88-kilo final reared its head again, as he locked it in on the defensively superb Ribeiro.
Sunday, September 27 9:05 am PT: With Kyra Gracie out of the picture, Luanna Alzuguir took the opportunity to take home another title, knocking off Sayaka Shioda to win the under-60-kilo women's category.
Alzuguir, who beat the aforementioned Gracie at this year's Mundials, was consummate offensively and defensively against the well-rounded Shioda, but failed to to score any points as she couldn't pass the guard cleanly to achieve dominant position. She also appeared to be fatiguing, as Shioda fell into a guillotine -- a weapon of choice for Alzuguir -- but the BJJ world champion simply looked to hold on rather than extend her hips and pursue the submission.
Sunday, September 27 9:02 am PT: At just 20 years old, and with less than a year with his black belt, Rafael Mendes has won the biggest no-gi grappling competition in the world.
Mendes avenged his loss at the Mundials earlier this year by taking a 7-4 points win over Rubens "Cobrinha" charles after the second overtime in a 30-minute affair. The bout started at a high pace, with Cobrinha scoring early takedowns before points were in effect, while Mendes locked on two deep anaconda chokes, both of which Charles able to deftly escape.
Sunday, September 27 9:00 am PT: Third time was the charm for Pablo Popovitch, as after losing to Marcelo Garcia in the divisional finals in 2005 and 2007, he upset his rival and halted his bid for a fourth straight divisional title.
Popovitch got an early takedown, but from there, it looked like it would be business as usual, as Garcia turned a stright armlock into a sweep to top position, and followed quickly by hitting a back crucifix and looking for a rear-naked choke.
Sunday, September 27 8:52 am PT: One of grappling's most underrated and overlooked competitors, Braulio Estima has finally earned himself an Abu Dhabi title with a sensational inverted triangle submission over Andre Galvao in the 88-kilogram final.
Estima, the category's runner-up to Saulo Ribeiro in 2007, was aggressive from the beginning of the final, attacking Galvao constantly on top. When Galvao was able to sweep and get back to the feet, Estima quickly put him back on the mat with a slick single-leg takedown, and continued to push the pace despite not even being in the points period yet.
Sunday, September 27 6:49 am PT: The prohibitive favorite to win the under-99-kilogram division, Alexandre "Xande" Ribeiro delivered, defeating surprisingly game upstart Gerardi Rinaldi to claim the title.
Ribeiro's 2-0 points win came courtesy of a sweep from the deep half guard fairly early in the 20-minute bout. In the rest of the affair however, Ribeiro showed his brilliant defensive technique and prowess, as the fearless Rinaldi locked up an omoplata, went for kimuras on top while Ribeiro played the deep half, as well as a kneebar and heel hook, to boot.
Sunday, September 27 6:46 am PT: In 1999 and 2000, Mark Kerr won the ADCC over-99-kilogram division, but not since the competition became a biennial event had a 99-and-over winner repeated as champion. Until now.
2007 champion Fabricio Werdum took a 9-0 points win over Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu to claim his second straight title in the division. Uncharacteristic for heavyweights, both men opened the match hot, and Abreu took Werdum's back with hooks in during the pre-points period. However, after Werdum escaped, he showed why he won the division in New Jersey two years ago.
Sunday, September 27 5:34 am PT: Neither woman was especially impressive, but 2007 ADCC champions will square off in the women's over-60-kilogram final when Penny Thomas meets Hannette Staack Quadros.
Thomas, 2007's over-67-kilo champ, went for a leglock early in her semi-final bout with Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos, but wound up giving top position to the Strikeforce 145-pound champion. Cyborg's top game was markedly better than she showed Saturday, and she nearly won the bout with a smooth pass to side control late in the points period, but was unable to hold position for the three seconds necessary to score points. In the first overtime period, Santos was penalized for accidentally kneeing Thomas in the head during a scramble. That penalty point wound up being the difference, as Thomas advanced to the final, (-1)-(-2) on points.
Sunday, September 27 5:26 am PT: For those who thought Rubens "Cobrinha" Charles' no-gi game still needs work, and that Rafael Mendes is still too young and inexperienced against top competitors ... well, one of them is going to become ADCC 2009's 66-kilogram champion.
Charles, regarded as the best gi Brazilian jiu-jitsu player in the weight range, showed absolutely no decline in performance without the kimono, as he played top successfully against Yahya before cinching up a brutal kimura that forced the 2007 divisional champ to tap.
Meanwhile, the student became the master in the second semi-final as 20-year-old Rafael Mendes dominated his longtime idol and former Brasa teacher Leo Vieira. Mendes was relentless, locking up a tight anaconda choke which Vieira brilliantly defended with expert hand-fighting. Mendes followed by getting the back, and was working to get his hooks in when time expired in the opening period. However, Mendes didn't slow down in the first overtime, as he got Vieira's back again, and as the two-time divisional champ fought Mendes' legs to prevent him from getting his hooks in to score points, the Atos rep sunk a deep rear-naked choke to make the typically untappable Vieira submit, capping the most brilliant single performance of the tournament thus far.
Sunday, September 27 5:24 am PT: Surprise surprise: Marcelo Garcia will have the chance to go for his fourth straight 77-kilogram ADCC title, against his rival Pablo Popovitch.
After guillotines over Rodney Ellis and Kron Gracie on Saturday, Marcelo Garcia hit his trademark choke again over Keita "K-Taro" Nakamura. After sweeping and getting mount, Garcia opted for side control, and the north-south choke, where he locked up a choke. K-Taro was able to defend and turn to his belly, but turned straight into Garcia's guillotine, and was forced to tap.
Popovitch, who has been defeated in the 77-kilogram finals in both 2005 and 2007 by Garcia, earned his third finals appearance by taking out Gregor Gracie on points. After working Gracie from top position throughout the bout, Popovitch took Gracie's back late, and after fully locking in a rear-naked choke, time expired. However, the points he earned for taking the back were enough to give him his victory, and chance at redemption against Garcia.
Sunday, September 27 4:07 am PT: 2009 will see one of the world's best grapplers finally get their first ADCC title in the finals of the 88-kilogram category.
BJJ world champions Andre Galvao and Braulio Estima both advanced to the final with impressive semi-final performances against David Avellan and Rafael Lovato Jr. respectively, allowing for both men to vie for their first divisional ADCC crown.
Estima made short work of Lovato Jr., quickly catching him in a nasty footlock for the tapout. Lovato Jr. was in visible pain after the submission, and had to be helped off the mat by Saulo Ribeiro.
For Galvao, the shoe was on the other foot. David Avellan was able to thwart his butterfly and deep half game, and initiate a leglock battle. Avellan found a deep heel hook, but Galvao was able to sit over Avellan's leg and peel his grip, forcing a scramble. In said scramble, Galvao finished a clean single-leg takedown, which gave him a 2-0 points lead which he would carry to the end, winning his way to the finals.
Sunday, September 27 4:02 am PT: The ADCC 2009 men's over-99-kilogram final is set, and Fabricio Werdum will have the chance to win his second straight divisional title.
The 2007 over-99 champion was able to defeat BJJ legend and former two-time 88-kilo-and-under champion Saulo Ribeiro after a 20-minute contest that exhausted both overtime periods. Neither man was able to takedown the other, as the much larger Werdum was aggressive both from the clinch and shooting for double legs, but the technique and veteranship allowed Ribeiro to avoid Werdum putting him flat on the mat and scoring points.
In the finals, he will meet the surging Roberto "Cyborg" Abreu, who knocked off 2005 divisional champion Jeff Monson. Not unlike the Werdum-Ribeiro clash, Abreu and Monson largely consisted of both men shooting takedowns. Abreu forced Monson into complete defense at the bout wore on, taking his book without hooks and transitioning to an armbar, and later gaining rear waist control and suplexing him. Though he failed to expose Monson to the mat cleanly and earn points, Monson's passivity later in the bout earned him a negative bout, which was all "Cyborg" needed to advance.
Sunday, September 27 12:00 am PT: With day one in the books, here is how the semifinals of the divisional brackets shape up in the seven weight classes. Sunday offers a strong set of final fours, and we have yet to even see the participants and brackets for the absolute division.
