Gregor Gracie is the grand champion of the Masters Absolute GP at BJJ Stars 19. On the night of this Friday (31), at Vibra São Paulo, the black belt overcame Horlando Monteiro in the final by submission and took home the belt and the prize of R$ 200,000.
Dramatic turnaround in the final
In the decision, Gregor spent a good part of the match behind on the scoreboard. Horlando controlled the standing exchanges better, with a takedown scored and a technical advantage throughout the first two rounds. With about 40 seconds left, however, the veteran found the opening he was looking for: he climbed onto Horlando's back in a single movement, secured the collar, and applied the choke that clinched the title at 5 minutes and 20 seconds.
An unyielding champion
The path to gold was built on offense. Gregor submitted three of the four opponents he faced that night: he passed Luis Marques with a cross choke in the opening round, defeated Filipe Carmona 3-0 in the quarterfinals, and submitted Wellington Alemão with a katagatame in the semifinals, before his crowning. The favoritism of American Rafael Lovato Jr., the only non-Brazilian in the GP, fell by the wayside: Lovato was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Leandro Maia, who had a great run until being stopped by Horlando in the semifinals.
Superfights: Moicano submits Patricky
Among the superfights, the highlight was the clash of MMA names: Renato Moicano took Patricky Pitbull to the ground, stabilized the pressure on top, and submitted him with a katagatame at 3 minutes and 53 seconds. In the women's division, young Livia Barasine confirmed her status as a prospect by submitting the experienced Giovanna Carneiro (katagatame, 2 minutes and 45 seconds). James Ortiz, champion of the WNO youth GP, needed just over a minute and a half to secure a rear-naked choke on Nicolas Vieira. The card was completed with victories by Roberto Godoi over Diogo Almeida, Suyan Queiroz over Andrei Andrezzo, and Willian Arimura over Marcos Vinicius.
Sources: FloGrappling (live results from BJJ Stars 19). *photo reproduction instagram
