Freshman Black Belts Who Impressed At Worlds
Freshman Black Belts Who Impressed At Worlds
We profiled 20 new black belts ahead of the 2018 World Championships who we believed were in good position to shake things up two weeks ago.
We profiled 20 new black belts ahead of the 2018 World Championships who we believed were in good position to shake things up two weeks ago in Long Beach, CA.
Some rose to the occasion, while others missed the mark. But few made a bigger impact than the six athletes below.
Amanda Monteiro – GF Team
Amanda Monteiro is the 2018 light-featherweight champion. She defeated two of the divisions winningest athletes, including three-time world champion Gezary Matuda and 2017 world champion Talita Alencar. Hit the link to see our entire review of Monteiro's performance.
MORE: Amanda Monteiro's Road To Gold
Tommy Langaker & Espen Mathiesen - Kimura / WULFING
The two lads from Norway made MASSIVE statements by taking out a few of the favorites on their way to the podium.
Tommy Langaker took home the silver medal, holding wins over 2017 world champion Gabriel Arges and 2018 Brazilian national champ Marcos Tinoco before losing out to Isaque Bahiense in the final. Though his win over Arges was via DQ, Langaker was well on his way toward the finish before it was judged that Arges deliberately fled the mat. Check out the footage below.
Langaker's semifinal match against Marcos Tinico was also a thing of beauty: let us not forget that Tinoco beat up the Viking at the 2018 European Championships, submitting him within via north-south choke just minutes into the match. Langaker heeded the lesson well and made the necessary adjustments to come back and impose his will on Tinoco, taking the back and submitting him to earn his finals bid.
Meanwhile, Mathiesen had one of the dirtiest passes of the event, getting around Edwin Najmi's guard like a hot knife through butter (we've since heard that Najmi was injured going into the match, which may be a contributing factor.) In any case, Mathiesen and Najmi have a budding rivalry, with Mathiesen up 2-1 against the Gracie Barra Star.
Mathiesen's flexibility and incredible guard were on full display in his all-out war with the legend Luas Lepri in the semifinals.
Fellipe Andrew - Zenith
Win or lose, every competitor that faced Fellipe Andrew left the mat with severely modified ankles. Mahamed Aly, Felipe Pena, and even Buchecha had their hands full with the Zenith representative whose straight ankle lock left a strong impression on them all.
Though Andrew eventually came up short against the heavyweight champion Pena in the semifinal, his presence and impact on the course of the event were undeniable. Andrew's victories included Mahamed Aly (in the absolute), Atos representative Vitor Toledo, and Dimitrius Souza.
Watch Andrew's Matches From Worlds
Raquel Canuto – Checkmat
Raquel Canuto, a 2017 black belt world no-gi champion, looked phenomenal during her campaign to the finals. She was able to out-wrestle Lenna Dittrich to win by advantage and then submit fellow black belt newcomer Renata Moreira with a slick ankle lock.
Canuto had a fine showing in her final against Ana Carolina Vieira, but she was ultimately out-gunned and submitted by the returning champion. We believe Canuto will head back to the lab and return even stronger next time around.
Watch Canuto's Matches From Worlds
Gustavo Batista – Atos
Gustavo Batista continued his exceptional 2018 campaign at the World Championships, only being denied a gold medal by virtue of closing out with teammate Lucas Hulk. During the course of the event, Batista marched past Murilo Santana, Horlando Monteiro, and Renato Cardoso on his way to the final.
Batista's passing and top game were particularly impressive in his semifinal match against Alliance black belt Renato Cardoso. Despite being in one of Cardoso's most powerful positions, Batista was able to stand, exit the 50/50, and enter a leg drag sequence that went on for four minutes. It was the "Batista Express" as the Atos representative rail-raided Cardosa in the leg drag position, eventually achieving mount before the match was over.