Grappling Bulletin: Never Count Cyborg Out
Grappling Bulletin: Never Count Cyborg Out
Let's all take a moment to reflect on the fact that Cyborg is 39 years old and still at the top of the game.
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Let's all take a moment to reflect on the fact that Cyborg is 39 years old and still at the top of the game. Phenomenal.
For the third time in six months, Roberto Cyborg Abreu walked away the winner in a tournament loaded with talent. He won the IBJJF Heavyweight GP in August 2019, followed up with gold medal at the IBJJF World No-Gi Championships in December, and started his 2020 strong by coming out on top at the KASAI Heavyweight tournament.
Cyborg had to face off with the "Hulk," Lucas Barbosa, in the final. He saved his strongest performance of the night for last, thoroughly out-wrestling the younger man and taking the back to out-score him 6-0.
It wasn't just the fact that Cyborg beat Barbosa – it was how he beat him that was most impressive. He came out fast and hard and tossed Barbosa around, overwhelming him with pressure and constantly dictating the pace of the match. It looked much like their match front the IBJJF Heavyweight Grand Prix last year, only even more intense.
Cyborg goes after Hulk's neck
Fans and followers of the sport were closely looking forward to Cyborg's rematch with Nick Rodriguez, which took place in the group stage of the tournament. After their controversial encounter at ADCC, you might expect there to be some bad blood but it was all business. Cyborg stayed calm even after taking an accidental elbow to the face that opened a huge cut. The medics had to patch him up many times through the night and it definitely slowed down the match with Rodriguez, but he powered through and never allowed it to slow him down.
Cyborg was complimentary of Rodriguez after the event, saying, "I have nothing but respect for the kid. He's an amazing athlete, just coming up. Can you imagine a purple belt, with that level, coming here with all the best black belts in the world?"
2019 was a year of ups and downs for Cyborg. He won a superfight at Fight to Win 106, and lost to Meregali at 3CG. He bounced back with the win at the IBJJF Heavyweight Grand Prix, yet failed to make the podium at ADCC. He won his division at IBJJF No-Gi Worlds, but lost in the final of the absolute.
He is big-hearted, but he is proud. He is emotional, but he is genuine. Cyborg's appeal is that he is very, very human and readily admits to his flaws. He competes, enjoys mixed success yet always leaves it on the mat and gives us some of the most memorable matches of all time in the process.
See more: Full results from 2020 KASAI Pro 7
Cyborg Reflects On Taking Home The Belt At KASAI Pro 7
Rankings updates
Plenty of movement in the rankings following Euros at the end of last month. Catch up on who's ranked where below.
- FloGrappling Black Belt Gi Rankings
- FloGrappling No-Gi Rankings
- FloGrappling Female Black Belt Rankings
- FloGrappling Jiu-Jitsu in MMA Ranking
- FloGrappling Brown Belt Gi Rankings
IBJJF Results Recap
With Pans around the corner many athletes will need to get their qualifying points to be able to enter, so expect to see plenty of big names in action of the coming weeks.
- Big takeaways from the weekend are that Gianni Grippo missed out on gold in Atlanta, taking silver at both lightweight and in the absolute. He faced GF Team man-mountain Max Gimenis in the final. Wow.
- ADCC 88kg champ Matheus Diniz makes his return to the gi, picking up gold at medium-heavy.
- Horlando Monteiro, who now lives in Hawaii, did double gold in Fresno after moving up to super-heavyweight.
- Kennedy Maciel took bronze in the absolute after winning gold in the featherweight division!
ATLANTA WINTER INTERNATIONAL OPEN JIU-JITSU 2020
Adult / Male / Black / Feather
1 - Yuta Shimada - Alliance
2 - Adam Benayoun - Fifty/50 Jiu-Jitsu
3 - Emilio Alejandro hernandez-rodgriquez - Zenith BJJ
3 - Rodrigo Francioni Dias - Fight Sports
Adult / Male / Black / Light
1 - Pablo Lavaselli - Renzo Gracie Ottawa
2 - Gianni Paul Grippo - Alliance
3 - Dylan C. Whyte - Soul Fighters Texas
3 - Jeffrey Timothy Cummings - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Adult / Male / Black / Middle
1 - Athos Ribeiro de Miranda - Alliance
2 - Andre Nascimento dos Santos Gois - Alliance
3 - Alexander Charles Yablong - Easton BJJ
3 - Jacob Williams Mackenzie - GF Team
Adult / Male / Black / Medium-Heavy
1 - Matheus Oliveira Diniz - Alliance
2 - Joseph C. Watson - Gracie Barra
3 - Angelo Dequan Claiborne - Team Lloyd Irvin
3 - Brian J Beaury II - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Adult / Male / Black / Heavy
1 - Gilvan Gomes da Costa - Brazilian Top Team
2 - Todd Brandon Mueckenheim - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
3 - Pedro Henrique Monteiro Palhares - Luiz Palhares Jiu Jitsu
3 - Philip Daniel Raby - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Adult / Male / Black / Super-Heavy
1 - Diego Dias Ramalho - ZR Team Association
2 - Walnan Presto Constantino - Alliance
3 - Gabriel H. Araujo - GF Team International
Adult / Male / Black / Ultra-Heavy
1 - Guilherme Wilson S. Cordiviola - GF Team
2 - Max dos Santos Gimenis - GF Team
Adult / Male / Black / Open Class
1 - Max dos Santos Gimenis - GF Team
2 - Gianni Paul Grippo - Alliance
3 - Alexander Charles Yablong - Easton BJJ
3 - Brian J Beaury II - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
FRESNO INTERNATIONAL OPEN JIU-JITSU 2020
Adult / Male / Black / Light-Feather
1 - Pedro Serrano - Gracie Barra
2 - Kaio Cesar Abrantes Fonseca - Gracie Barra
3 - Ram Ananda - Alliance Los Angeles
Adult / Male / Black / Feather
1 - Kennedy Leonardo Maciel - Alliance
2 - Rodrigo Lopes Cardoso - Ralph Gracie
3 - Joel Santiago - Neutral Grounds / Gracie Jiu Jitsu Long Beach
3 - Matheus Evangelista Gonzaga - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Adult / Male / Black / Light
1 - Johnatha Barbosa Alves - Art of Jiu Jitsu
2 - Paulo Gabriel Martins da Costa - Gracie Humaita South Bay
3 - Christopher Cardona - O.M.A.
3 - Jacob Lanier - TRUJITSU
Adult / Male / Black / Middle
1 - Breno Henrique Abreu Bittencourt - Gracie Fighter
2 - Thiago Rodrigues Lemos - CheckMat
3 - Piter Frank Almeida Silva - Alliance
3 - Saul Viayra - Gracie Barra
Adult / Male / Black / Medium-Heavy
1 - Juan Cleber Pio de Souza - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
2 - Daniel Hampton - Lotus Club USA
Adult / Male / Black / Heavy
1 - Benjamin Silva IV - Caio Terra Association
2 - Gustavo Oliveira de Andrade - Nova União
3 - Victor Matheus de Lima Rodrigues - Infight JJ
Adult / Male / Black / Super-Heavy
1 - Wellington Modena Peroto - One Jiu-Jitsu USA
2 - Vinicius Lino Wong - Alliance
Adult / Male / Black / Ultra-Heavy
1 - Horlando de Jesus Monteiro - KMR BJJ KIMURA
2 - Mateo Tenzera - CheckMat
Adult / Male / Black / Enum_WeightDivision_Open Class_Label
1 - Horlando de Jesus Monteiro - KMR BJJ KIMURA
2 - Juan Cleber Pio de Souza - Atos Jiu-Jitsu
3 - Gustavo Oliveira de Andrade - Nova União
3 - Kennedy Leonardo Maciel - Alliance
Photo of the week:
Dante Leon goes for the legs against Renato Canuto at KASAI Pro 7. Photo by Dan Rod.
Upcoming Live Events on FloGrappling:
Who's #1 – Feb 8
What's the best way to find out Who's #1? Head-to-head matches between the top-ranked grapplers in the game! You can watch Who's #1 LIVE on FloGrappling on February 8. Click here for tickets to watch the event in person in Costa Mesa CA.
Pan Kids – Feb 8-9
The premier event for kids is back and we'll stream every match from every mat.