Rafael Formiga's Open Class Battle With James Puopolo

No stranger to open class medals at the Masters World Championships, Rafael Barbosa showed exactly why he's one of the toughest Masters 1 competitors out there.

In the semi-finals of the open class division the Soul Fighters black belt took on 2016 World Silver Medalist and ultra-heavyweight James Puopolo and had an especially impressive performance.

Puopolo had plans of closing out with fellow Ribeiro black belt Rafael Lovato Jr in the open class finals but Formiga planned to play spoiler. The master World Champion showed incredible poise in the early part of the match as James tried to smash through his guard.

After weathering the storm it was the Formiga's turn to put the pressure on Puopolo. The match turned out to be one of the most memorable from the tournament and secured a silver medal for Rafael Barbosa.

Watch Open Class Finals: Formiga vs Lovato Jr

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