The Mundials. The big dance. If you love Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition this is the tournament to look forward to. For the past 11 years, if someone wants to be called a “World” Champion, this has been the tournament to win at.
Surprising as this may be to many, after literally attending and participating in hundreds of tournaments over my career, this will be my first ever Mundials of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. I had decided last year that I was going to make this years no matter what, and as luck (good or bad, depending on your point of view) would have it, the Mundials have been moved out of Brazil and to Long Beach, California. The given reason is that the Pan American games are being held in Rio the same week, making securing a venue unfeasible (in reality, there are likely a plethora of reasons for the move and it may or may not be permanent). The result however is the largest, and most internationally flavored Mundials to date. Around 1800 competitors will take the mat from August 23 through the 26 to test their mettle against the world’s best. Keep in mind, that other than the white belt tournament and blue belt juvenille, all of the competitors are registered in the adult class as well, no age specific groupings for this championships.
You can view the brackets for yourself here:
http://www.ibjjf.org/cgi-bin/montachaves.asp Blue Belt
With the largest Mundials to date also comes the largest blue belt divisions ever. There was such a turn out for the blue belt absolute for example that the confederation was forced to scrap it. Many of the divisions run eight (8!) pages long, meaning a championship run in those divisions could consist of up to seven matches!
One of the interesting aspects of the blue belt division is you often see notable athletes from other disciplines or even sport trying out their hand here. Some may even have a wealth of grappling knowledge, but limited experience in the gi and want to try their hand at the world’s largest competition. This makes it especially hard to gauge how the blue belt divisions will go, and there are bound to be some major surprises.
Someone recently asked me if I though being Brazilian would be an advantage in this competition. The Brazilians may not be as well represented in this particular competition because of the cost for them to travel and participate, but the ones who do make the journey are sure to be tough. But regardless of the Brazilian factor, s the level of Jiu Jitsu continues to increase world wide, I feel that we would have seen the most international medal podium in the blue belt divisions yet. In other words, it is truly ANYONE’s game in this category, and as much as any other division, the winner is going to get by on a combination of skill, conditioning and luck.
Blue Belt Champions 2007
Rooster
Pan Ams Sergio Castillo Easton Brazilian JJ
Brasilierio Thiago Dias Brazilian Top Team
European Kinji Matsura Brazilian Top Team
Super Feather
Pan Ams Pet Runez Gustavo Dantas
Brasilierio Ary Farias Brasa
European Gaillard Julien Gracie Barra
Feather
Pan Ams Jonathan Thomas Vaghi Martial Arts
Brasilierio Charles Oliveira Jorge Patino
European Pierre Girard Gracie Barra Sud-France
Light
Pan Ams AJ Agazarm Gracie Barra Tampa
Brasilierio Willian Martins Gracie Barra PB
European Maciej Kowalski Walka Gniezno
Middle
Pan Ams Mikell Bursky Rockland BJJ
Brasilierio Ricardo Lima Omar Salum
European Zerijal Milan Zerjal Academy
Medium Heavy
Pan Ams Chaun Sims McMahon BJJ
Brasilierio Alberto Ramos UGF
European Halmi Viktor Gracie Barra
Heavy
Pan Ams Anthony Molina Cassio Werneck
Brasilierio Rodolfo Vieira Pro Combat
European Powell Kaminski Walka Gniezno
Super Heavy
Pan Ams Steven Oliver NYMAG
Brasilierio Helio Berlandi Maromba JJ
European Mikael Marffy Brasa
SuperSuper Heavy
Pan Ams David Ashkinaz Triune JJ
Brasilierio Douglas Cothim Alliance
European Gunnar Johanson Hilti BJJ
Purple Belt
The purple belt divisions are stacked with talent, and nearly as large as the blue belt divisions, with the light/leve and middle/medio divisions being eight pages long (and the road to a championship in the light division taking up to seven matches!) In some ways however, the purple belt divisions, while still an incremental step up from the blue divisions, are less of a wild card in certain respects in that competitors have usually settled into a more conventional jiu jitsu game. Still the experience level of competitors in the purple belt division can vary widely, as in some circles purple belt is one of the longest belts held, you are most likely
