Pessanha wins the BJJ Stars Grand Prix, and Jansen defeats Batista to compete against Mica for the MW title
The BJJ Stars promotion was scheduled to return to the professional circuit of jiu-jitsu on September 10, 2023. The most well-known grappling organization in Brazil organized another Grand Prix gi competition, this time in the women’s category. Some of the best Brazilian competitors competed for the title and the substantial 100,000 Brazilian Reals that came along with it.
The Grand Prix
The favorite and top-ranked female athlete in the world, Gabrieli Pessanha, dominated the competition. She breezed through the category with remarkable ease, demonstrating once again why she is the best female jiu jitsu competitor in our sport’s history.
The GP also marked the return of two prominent athletes who had been absent from the competition for some time, Yara Soares and Tayane Porfirio. Despite seeming like the more aggressive grappler on the mats on this occasion, Tayane fell to Soares in the semi-finals on a technicality of the rules. Tayane had a strong performance in the opening round. The former IBJJF World Champion is one of the most entertaining athletes to see compete.
Thus, we hope that this event has motivated her to consistently participate in the competitive circuit.
The Superfights
The most exciting matchups were in the superfights. Special kudos go to Piter Frank and Caio Almeida for their veteran’s matchup, which looked amazing last night. Isaque Bahiense’s impressive performance against Matheus Spirandeli after being fired up added fuel to the fire between him and Spirandeli’s coach, Michael Langhi. After the bout, in a boisterous interview with the BJJ Stars host, Bahiense said:
“First of all thank you to Spirandeli, he has nothing to do with this war, but Langhi spoke a lot of sh** on the internet and that was good for me. it lit me up. He said I am old and done, I am 27 years old. In my mind, I think he [Langhi] always tried to throw shade and that is why I had to leave Alliance, It’s the old saying ‘People want to see you do well, but not better than themselves’. I had been in my comfort zone for a long time, I had to put many things on the side to coach, but this was what I needed to come back“. He also implied that he will be back to competing regularly on the tournament scene from now on.
The rematch between Jansen Gomes and Gustavo Batista from the 88-kg finals of the IBJJF Pan American Championship was perhaps the most significant super fight match of the evening. Commentator Victor Doria revealed during the broadcast how Jansen almost missed the final after suffering a serious injury in the semi-finals. Gomes had the opportunity to get revenge on the Atos HQ athlete this time around by being fit, and he did so. A faultless performance by “Nenego” of Checkmat, who controlled the match for the most of it, knocking Batista to the ground and making him play defense the whole time. After the contest, Jansen Gomes was named as Mica Galvao’s BJJ Stars middleweight championship opponent, which made for a highly entertaining bout in this category.
Results For The BJJ Stars Superfight Match
- Victor Honorio defeated Yatan Bueno with a score of 0 points, 0 assists, and 1 penalty.
- Piter Frank defeated Caio Almeida by using a flying armbar.
- Uanderson Ferreira defeated Andy Murasaki by a score of 0 points and 1 advance
- The winner is the last to score according to BJJ Stars regulations in the event of a tie.
- Diogo Reis defeated Samuel Nagai (0x0 points) *no-gi
- Isaque Bahiense defeated Matheus Spirandeli with a backwards choke
- Jansen Gomes defeats Gustavo Batista by two points and two advances
RESULT OF THE WOMEN’S GRAND PRIX
Quarter-Finals
- Gabrieli Pessanha defeats Carina Santi by a score of 10 points
- Tayane Porfirio defeated Welma Moreira by 9-0 points.
- Melissa Cueto uses an armbar to defeat Tamiris Silva
- Yara Soares defeats Mica Lima by two points and one advance.
Semi-Finals
- Gabrieli Pessanha defeated Melissa Cueto by a score of 2–0.
- Tayane Porfirio was defeated by Yara Soares using the guard pull rule (in the event of a 0x0 outcome, the individual who initially pulled guard loses).
Final
- Yara Soares was defeated by Gabrieli Pessanha with a straight ankle lock.
