ADCC: Gracie Wins Superfight
Jordan Breen May 7, 2007
The final day of Abu Dhabi Combat Club's 2007 Submission Grappling
World Championships in Trenton, New Jersey saw winners crowned in
eight divisions, a compelling absolute tournament and Roger Gracie (Pictures) take the event's superfight.
The 143-pound men's division offered up a rematch in its finale, as defending champion Leo Vieira defeated Tetsu Suzuki (Pictures) 8-0 and Rani Yahira defeated Baret Yoshida 10-0 to advance to the finals, where they met two years ago. Yahira gained revenge for his loss in the 2005 final, submitting Vieira with a rear-naked choke to win the division.
As anticipated, the 168-pound category belonged to superstar
Marcelo Garcia, who
choked out Mike Fowler, and then Pablo Popovich to win his third
straight title in the division. Popovich advanced to the final by
defeating Andre Galvao 3-0 on points.
The 192-pound men's division belonged to tournament favorite Demian Maia, who defeated Tarsys Humphreys 2-0 on points before meeting "Cachorrinho" Flavio Almeida in the finals. Cachorrinho, who defeated Romulo Barral on points to advance, fell prey to a Maia armbar in the final to give the Mundials champion the divisional crown.
The men's 218-pounds-and-over division saw Fabricio Werdum (Pictures) submit Darren Andy with a triangle, and Rolles Gracie knock off "Pe De Pano" Marcio Cruz (Pictures) with a 3-0 points win in the semifinals. In the final, Werdum notched two takedowns to take a 4-0 points win, and the division title.
The 121-pound female division saw some surprise when Felicia Oh knocked off Japanese star Megumi Fujii (Pictures) in the semifinals. That surprise was compounded when little-known Japan Trials winner Sayaka Shioda (Pictures), who submitted Bianca Andrade in the semifinals, went on to take out Oh by points in the finals to capture the division.
Similar surprise was not in store for the 132-pound women's class, as 2005 winner Kyra Gracie repeated as champion. Gracie defeated Hitomi Akano (Pictures) to advance to the finals, where she defeated Tara LaRosa 3-0 on points to retain her tournament title.
The 148-pound women's class also went to Hannette Quadros, who defeated Stacy Cartwright to advance to the finals, where she met Kelly Paul. Paul, who defeated Marloes Coenen (Pictures) to reach the final, fell 9-0 on points to the victorious Quadros.
In the 148-pounds-and-up category, Penny Thomas defeated Mary Anne Mullahy, while Lana Stefanac defeated Rosangela Conceicao. In the finals, Thomas took a close points win 0-(-1) on a penalty point.
In a wild men's Absolute division, former BJJ world champion Robert Drysdale took the crown. Drysdale triangled "Big Mac" Luis Theodoro, beat David Avellan 2-0 on points, and submitted Andre Galvao with a rear-naked choke before submitting fan favorite Marcelo Garcia with an anaconda choke to win the division. Garcia had impressed as usual on his way to finals, submitting three considerable larger opponents in Mario Miranda, Rolles Gracie and Cacareco.
In the women's absolute, Hannette Quadros seized opportunity when star Kyra Gracie suffered a knee injury. Quadros then went on to defeat Laura D'Auguste before submitting Roseangela Conceicao in the final with a flying armbar to take the absolute title.
In the ADCC 2007 superfight, Roger Gracie (Pictures) avenged his last loss in ADCC competition, defeating Jon Olav Einemo (Pictures) 5-0 on points, after passing the Norwegian's guard and mounting him. Einemo previously defeated Gracie via points in 2003, en route to winning the 218-pound division.
The 143-pound men's division offered up a rematch in its finale, as defending champion Leo Vieira defeated Tetsu Suzuki (Pictures) 8-0 and Rani Yahira defeated Baret Yoshida 10-0 to advance to the finals, where they met two years ago. Yahira gained revenge for his loss in the 2005 final, submitting Vieira with a rear-naked choke to win the division.
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The 192-pound men's division belonged to tournament favorite Demian Maia, who defeated Tarsys Humphreys 2-0 on points before meeting "Cachorrinho" Flavio Almeida in the finals. Cachorrinho, who defeated Romulo Barral on points to advance, fell prey to a Maia armbar in the final to give the Mundials champion the divisional crown.
In a strong final four in the 218-pound men's division, Xande
Ribeiro defeated Robert Drysdale 2-0 on points, while Braulio
Estima submitted "Cacareco" Alexandre Ferreira in
overtime with a triangle choke in the semifinals. In the final,
Ribeiro defeated Estima 11-0 on points to win the division.
The men's 218-pounds-and-over division saw Fabricio Werdum (Pictures) submit Darren Andy with a triangle, and Rolles Gracie knock off "Pe De Pano" Marcio Cruz (Pictures) with a 3-0 points win in the semifinals. In the final, Werdum notched two takedowns to take a 4-0 points win, and the division title.
The 121-pound female division saw some surprise when Felicia Oh knocked off Japanese star Megumi Fujii (Pictures) in the semifinals. That surprise was compounded when little-known Japan Trials winner Sayaka Shioda (Pictures), who submitted Bianca Andrade in the semifinals, went on to take out Oh by points in the finals to capture the division.
Similar surprise was not in store for the 132-pound women's class, as 2005 winner Kyra Gracie repeated as champion. Gracie defeated Hitomi Akano (Pictures) to advance to the finals, where she defeated Tara LaRosa 3-0 on points to retain her tournament title.
The 148-pound women's class also went to Hannette Quadros, who defeated Stacy Cartwright to advance to the finals, where she met Kelly Paul. Paul, who defeated Marloes Coenen (Pictures) to reach the final, fell 9-0 on points to the victorious Quadros.
In the 148-pounds-and-up category, Penny Thomas defeated Mary Anne Mullahy, while Lana Stefanac defeated Rosangela Conceicao. In the finals, Thomas took a close points win 0-(-1) on a penalty point.
In a wild men's Absolute division, former BJJ world champion Robert Drysdale took the crown. Drysdale triangled "Big Mac" Luis Theodoro, beat David Avellan 2-0 on points, and submitted Andre Galvao with a rear-naked choke before submitting fan favorite Marcelo Garcia with an anaconda choke to win the division. Garcia had impressed as usual on his way to finals, submitting three considerable larger opponents in Mario Miranda, Rolles Gracie and Cacareco.
In the women's absolute, Hannette Quadros seized opportunity when star Kyra Gracie suffered a knee injury. Quadros then went on to defeat Laura D'Auguste before submitting Roseangela Conceicao in the final with a flying armbar to take the absolute title.
In the ADCC 2007 superfight, Roger Gracie (Pictures) avenged his last loss in ADCC competition, defeating Jon Olav Einemo (Pictures) 5-0 on points, after passing the Norwegian's guard and mounting him. Einemo previously defeated Gracie via points in 2003, en route to winning the 218-pound division.
