Open Grappling Results
On Saturday, August 11, 2007, the first annual Marbella Open Grappling tournament was held at the beautiful Soul Beach, in Puerto Banús (Marbella), Spain. It was a gorgeous sunny day, and the turnout was fantastic. In total, more than 70 competitors from all over Spain came to put their grappling skills to the test in this competition.
Para una versión en Español de este articulo, pica aqui.
Summary of the Event
During the first half of the day, the event worked its way through the weight categories (divided into beginner and advanced division). As the competition evolved down to the finals, it was clear that a lot of hard training had taken place prior to the event, as an incredible level of technical ability and physical conditioning was demonstrated by every team that participated.
Particularly impressive on the day were Fran Alcalde (Sur Union) and Oriol Gaset (Alianza-MMA). Oriol won both his weight category (Advanced 77kg) and the Advanced Absolute division, especially impressive taking into account that by luck of the draw, he did not get a by in the 77 kg first round (meaning he fought an additional fight with respect to the additional competitors.) Fran Alcalde won both his weight category (Advanced 66 kg) and the Elite Absolute division, especially impressive taking into account that he was competing against a black belt!
The first superfight between Aida (GBM) and Christina (ASES) showed the crowd that grappling and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu are not just mens sports, as these talented women demonstrated an equal fighting spirit and technical expertise. At the beginning of the fight Aida locked in a tight triangle, but Christina calmly worked the escape and later scored the side control. The two battled to the end, and Christina took the superfight with a points advantage. Congratulations to both!
In the main event, Gracie-Barra Marbella’s Edson “Sururu” Jorge took on ASES Valencia’s Tito Beltran. This fight was anticipated and talked about for weeks leading up the event, as one of Brazil’s most talented fighters (Edson Jorge) faced off with Spain’s most celebrated grappler (Tito Beltran). There was almost an electric tension in the air as the two fighters stared each other down in front of the dead-silent crowd prior to the bout.
When the clock started the fighter circled in the stand-up, each looking for a takedown. Tito’s first shot was answered with a quick sprawl from Edson, but Tito responded by securing what appeared to be a guillotine attempt. Edson backed out, and the fighter again stood up. Edson dropped to butterfly guard and secured a back grip, and transitioned to secure Tito’s leg. Tito rolled to counter attack Edson’s leg, but Edson rolled back to secure a heel-hook, leaving Tito no option but to tap out.
Congratulations Sururu, and congratulations to Tito for a great fight! For sure, you can expect to see a rematch between the competitors in the future!
Our academy, Gracie-Barra Marbella, had a great turn-out of competitors, and although finishing second, demonstrated a great performance. Leo and Agusto especially showed that they have progressed tremendously over the past year. Those guys were unbelievable. Juan from La Linea was also incredible, making it to the finals! Jacobo did great in his first competition, making it all the way to the semi-finals. And Aida showed great composure and fighting spirit, competing in a superfight in her very first competition. Pablo had two very tough fights. Jose Antonio won his division. Recently arrived Leandro had a great fight. Martin Pitbull demonstrated his amazing strength! Dani had fight against Oriol in the first round of his division. New arrival Alessandro had a tough fight with the eventual winner of his division. Hans had a tough fight in his first event. And, then of course was Guara, who became animated the crowd with his amazing win over a guy twice his size in the absolute category. Leandro fought a very technical fight in the elite division. There were several other GBM fighters as well, e.g. Paulon, Tomaz, Roberto, Jose Manuel, etc. all of whom competed very well. And, of course, Edson prevailed as we all knew he would in the event everybody came for, the superfight with Tito!
Individual Results
The following are the results of the individual competition finals (Gold and Silver medalist):
- Beginner 66 kg Magnus Johnson (Team Choco) def. Ignacio Barrachina (ASES)
- Beginner 77 kg David Allen (Team Choco) def. Juan Felgueroso (GBM)
- Beginner 88 kg Saul Burillo (ASES) def. Pipo (Sur Union)
- Beginner 99 kg David Jacare (Sur Union) def. Kevin Mohr (Team Choco)
- Beginner 99+ kg Gran Eu (Sur Union) def. Miguel Kama (Zarate Team)
- Advanced 66 kg Fran Alcalde (Sur Union) def. Luis Quiñones (Sur Union)
- Advanced 77 kg Oriol Gaset (Alianza-MMA) def. Agusto Aloisio (Gracie-Barra Marbella)
- Advanced 88 kg Fredson (ASES) def. Leandro Galati (Gracie-Barra Marbella)
- Advanced 99 kg Jose Antonio Merida (Gracie-Barra Marbella) def. Pedro Carvalho (Werdum Zaragoza)
- Absolute Beginner Guara (Gracie-Barra Marbella) def. Nicolae Bogdan (Werdum Zaragoza)
- Absolute Advanced Oriol Gaset (Alianza-MMA) def. Pedro Carvalho (Werdum Zaragoza)
- Absolute Elite Fran Alcalde (Sur Union) def. Leandro (Gracie-Barra Marbella)
Team Results
The winner of the team competition was Sur Union, who clearly trained hard for this event, and brought a team of focused and prepared competitors. In second place was the home team of Gracie-Barra Marbella, and tied for third place were ASES and Team Choco. The full team results follow:
- Sur Union (38 points)
- Gracie-Barra Marbella (22 points)
- ASES Valencia (19 points)
- Team Choco (19 points)
- Alianza-MMA (18 points)
- Werdum Zaragoza (3 points)
- Zarate Team (1 point)
Superfight Results
- Edson Jorge (GBM) def. Tito Beltran (ASES)
- Cristina (ASES) def. Aida (GBM)
Videos
Edson Jorge (GBM) vs Tito Beltran (ASES)
Fran Alcalde (Sur Union) vs Leandro (GBM)
Thanks!
First, we want to thank all the teams, competitors and fans that came from all over Spain to participate in and watch the event. Through your support and participation, it’s clear that our sports of BJJ and grappling are alive and growing in Spain! We hope you all enjoyed the event, and look forward to next year.
We also want to thank our sponsors:
- MakaluMedia
- Ronin Wear
- Platinum Gym (Puerto Banus)
- Soul Beach
- Pink (Puerto Banus)
- Tango Restaurante (Puerto Banus)
- Lyndon
And, last but not least, a big big thanks to Roger Gracie black-belt Jude Samuel for coming to the event, and graciously volunteering to help with the refereeing. Thanks Jude!
Links
Discussion about the event in FightSol forums