Baltimore MMA News

Team Lloyd Irvin Making History on Day 2 of BJJ World Championships

TEAM STANDINGS AFTER DAY TWO

(All Adult Blue Belt & Purple Belt Divisions Completed except Purple Opens)

“Never before has an American team secured this many Gold medals at the BJJ World Championships before.”

Adult

1. Alliance – 53 pts
2. Lloyd Irvin – 50 pts
3. Gracie Humaitá – 28 pts

Female:

1. American Top Team – 36 pts
2. Lloyd Irvin – 31 pts
3. Gracie Humaitá – 24 pts

Juveniles, Brown, and Black Belts fight tomorrow!

BJJ World Championships Day 2 Results

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Evan “Oz” Gideon was making bold predictions before this tournament and he made sure they came true - winning 10 matches to a single loss.  Oz tore through the Medium Heavy division, defeating notables Carsell Swain (Pan Am Bronze medalist) and wrestler Kenny Johnson (Machado JJ) in the early rounds.  On the other side, Manual Diaz (Sandro Batata) defeated two very tough grapplers - Pan Am Silver Medalist, Marcus Sosa (Claudio Franca) and 2009 World Medalist, Jason Boivie (Marin MMA).  The Championship match was tough but Oz pulled out the victory with a single advantage!  You can see the match on our Baltimore Martial Arts fanpage.

Because of his Gold medal, Oz was selected for the Open division.  Oz made the most his opportunity and made it to the finals where he lost on advantages to the Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist.  On the way, Oz was able to hold off Marcus Sosa, the grappler who had defeated him earler in the Pan Ams, and tie up the series.

Oz Gazes Into the Abyss

Brad ”Fred” Pearson was on fire at the Worlds, hitting big takedowns, passing guards, and controlling from the top position and became Crazy 88 BJJ’s first World Purple Belt World Medalist in history with 4 wins and 1 loss. Brad stuck to his strengths, avoided his weak spots, and it showed his results.  In the finals, Brad got caught up in a front headlock and ended up losing on a heartbreaking 2-0 score but it was an awesome performance overall.

Mike Atkin with World Silver Medalist, Brad Pearson

Other Team Lloyd Irvin Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Medal Winners (We kicked *ss!!!!!):

• Tracey Goodell: GOLD @ Purple Female Light
• Andris Brunovskis: GOLD @ Purple Feather
• Willie Leonard: GOLD @ Purple Ultraheavy
• Frank Camacho: GOLD @ Blue Middle
• DJ Jackson: SILVER @ Blue Middle, BRONZE @ Blue Open
• Rachel Demara: BRONZE @ Blue Open
• Kenneth Brown: BRONZE @ Blue Ultraheavy

Tomorrow will be the Purple Belt Open and Brown Belt divisions as well as the first few rounds of the Black Belts.

Jon Discusses Strategy In Between Matches with Julius and Lloyd

Timmy Spriggs Fought Well, Winning Three Matches, Despite Only Training During School Vacations!

BJJ World Championships Day One Videos

Five Medals after BJJ World Championships Day One

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“Lawyer” Dave Zwanetz became Crazy 88 BJJ’s first World Medalist this year with 3 wins and 1 loss. Dave submitted his first two opponents relatively easily and won a tough semifinal match on points.  Great ending to a long competitive season that began last year with the AZ Open.

David was just one of Team Lloyd Irvin’s Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Medal Winners:

• Anene Wynn: BRONZE @ White Female Lightweight
• Kim Rivers: SILVER @ Blue Female Light Featherweight
• Rachel Demara: GOLD @ Blue Female Middleweight
• Sijara Eubanks: SILVER @ Blue Female Medium Heavy

BJJ World Champ, Rachel Demara, Gets Some Last Minute Coaching

The Blue Belt divisions will restart, beginning with the Middleweights, tomorrow; our strong Purple Belt team will also be competing with new additions, Tracey Goodell and Willie Leonard!  Check out some of the footage from the PanAms below and make sure to join the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu fanpage for even more videos!

Kim Rivers, Team Lloyd Irvin World Silver Medalist

2010 Worlds Brackets Released (Blue Belts)

Blue Belt Rooster

“Lawyer” Dave Zwanetz set a goal for himself of placing at an International level Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament last year after he missed the World Championships.  He has been competing regularly since then and recently took Gold at the NY Open.  Having defeated multiple past medalists in local tournaments, Dave has a strong chance to get onto the medal stand this year in Long Beach.

Blue Belt Rooster (1 of 2)

Blue Belt Light Feather

Clarence Melton came off a long Jiu Jitsu layoff with a vengeance, going to the BJJ Brazilian Nationals to compete.  He is looking to gain more experience at the World Championships with the intention of getting onto the medal stand next year.

Blue Belt Pluma (1 of 4)

Blue Belt Light

Keith “Trainspotting” Cebula is coming into the Worlds hoping to utilize his strong Umaplata game.  Keith suffered a few setbacks during the Worlds training camp but has a strong gameplan and technical skills that will hopefully get him into the later rounds.

Blue Belt Light (5 of 8)

Blue Belt Medium Heavy

A strong division for Team Lloyd Irvin with Evan “Oz” Gideon, Fred “Brad” Thomsen, and Timmy “#1 Stunna” Spriggs all separated throughout the bracket. Oz is a big medal threat, with 2010 wins at the Houston and NY Opens and also a Bronze at the Pan Ams. Also in the division are Jason Boivie (Marin MMA), Carsell Swain (BTT), and Marcus Sosa (Claudio Franca) who all placed at the PanAms as well. Jason Boivie was a medalist at last year’s Worlds as well.

Blue Belt Medium Heavy (4 of 8)

Blue Belt Medium Heavy (5 of 8)

Blue Belt Medium Heavy (7 of 8)

Blue Belt Super Heavy

Aung la Sang makes his IBJJF debut in the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Super Heavyweight division.  Aung la was almost denied entry to the tournament when he forgot to register but pulled off a miracle when the IBJJF accepted a late email registration.  Fortune seems to be smiling on “Ong Bak” and that coupled with his hard training should lead to good results in the division!

Blue Belt Super Heavy (2 of 2)

Blue Belt Ultra Heavy

“Big Sal” Washington came all the way to Long Beach for his 2nd tournament as a Blue Belt.  Big Sal has been working a lot on his judo throws as well as his guard and has been developing a game more akin to a lightweight than a 250 lb behemoth.  He is going for the close out with teammate and PanAm bronze medalist, Kenneth Brown.

Blue Belt Ultra Heavy (2 of 2)

Blue Belt Female Light Feather

Cathy Tran-Zwanetz and Kim Rivers going for the division close-out.

Female Blue Belt Light Feather (1 of 1)

2010 Worlds Brackets Released (Purple & Brown Belts)

Purple Belt Medium Heavy

Jon Delbrugge ends up on the “Page of Death”.  All the international Purple Belt medalists of the past year ended up on a single page, allowing only 1 to advance to the medal round.  Janne Autio (Alliance), 2X European Open Gold medalist, will face Pan-American Silver medalist, BJ Nelson in the first round.  Brazilian Nationals Champion and 2009 World Silver Medalist, Joao Gabriel Rocha will face the winner of that match in the Sweet 16.  The winner of this page should go on to win the whole thing.

Purple Belt Medium Heavy (3 of 4)

Purple Belt Heavy

Brad Pearson bumps up  a weight class to compete at the World Championships of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.  Brad is going to be utilizing his Go Go Go pace and strong top game to get onto the medal stand after a disappointing NY Open performance.

Purple Belt Heavy (3 of 4)

Brown Belt Heavy

Mike Atkin comes out to California for another shot at the Adult division of the World Championships.  Old enough to be the grandfather of most of the World Competitiors, Mike still has the heart of a young gun and will leave it out there!  Ous!

Brown Belt Heavy (2 of 2)

Surprise Visit by Sylvio Behring Black Belt Richard Nancoo

Richard Nancoo Demonstrates Moves on AungLa

Crazy 88 BJJ hosted a surprise visitor this weekend in Canadian BJJ Black Belt and Mixed Martial Arts Fighter, Richard Nancoo. Richard was in town for the weekend and stopped by our school for our Saturday Mixed level BJJ class and Sunday Basics class. We were happy to have him on the mats for some good training. He was very generous with his time and stayed after class on Sunday to share his techniques with others. If you are ever in the Ontario, make sure to check out his school – East York Martial Arts!

UWC 8 – Judgement Day Results

On Saturday May 22, 2010, Team Lloyd Irvin traveled out to George Mason Patriot out in Virginia for the UWC!  Even though our main event was canceled, we still had 3 of our MMA fighters to support.  It was a great turnout, the Team showed tremendous support for the fighters.

First up to the plate was Justin Hickey, aka “The Butcher” who fought at 145 lbs.  He slipped and got caught in a rear naked choke.  He knows where he made his mistakes and he is going to be right back in the gym training hard and preparing for his next fight.

Ron Stallings, BJJ Purple Belt and Head Instructor at Top Flight MMA in Aberdeen Maryland had a great fight!  He defeated Joey Kirwan via submission (triangle choke) at 0:52 in round two.

Timothy “The Good Soldier” Woods, who came off of a loss against his opponent in Nashville, Tennessee had an excellent fight last evening.  Timothy won in the 2nd round by rear naked choke.

Unfortunately, Mike “The Hulk” Easton’s fight was cancelled.  His opponent apparently got a serious infection of the glands, so Mike Easton will have to wait a little longer to make his 2010 debut, and defend his Championship Belt.

One of our Junior Students, Shawn Gets His Picture with TUF Vet Jamie Yager

No Gi Grappling – Avellan Brothers Style

Crazy 88 BJJ was happy to bring Marcos and David Avellan to Baltimore for a three-hour No-Gi Grappling Seminar.  Marcos and David bring impeccable No Gi credentials to the mat including a recent Bronze medal at the Abu Dhabi Submission Wrestling Championship by David where he defeated Rafael Lovato (Gracie Humaita), Tarsis Humphries (Alliance), and “Cyborg” Abreu (BJJ Revolution) among others.

The session was very fast-paced due to the high technical level of the attending students and they were able to cover their favorite takedowns along with their home-grown guard passing style.  We will be posting video clips from this seminar so make sure you “LIKE” our Baltimore Martial Arts fanpage.

If you are a Martial Arts School Owner and are interested in hosting the Avellan brothers for a seminar, I would highly recommend it.  You can reach them at Marcos’ fanpage here…

JT Torres Takes Silver at the Brazilian Nationals

JT Torres Submitted World Champion Lucas Lepri in Upset Quarterfinal Victory!

Congratulations to JT “Spiderman” Torres on his 2nd place finish at the 2010 Brazilian Nationals.  The Brazilian Nationals is one of the toughest BJJ competitions in the World and the list of non-Brazilians to have medaled at the Black Belt level can be counted on one hand.  JT tore through his side of the bracket, submitting 3 opponents with chokes from the back and 1 with a toe-hold.  In the finals, he lost 2-2 (3-1) to Atos’ Gilbert Burns AKA “Durinho”.

With this strong performance and the victory over Augusto Mendes, previous World Silver Medalist, at the NY Open a few weeks ago, JT puts himself in solid contention for a Black Belt World Championship.

JT was accompanied in Brazil with two other teammates – Mike Fowler and Brown Belt, Jim Harbison.  Mike submitted his first opponent and won 6-0 in the Sweet 16 rd, before losing 3-0 in the quarterfinals.  Jim Harbison also did well, winning 3 before losing on points.  These guys are all on the mats training hard everyday and its great to see that dedication pay off.