IBJJF American Nationals was hosted over the weekend in Las Vegas. One of the coolest things about this tournament is that it is the first IBJJF tournament to be hosted in it’s traditional location since the Pandemic. Athletes flooded to the Las Vegas Convention Center wtih that a certain nostalgia that hasn’t been felt in the last year and a half. Perhaps this marks the start of things getting back to normal.
American Nationals hosts three tournaments in the same week: Gi American Nationals, No-Gi American Nationals, and Kids American Nationals. Atos HQ brought twenty-three competitors to compete in the gi the first two days of the four day event. Including open class divisions Atos secured 11 Gold, 8 Silver, and 5 Bronze medals. In No-Gi 14 athletes represented Atos HQ bringing home 8 gold, 5 silver, and 4 bronze. And the kids absolutely dominated the weekend. Atos earned the Overall Team Title for kids, as well as the Teens, and Pee-Wees.
Atos HQ Ladies Squad Goes 3 for 3
In recent years Atos HQ has developed a reputation for having one of the strongest women’s teams in competitive jiu-jitsu. This year three of those women headed to Nationals to represent. And, they all became American Nationals champions. This was just the second tournament for white belt, Zelie Dolan. She was able to earn gold after two matches. In a memorable purple belt debut, Rose Miller earned her spot at the top of the podium. And, brown belt Jhenifer Gonzaga added another title to her roster with yet another dominant showcase of her skills.
Hybrid Fighters
While many schools specialize in either gi or no-gi Atos HQ is marking their name as leaders in both styles of grappling. The game is unique to each, and Atos provides an environment for their athletes to excel in both areas.
Three competitors stood out as hybrid fighters over the weekend. Juvenile blue belt, Daniel Rubinov, and brown belt Osa Alamarwai, each earned gold in their divisions in both gi and no-gi. Juvenile blue belt Tanino “Samurai” Kauan, made waves with dominant performances in his weight division and the open class, in both gi and no-gi. After 6 fights total he earned quad gold. You can find a highlight of his quad gold campaign Here.
Notable Performances
Win or (on the very rare occasion) lose, you don’t want to miss a Ronaldo Junior match. Ronaldo Junior had a nearly flawless performance at American Nationals. He submitted his first two opponents. The first he had a 4-2 lead and ended the match with an armbar. In his second match he hit a bow and arrow choke, from a completely unorthodox position that you have to see to believe. Although he lost finals in a razor thin referees decision he gave a relentless performance.
The most interesting this about Ronaldo’s campaign was his strategy. Ronaldo is known for his blitz style passing and overwhelming pace. But, in every match we saw him utilize his guard to win. Even at the highest level, athletes are constantly evolving.
Joao Mendes is another one who had an impressive campaign to finals. All of his matches were fast paced, and on point. He outworked all of his opponents taking a referees decision and winning his second match by point 4-0 with 5 advantages to 2. His finals match was no different. The score was 4-4. His opponent scored a questionable advantage off of an ankle lock attempt. Although, Joao was able to quickly evade the attack the advantage was already awarded. In the final moments of the match Joao fought back, coming up for a sweep, and landing both of his opponent’s knees on the mat. Regardless of the outcome it was still a performance to be proud of.