LISBON, Portugal -- Leandro Lo took one more step toward making history on Sunday January 22. when he won double gold at the IBJJF European Championships, becoming champion in both the heavyweight and openweight (absolute) divisions. 

Lo defeated Tanner Rice by armbar for heavyweight gold, and beat Claudio Calasans by points (4-0) in the absolute final. 


Leandro Lo sets up a submission against Tanner Rice in the heavyweight final of the IBJJF European Championships. Photo: Chase Smith / FloGrappling

This was Lo's first time competing in the European Championships, and his first time competing as a heavyweight in an IBJJF tournament. He has steadily moved up through the categories over recent years. 

Lo is a five-time world champion in three weight divisions, having won IBJJF World Championship titles in the lightweight (2012 and 2013), middleweight (2014) and medium heavyweight divisions (2015, 2016). 

The Sao Paulo-based black belt has stated that his goal is to keep moving up through the divisions to win world championships in higher weight classes. 

By doing so, Lo would equal that of the achievement of Saulo Ribeiro, a five-time world champion across four weight classes. 

Leandro had one of his most successful career years in 2016, winning the IBJJF World and Pan titles, the UAEJJF Abu Dhabi World Pro title, and three Grand Prix in three weight classes (light, middle and heavyweight). 

Watch all of Leandro Lo's matches from the IBJJF 2017 European Championships: 

Heavyweight Division 
First round: Leandro Lo vs Antonio Ferraz Ferreira 
Quarterfinal: Leandro Lo vs Karim Mohamed Khalifa 
Semifinal: Leandro Lo vs Jesse Urholin 
Final: Leandro Lo vs Tanner Rice

Absolute Division 
First round: Leandro Lo vs Andreas Achniotis Perales 
Second round: Leandro Lo vs Thomas Johannessen 
Quarterfinal: Leandro Lo vs Isaque Bahiense 
Semifinal: Leandro Lo vs Mahamed Aly 
Final: Leandro Lo vs Claudio Calasans 

Catch up on all of the action from the IBJJF 2017 European Championships by clicking here.