Some huge news from the weekend was that up-and-coming brown belt Gustavo Batista (view profile) upset two of the best-known names in jiu-jitsu to win the absolute division of the Argentina National Pro. For an athlete who got his brown belt a little less than year ago, this is a HUGE win. 

Batista won his division (brown belt -94kg / 207lb) with two submissions. Due to the lack of numbers, the black and brown belts fought together in the absolute. 

Entered in the -110kg (-242lb) black-brown belt absolute division, Batista had four matches. 

What happened in the semifinal and final is incredible. 

Batista passed the guard of Jose Junior in the semi to win 3-0, and then swept Xande Ribeiro about two minutes into the final to win 2-0. 

Veteran black belt Xande rallied hard following the sweep, attacking with a triangle-omoplata, sweep attempts and a late armbar, but couldn’t put any points on the board. 

Let’s put this in perspective: we highlighted Batista’s recent performance at the IBJJF Europeans, where he won double gold at brown belt. Just last June, Batista fought as as a purple belt at the IBJJF World Championships. In 2015, he won it as a blue belt! 

Batista trains out of Leandro Lo's NS Brotherhood team in Sao Paulo, Brazil. 

We’ve got 20+ of Gustavo Batista's career matches at purple and brown belt – check out this rising star 

Watch Gustavo Batista vs Xande Ribeiro at the Argentina National Pro