IBJJF

American Nationals Brackets Released: Keenan Is Back!

American Nationals Brackets Released: Keenan Is Back!

The brackets just got released for the IBJJF American Nationals and it features a mix of familiar faces, freshly promoted black belts, and one particularly renowned technical innovator in the form of Keenan Cornelius.

Jul 5, 2017 by Hywel Teague
American Nationals Brackets Released: Keenan Is Back!
The brackets just got released for the IBJJF American Nationals (July 6-8) and it features a mix of familiar faces, freshly promoted black belts, and one particularly renowned technical innovator in the form of Keenan Cornelius. 

nullThe worm guard creator injured his knee in Japan in April, when he dislocated his kneecap during a match. He fought in a low-key superfight in Singapore since, but this is the first time we've seen Cornelius enter a tournament but judging from his recent social media shenanigans he's been prepping hard. 

He and Atos teammates Lucas "Hulk" and Michael Perez were enjoying the good life in a mansion in Beverly Hills training with former opponent Gordon Ryan among others. When they weren't training, they were hanging out with hot chicks, driving supercars and having cookouts next to a pool. It's a hard life when you're being taken care of by a wealthy benefactor. 

Black belt brackets

As said, the black belt divisions aren't super stacked (post-Worlds comedown / vacation / off-season still in effect for many) but feature an intriguing mix of names. 

Lightweight
The lightweight division is probably the most competitive, and the bracket is loaded in a  way that's going to deliver some pretty good matches whatever happens. 

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On side you've got the likes of John Combs and Jake Mackenzie, with tough opening rounds. Marcio Andre gets a bye so starts one step closer to the final. On the side side there's a nice clash of styles in Johnny Tama vs Kevin Mahecha, with the winner facing Renato Canuto (who is based in Las Vegas and has a home turf advantage). Gracie Barra veteran Rodrigo Freitas also sits on that side of the brackets. It's likely we'll see Andre vs Freitas in the final, but it's not guaranteed and anything could happen. 

Middleweight
The middleweight division features the black belt debut of Dante Leon, one of the best-known brown belt competitors of the last couple of years and a recent silver medalist at Worlds. Two black belt bronze medalists are also in the division, with Yan Lucas on one issue and Jaime Canuto on the other. Nathan Mendelsohn is always one to watch, as is the relatively unknown but capable Ross Keeping, a British transplant to Sin City who impressed us at Abu Dhabi World Pro this year. 

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Heavyweight
The heavyweight division is where you'll find Keenan, along with other top American black belts such as Josh Hinger (moving up from his normal weight category) and Tanner Rice, who ranked #7 in our list of most successful Americans of 2017 to date. 

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Click here for all brackets

American Nationals Black Belt Entrants
BLACK / Adult / Male / Rooster
Ronald Stephen Henderson Jr. CheckMat
Chad Daniel Lundy Cleber Jiu Jitsu
Nobuhiro Sawada Tri-Force Jiu-Jitsu Academy
BLACK / Adult / Male / Light-Feather
Fabbio Passos de Alencar Alliance
Lucas dos Santos Pinheiro AMBJJ - Alex Martins Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Takahito Yoshioka Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Rene Eduardo Lopez Brasa Caio Terra
Henry Iribe Gracie Humaita South Bay
Luis Felipe Ninja de Moraes Pinto Leonardo Peçanha Association
Edmund Li Nova União Hawai
BLACK / Adult / Male / Feather
Jason Alexander Gagnon Alliance
Nicollas Welker Amorim Araujo Alliance
Orlando Machado da Silva Junior Alliance Jiu-Jitsu
Jonathan Van Buren Ares BJJ
Osvaldo Augusto Honorio Moizinho Ares BJJ
Kim Terra Caio Terra Association
Thiago Augusto Araujo Macedo Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ
Felipe Hugo de Souza Simplicio Soul Fighters BJJ Connecticut
Silvio Duran de Barros Saraiva Vitor Shaolin BJJ
BLACK / Adult / Male / Light
Johnny Joachin Tama Apolinario Alliance
Kevin Javier Mahecha American Top Team
Breno Henrique Abreu Bittencourt Ares BJJ Brasil
Kauan Argimon Barboza Carlson Gracie Team
John Taylor Combs Easton BJJ
Jacob Williams Mackenzie GF Team
Blake Michael Nolan Impact Jiu Jitsu
Issa Able Nava BJJ
Marcio Andre Costa Barbosa Junior Nova União
Rodrigo Lamounier de Freitas Rodrigo Freitas Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Scott Richard Thometz SBG International (SBGI)
Renato Forasieppi Alves Canuto Zenith BJJ
Victor de Matos Zenith BJJ
BLACK / Adult / Male / Middle
Piter Frank Almeida Silva Alliance
Nathan Albrecht Mendelsohn Coalition 95
Christian N Broadnax GD Jiu-Jitsu Association
Dante Leon GF Team
Jaime Soares Canuto GF Team
Ross Daniel Keeping Gracie Humaita Las Vegas
Rennick Keolani Kama Jr. LEAD BJJ
Yan Lucas Cordeiro Paiva Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu
Marcos Alexandre Campos de Almeida Rodrigo Pinheiro BJJ
Shawn D. S. Cox Yemaso Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
BLACK / Adult / Male / Medium-Heavy
Tarsis Carvalho Humphreys Alliance
Lucas Daniel Silva Barbosa Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Valdir Araujo de Lima Júnior Fight Sports BJJ
Manuel Ribamar V. de Oliveira Filho Ns Brotherhood
Cleves Filip Goiano de Matos Roll Jiu-Jitsu Academy
Igor Matosinho de Paiva Soul Fighters BJJ Tijuca
Diego Dias Ramalho ZR Team California
BLACK / Adult / Male / Heavy
Charles Kilyan Mcguire American Top Team
Keenan Kai-James Cornelius Atos Jiu-Jitsu
Joshua Roy Hinger Atos JJ International
Arnaldo Maidana de Oliveira CheckMat
Daniel Hampton GD Jiu-Jitsu Association
Felipe Larry Matias Oliveira Nova União
Wellington Modena Peroto One Jiu-Jitsu USA
Tanner Wade Rice Soul Fighters BJJ Connecticut
Nicholas Lawrence Haas Zenith BJJ
BLACK / Adult / Male / Super-Heavy
Dany Guy Steve Gerard Atos JJ International
Gabriel Procópio da Fonseca BTT
Christopher Gene Engle Cascao Jiu-Jitsu
BLACK / Adult / Male / Ultra-Heavy
Felipe Cabral Pinheiro Abad Ares BJJ
Joseph Moku Kahawai Jr. Beyond Jiu-Jitsu
Gabriel Lyrio Lucas CheckMat
Gustavo Dias Elias Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu
BLACK / Adult / Female / Light-Feather
Tassia Vanessa Ferreira Gracie Barra
BLACK / Adult / Female / Feather
Ana Talita de Oliveira Alencar Alliance
Tammi Alana Musumeci Brasa Caio Terra
Patrícia Maria N. Fontes dos Santos CheckMat
Ana Carolina Schmitt Gracie Humaita
Emilie Maxine M. H. Thylin Gracie Humaita
BLACK / Adult / Female / Light
Danielle Renee Alvarez Gracie Humaita
Jena Rae Bishop Gracie Humaita
BLACK / Adult / Female / Middle
Evelyne Déry Brazilian Top Team
Beatriz de Oliveira Mesquita Gracie Humaita
Nivia de Souza Moura Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu
BLACK / Adult / Female / Super-Heavy
Charlene Marie Coats Coalition 95
Hillary VanOrnum Impact Jiu Jitsu