Photo: FloGrappling

After spending most of 2015 on the sidelines due to knee surgery, Marcio Andre is back with a bang taking gold at the IBJJF European Championships for the second year running. 

The Rio de Janeiro-born youngster, who now lives in Abu Dhabi, had a solid weekend on the mats in Lisbon, Portugal. He entered the openweight division and was the lightest competitor in the bracket, where he fought and defeated two heavyweights before succumbing to super heavyweight Erberth Santos. 

Andre put together a great run in his weight class on the Sunday, meeting Paulo Miyao in the finals. In a hard-fought match Andre showed great strategic sense in pulling guard and taking Miyao out of his element. With one advantage apiece and zero points on the board at the end of time, the referee and both corner judges gave Andre the nod and his second Euro gold in two years. 

Watch Marcio Andre's matches from the 2016 European Championships here