Brown belt Isaque Bahiense won a grueling no-time limit, submission-only competition at the Alliance HQ in Sao Paulo, this weekend. 

The in-house tournament, called 'Real Deal', was a showdown among Alliance team members and was designed by head coach and team co-founder Fabio Gurgel as a way of testing the mettle of his students. 

"This championship was conceived by me four years ago, when we did four tournaments with one for each belt," says Gurgel. "The idea was to try take our athletes out of their comfort zones, taking everyone to their physical -- but mainly psychological -- limits." 



Bahiense fought a total of five times, winning his first match with a triangle and the second with a footlock. His opponent withdrew during the third match via injury and the fourth -- heavyweight black belt Dimitrius Souza -- tapped to a guillotine after around an hour. 

In the final, Bahiense tapped out Fernandinho Reis with a toehold after an hour and six minutes of fighting. 

The tournament was sponsored by Serafina, a local Italian restaurant, and Bahiense won a prize of R$10,000 (approx $3000) and a trip to Ibiza. 

"Isaque is the real deal," says Gurgel. "Everybody who trains with him knew he was a strong candidate for the title."

Submission-only tournaments in Brazil

It's rare to come across tournaments that use no time-limit, submission-only rules in Brazil. 

Gurgel plans to develop this format in Brazil, with an eye to opening the tournament to other teams. 

"I think many people question the efficiency of jiu-jitsu based on the rules the championships impose. However, I believe that the best will win under any rules," says Gurgel. 

We are planning to do with guests of all teams soon. We have even more ambitious plans for the future.

 
The entire in-house tournament can be seen below in a 3-hour+ Facebook Live video. Isaque's winning toehold comes around 3:17:00.

[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/ciceroroquebjj/videos/1208262349225870/?permPage=1"]
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