A LOT went down over the weekend, including a strong statement from the top female black belts in the world. Find out more in the weekend recap.

Tayane and co split $10K over two days

The SJJIF Worlds in Long Beach, California, was offering a hefty prize sum for both the men's and women's divisions, but a small turnout ignited a fierce debate among the community and prompted five of the top black belt women in the world to show some true solidarity.

The SJJIF was offering a grand prize of $15,000 for the winner, but on the condition of there being 12 competitors in the absolute division. Only 13 black belt women total signed up for the event (with some no-showing). With only five athletes entering the absolute, the prize money dropped down to only $5,000. The same condition was in place for the men, although they managed to hit the target required for the full prize fund.


​Ana Carolina Vieira (white) vs Jessica Flowers (blue). Photo: Chris Corcino / Ari Tavira

Tayane Porfirio (Alliance), Claudia do Val (De la Riva JJ), Nathiely de Jesus (PSLPB Cicero Costha), Ana Carolina Vieira (GF Team), and Jessica Flowers (Gracie Barra) turned the absolute division into an all-star affair. They are, after all, four black belt world champions and a Pan champion, respectively.

The five women ended up splitting the cash equally, each walking away with $1,000 in her pocket for the gi absolute division and another $1,000 for the no-gi.


Tayane Porfirio (top) vs Claudia do Val. Photo: Chris Corcino / Ari Tavira

Though the five athletes (all from different teams) came together to ensure solid participation and a guaranteed cash prize, Alliance black belt and IBJJF Hall of Famer Gabi Garcia hit out at she saw as a lack of interest or support from the wider women's BJJ community.

In the full post (original post at the end of this entry, with translated excerpts) Garcia described how she had fought her early career with prizes no more than a tub of supplements or on rare occasions a gi and asked where were the people behind the much-publicized campaign "Support Women's BJJ."

If Garcia was referring to athletes -- among others -- such as Dominyka Obelenyte, a vocal campaigner for equal pay in jiu-jitsu, the four-time world champion has been out all year due to a recurring shoulder injury.

Placing the entirety of the blame on women for not showing up is also, frankly, unfair. The SJJIF's marketing efforts left much to be desired. A number of high-profile (and local) black belt men also did not know about the event until after the registration date had passed.

Translated excerpts

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On the other hand: Beatriz destroys in Rio, but misses out on cash prize...

The IBJJF Rio BJJ Pro was another tournament offering cash prizes, and while Gracie Humaita's Bia Mesquita should have been the big winner, she was left with nothing but medals to show for her trouble -- and no prize money.

Mesquita cleaned up, with four matches and four submissions total in the weight class and absolute. But much as in the case of the SJJIF Worlds, the prize money was withheld because the Rio Pro didn't get the required minimum number of competitors.

The ADCC champ also took to social media to express her disappointment at the small turnout, all the more surprising given that it occurred in the hotbed of Brazilian jiu-jitsu.

"​Today I was very sad, because it's one of the few championships that give prize money and we didn't have the prize because of a lack of registrations," Mesquita wrote on Instagram. "Everybody posts asking for appreciation, but when it comes to showing up nobody has the courage. But okay, I did my part, I was there and I fought. So I can continue to ask, because I place my trust in female jiu-jitsu. More unity and less media. I say we need it!"

​Mesquita wins in the final of the middleweight division. Photos: Flashsport

​BLACK / Adult / Female / Middle
1 - Beatriz de Oliveira Mesquita - Gracie Humaita
2 - Marília da Conceição F. A. Vieira - Gracie Barra
3 - Keila Grace Gomes Diré Rosa - Gracie Humaita

​BLACK / Adult / Female / Open Class
1 - Beatriz de Oliveira Mesquita - Gracie Humaita
2 - Joaquina dos Santos Bonfim Neta - ZR Team Brasil
3 - Keila Grace Gomes Diré Rosa - Gracie Humaita

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Jaime Canuto edges out Celsinho

GF Team middleweight had -- as you'd expect -- a very tough match against perennial contender Celso Vinicius at the IBJJF Rio BJJ Pro. Canuto aged him out via one advantage in a match that ended 2-2 (3-2 adv.).

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AOJ young purples clean up in Australia

Known as the "Pan Pacs," the IBJJF Pan Pacific Championship is one of Australia's biggest competitions and always gets a good turnout. This past weekend, the tournament saw top Aussie black belts such as Lachlan Giles and Livia Gluchowska win gold.

What was particularly impressive was the fact that young Art of Jiu-Jitsu purple belts Johnatha Alves and Liam Moss picked up golds. Alves, a lightweight, took double gold (weight and absolute) while light featherweight Moss claimed top spot in his category. The guest appearance in the photo below is by Robert Oda of CTA, a housemate of the AOJ killers in Australia while the youngsters are training in the city of Gold Coast.

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Tainan double gold in SJJIF

Following on from our recent profile of another young AOJ killer, it's worth pointing out that Tainan Dalpra is living up to the hype with another double gold-winning performance this last weekend, winning the adult blue belt divisions at the SJJIF Worlds.

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In case you missed it…

• Kristian Barlaan wins the Copa De Marianas black belt women's challenge
• Keenan submits Erberth Santos to win $15,000
• Renzo Gracie shows an unconventional sleeve choke
• Ricardo Almeida dominates in F2W Pro debut
• Full Results: Fight To Win Pro 52

Wilson Reis put the pressure on in his Fight To Win debut! Would you tap to this? pic.twitter.com/54VIt1TZCj

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) October 28, 2017

Watch: Ricardo Almeida vs Michael Alexander Fight to Win Pro 52