The absolute division of the 2018 IBJJF World Championships provided stunning results and the kind of dramatic moments only openweight contests can deliver. 

The big news of course is that Marcus "Buchecha" Almeida and Leandro Lo will meet once again in the absolute final after both fighting through stacked fields. 

Buchecha had a tough run, having to go through Rodrigo Martins (won via points), Fellipe Andrew (a choke from the back) and Nicholas Meregali, the latter of whom he beat 5-2 thanks to a sweep and guard pass. After securing the guard pass, Buchecha even attempted the knee-on-neck choke. 

Upon beating Meregali, Buchecha jumped up and pointed to Lo who was waiting for his own semifinal match and cheering from the sidelines. Buchecha and Lo are close friends, and Meregali beat Lo in the 2017 heavyweight final. Later that same day, Buchecha beat Lo in the absolute final, making it the first Worlds since 2012 where Lo left without a gold medal. 

That doesn’t mean Buchecha and Lo will close out, however. “He’s like my brother,” said Buchecha. “Even if I lose I know the title will be in good hands.” 

Lo beat Nick Schrock via DQ due to an illegal footlock attempt from the Ribeiro JJ rep. He then went on to out-point Luiz Panza of Checkmat and Victor Honorio of GF Team. Lo secured a spectacular standing back take in the last 10 seconds to beat ultra-heavyweight Honorio. 

Though he was stopped by Buchecha, Meregali earned a bronze medal for making it to the semifinals. In an intense and dramatic match Meregali used a stunning choke to submit Felipe Pena, one of the best pound-for-pound grapplers on the planet. This came in the quarterfinal after submitting GF Team behemoth Ricardo Evangelista with a kimura and the little-known Pedro Henrique via choke. 

Honorio had two matches to make it to the semifinals, beating both Tim Spiggs and Rudson Mateus via points in matches characterized by a lack of action and multiple penalties.

Watch: Nicholas Meregali vs Buchecha

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Watch: Leandro Lo vs Victor Honorio 

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