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The IBJJF has a pretty big weekend planned, hosting the Masters World Championships, the Jiu-Jitsu Con International, and the Absolute Grand Prix that has a $40,000 prize.
Several decorated jiu-jitsu world champions, and a couple of MMA champions — like Demetrious Johnson — joined the Masters Worlds and the Jiu-Jitsu Con International tournaments (full results and video of those two here) that kicked off from August 31 up to September 2. The Absolute Grand Prix will be the main highlight of the weekend though, which looks like the promotion’s answer to all the pro events coming up these days.
As the name implies, they will be hosting a pretty deep eight-man open weight tournament, and it will have a $40,000 prize waiting for the winner. They also booked five super-fights for the event, featuring a good number of jiu-jitsu world champs and rising stars.
This is surely the best pro gi event to watch in a while, so join us Friday, September 1 at 8 p.m. ET.
Nicholas Meregali vs. Victor Hugo?
Two of the best and biggest gi grapplers in the world today participating in the Absolute Grand Prix, with 4-time world champ Victor Hugo and 3-time world champ Nicholas Meregali being slotted at the opposite sides of the bracket. Hugo is the reigning 2023 world champion in both his weight and the absolute division, while Meregali was the absolute champ in 2022.
Before they can continue their rivalry though, they’ll have to get past some talented grapplers first.
The five other super-fights on the card will also feature jiujitsu stars such as Tainan Dalpra, Cole Abate and Jonatha Alves, and will happen in between rounds of the Absolute GP.
IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix brackets and bout order
How to watch, and live stream details
The Absolute Grand Prix will be the main event of the Jiu-Jitsu Con International event this weekend, and a live stream will be available at FloGrappling.
The event will happen on September 1, and will start at 8 p.m. ET, so join us for a lot of gi grappling.
IBJJF Absolute Grand Prix full results, recap, and highlights
The fight card and bout order below will be updated with full results and video highlights of the matches.
The two favorites indeed met in the final, with Nicholas Meregali and Victor Hugo both scoring with two impressive submissions each to advance. The match between the two decorated champions were much closer, ending in points, with one sweep for Meregali deciding the match.
Overall, Meregali beat three people including his rival in Hugo, winning the entire grand prix and its $40,000 cash prize. Hugo had a good run, but with the loss by points in the finals, he settled for silver and the $8000 prize. Full results from the gi event can be seen below:
Nicholas Meregali def. Victor Hugo by Points (2-0) [Absolute GP finals]
Tainan Dalpra def. Yan ‘Pica Pau’ Paiva by Submission (Triangle Armbar)
Cole Abate def. Eduardo Granzotto by Advantages (2-0)
Ronaldo Junior def. Sebastian Rodriguez by Advantages (6-1)
Nicholas Meregali def. Gutemberg Perreira by Submission (Collar choke from back) [Absolute GP semi-finals]
Victor Hugo def. Fellipe Andrew by Submission (Triangle choke) [Absolute GP semi-finals]
Janaina Lebre def. Emily Fernandez by Submission (Ezekiel Choke)
Jackson Nagai def. Natan Chueng by Points (8-2)
Gutemberg Perreira def. Paulo Merlin by Points (5-0) [Absolute GP Opening Round]
Nicholas Meregali def. Francisco Lo Submission (Smother) [Absolute GP Opening Round]
Fellipe Andrew def. Steffen Banta by Points (2-0) [Absolute GP Opening Round]
Victor Hugo def. Horlando Monteiro by Submission (Ezekiel Choke) [Absolute GP Opening Round]
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