Julia Boscher, Rafael Paganini win absolute gold at Brazilian No-Gi Nationals

22 Sep 2019

Julia Boscher, Rafael Paganini win absolute gold at Brazilian No-Gi Nationals

Julia Boscher with teachers Alexandre Salgado and Anna Carol. Carlos Arthur Jr.

The rain that poured this Sunday, September 22, wasn’t close to enough to scare away the athletes wishing to test their skill at the Brazilian No-Gi Nationals, an event held by the CBJJ at the Arena da Juventude, the Olympic stage located in Rio’s Deodoro neighborhood.

Out of the ten areas set up in the gymnasium, four were set aside for the adult black-belts. By the end, absolute titles went to Alliance’s Rafael Paganini and Soul Fighters’s Julia Boscher.

Rafael was unable to fight in his weight division. Enrolled in the heavyweight class, he had to open the way in his first fight to his teammate Flávio Junqueira in accordance to the rotation agreement they have.

“This was his turn,” Rafael explained. “We have trained and competed together for a long time, always in the same division. Last tournament, he opened the way for me to pass. Today was his time to advance.”

After sitting out the heavyweight contests and watching Flávio nab bronze, Rafael came back with even more of a desire to make an impression in the absolute. He won his first two matches and skipped the semifinals thanks to an injured opponent. Then Rafael met in the final Gracie Barra BH’s Marcelo Gomide, who had claimed the super-heavy title hours prior. This battle was decided after Gomide attacked the foot and spun; in the ensuing scramble, Rafael caught his opponent in a tight guillotine, with no chance of defense. The submission came in the first few minutes.

Rafael Paganini after applying the golden guillotine. Carlos Arthur Jr.

Julia Boscher, meanwhile, was securing a double-gold run. After taking the medium heavy title unopposed, she fought twice in the absolute. Her first match saw her finish Gabriela Fechter, the lightweight champion, with a guillotine; and in the final, Julia bested Graciele del Fava in the judges’ opinion.

Also noteworthy were the champions Rômulo Caju (Vitor Shaolin BJJ) at heavyweight, Ygor Rodrigues (CTMR) at light, Pedro Rocha (Soul Fighters) at medium heavy, Cláudia do Val (Soul Fighters) at super-heavy, and both João Miyao and Pedro Sixel, who closed out the light feather division for team Cícero Costha.

Official results:

Adult / Male / Black / Rooster

1 – Cícero Lívio Ribeiro Saldanha Paiva – Ares BJJ

2 – Luciano Alex da Cunha Vieira – Infight JJ

3 – Lucas Costa de Souza – Jiu-Jitsu For Life Brasil

Adult / Male / Black / Light-Feather

1 – João Ricardo Bordignon Miyao – Cicero Costha RJ

2 – Pedro Iahnke de Oliveira Crixel – Cicero Costha RJ

3 – João Marcos Fernandes – Top Brother

3 – Jonas Lisboa Pereira – Carlos Holanda Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu

Adult / Male / Black / Feather

1 – Alexssandro Pinto Sodré – Nova União

2 – Danilo Soares Moreira – Ares BJJ

3 – Bernardo Aguiar Dib – João Roque JJ

3 – Thiago Aguiar Abud – Unity Jiu-Jitsu Brasil

Adult / Male / Black / Light

1 – Ygor dos Santos Rodrigues – CT MR

2 – Fabio Murat Caloi – Alliance

3 – Rodrigo Carvalho Coutinho Diniz Costa – Gracie Barra

3 – Victor Figueiredo Genovesi – Alliance

Adult / Male / Black / Middle

1 – Marco Aurellio de Queiroz – Pirâmide Grappling Association

2 – Leonardo Abe Travagin – BARBOSA JIU-JITSU

3 – Guilherme Guimaraes Borges Olimpio da Rocha – ZR Team Association

3 – Matheus Guilherme da Costa – GF Team

Adult / Male / Black / Medium-Heavy

1 – Pedro Henrique de Oliveira e Silva Rocha – Soul Fighters BJJ

2 – Marcos Vinicius de Oliveira Martins – BARBOSA JIU-JITSU

3 – João Carlos Silva de Oliveira – Kronos BJJ

3 – Pedro Teixeira Alcantara Pimenta – R1NG BJJ

Adult / Male / Black / Heavy

1 – Romulo de Souza Azevedo – Vitor Shaolin BJJ

2 – Marcos Aurélio Goulart Alves Junior – GF Team

3 – Flávio Junqueira – Alliance SP

3 – Lucas Jose Alves de Oliveira – Alliance

Adult / Male / Black / Super-Heavy

1 – Marcelo Gomide Oliveira – Gracie Barra

2 – Brenno Novaes Veloso – Nova União

3 – André Muniz de Aguiar – Tata Team JJ

3 – Rafael Reis Leite – Qatar BJJ Brasil

Adult / Male / Black / Ultra-Heavy

1 – Hugo de Oliveira Cunha – Infight JJ

2 – Kitner Mendonça de Moura – IFC Life Brothers

3 – Leonardo de Oliveira Gonçalves – Cicero Costha RJ

3 – Raul Fernandes Almeida – Nova União

Adult / Male / Black / Open Class

1 – Rafael Lopes Paganini – Alliance

2 – Marcelo Gomide Oliveira – Gracie Barra

3 – Flávio Junqueira – Alliance SP

3 – Rodrigo Carvalho Coutinho Diniz Costa – Gracie Barra

Adult / Female / Black / Light

1 – Gabriela Meireles Fechter – CheckMat

2 – Gabriela Victor do Nascimento – Game Fight

3 – Amanda Raissa Medeiros de Souza – Gracie Humaita

Adult / Female / Black / Medium-Heavy

1 – Julia Boscher Seixas Pinto – Soul Fighters BJJ

Adult / Female / Black / Super-Heavy

1 – Claudia Fernanda Onofre Valim Doval – Soul Fighters BJJ

2 – Karla Hipolito de Albuquerque – Top Brother

3 – Graciele Del Fava De Carvalho – BARBOSA JIU-JITSU

Adult / Female / Black / Open Class

1 – Julia Boscher Seixas Pinto – Soul Fighters BJJ

2 – Graciele Del Fava De Carvalho – BARBOSA JIU-JITSU

3 – Gabriela Meireles Fechter – CheckMat

3 – Karla Hipolito de Albuquerque – Top Brother