Last weekend, the grand final of BJJ Clubes took place, an event created by the legend Dedé Pederneiras with the aim of combining football and jiu-jitsu in a team format similar to the famous “Brasileirão.” The tournament was held in Rio de Janeiro at the Upper Arena, the renowned venue where Shooto Brasil events are held.
In BJJ Clubes, each team has 7 athletes, divided into various male and female categories, and they face off in a knockout format. The team that reaches four victories first wins.
In the grand final, we had the showdown between the Botafogo and Cruzeiro teams, competing for the prize of 150 thousand reais. Botafogo, which has had a spectacular year in every sense, proved their favoritism, established since the first phase of the competition, and defeated the team led by Sérgio Túlio with the impressive score of 5 to 2.
On Botafogo’s side, the athletes who won their matches were Welerson Gonçalves, Vitória Vieira, Alex Sodré, Giovanna Carneiro, and Pedro Machado, who secured the necessary points to guarantee the “Fogão” title. On the Cruzeiro side, the highlights were Thiago Saboia and Leo Ferreira, who defeated Victor Nithael and Anderson Muniz, respectively. As the runners-up, the Minas Gerais team took home 70 thousand reais in prize money.
Before the final, however, there was the third-place showdown between the teams of Corinthians and Camboriú. The match between the teams set the tone for what was to come, and Corinthians also won decisively, beating Camboriú 5 to 2 and taking home the 30 thousand reais for third place.
According to Dedé Pederneiras, the plan is for the tournament to double in size next year, increasing from 8 to 16 teams, and for larger clubs, such as Flamengo and Palmeiras, to join the competition. Additionally, with the addition of new teams, there are plans to hold editions in other states and increase the final prize money.
