3rd Annual Casca Grossa GrapplingDecember 4, 2004Jonesboro, GAwww.casca-grossa.com
Time for some genuine southern hospitality, courtesy JJ and Carol of Caca Grossa as I traveled to Atlanta for the first time to cover this fine tournament.
The gate for the tournament was up for charity. 50% of the proceeds went to the Rocinha project and helped insured the kids there had a good Christmas. (Visit http://www.RocinhaProject.com for more information). The tournament was also partnered with the US Marines Toys for Tots and finally proceeds went to support the local high school wrestling team.
About 180 competitors showed up and competed in both submission grappling and Brazilian jiu jitsu divisions. For me it was rather refreshing to attend a tournament with a lot of unfamiliar faces, however my poor note taking ability is largely going to be exposed here as I did not know many of the names of the participants (hence the shorter report!)
One name that stood out was that of referee Adam Singer, who stepped up at the last second and did an excellent job refereeing in his first tournament.
Each of the three professional divisions had about a dozen competitors battling for the title and the cash prize. In the Lightweight and Middleweight Pro Divisions the Assuncao brothers pretty much cleared house easily with Raphael Assuncao winning the lightweight and Junior Assuncao winning the middleweight and $500 each.
The heavyweight division was stacked with talent and plenty of action and the competitors were even matched. There was also the major controversy of the day, as Mat Santos was battling Vitor (sp? Black belt under Royler Gracie) and despite being down on points, managed to pull off an excellent leg lock which despite the obvious crackling noises, his opponent refused to tap too. Mat paused with concern and the referee halted the match. Vitor complained vigorously (he had a good case as he never indicated he was going to submit) and the match was restarted from the feet, where Vitor managed to win on points. Mat gets props for being a classy competitor throughout and being very concerned with the well being of his opponents. This led to a finals showdown with Forrest Griffin, who handily carried the day and takes the heavy weight division.
Forrest was very impressive for the day, winning 6 matches overall, 5 by submission (excluding the final match of the heavyweight division!) Standout grappler of the day goes to Jim Stoudemire, who competed in both the executive and men’s beginner no-gi divisions (170ish). He took first place in both divisions winning a total of 5 matches, three by way of submission (all Americanas from either mount or cross-side). Jim is 38 years old, married with children and has been training for all of about 4 months now! Always happy to see people entering the competition circuit!
The tournament was a RANKED event. Sponsors: European Specialist, Good Times Rides, NAGA, The Fight party, Torah GI`s, Hot Blood and HeadBlade and of course OntheMat.com!
For more information, go to Tournament Info or E-mail
www.casca-grossa.comFor all your fight needs!Shipped from the USA
Professional Division Winners
Light Weight DivisionRaphael Assuncao – Velocity Kickboxing & MMA
Middle Weight DivisionJunior Assuncao – Velocity Kickboxing & MMA
Heavy Weight DivisionForrest Griffin – Team Georgia
NO GI:
1st: Team Georgia2nd: Velocity Kickboxing & MMA3rd Team ROC4th Gracie Barra/Gustavo Machado
GI:
1st: Velocity Kickboxing & MMA2nd: Gustavo Machado3rd : Team Georgia and Helio Soneca BJJ
The overall team champion was Velocity Kickboxing & MMA, with Team Georgia in second, Gustavo Machado in third and Team Roc in fourth.