Copa Podio Heavyweight GP set for this Saturday the 9th Live From Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Professional jiu-jitsu is back at the Botafogo Gymnasium, in the Marvelous City, this Saturday (9), with another edition of Copa Podio. The main feature of the night will be the Heavyweight Grand Prix.
The Grand Prix has been divided into two groups of five athletes each, with each match scheduled for 6 minutes in a round-robin tournament (all-fight-all). A win through submission is worth five points, a points win is worth four, a win off of advantage or penalties against counts three, while a draw is worth a single point.
The two athletes with the highest number of points from each group will qualify for the semifinals.
On the one side, in the Green Group, are: Erberth Santos (BRA), Vinny Magalhães (BRA), Tim Spriggs (USA), Nelton Pontes (POR) and Fernando Reis (BRA).
The Yellow Group features current Middleweight champion Felipe Preguiça (BRA), Victor Honório (BRA), Delson “Pé de Chumbo” (BRA), Maks Wisniewski (POL) and Eduardo “Luta Livre” (BRA).
The newest feature of the spectacular is that it will be streamed live, at no charge, via the official website of the Combate Brazilian TV channel (www.combate.com) and on the Copa Podio website(www.copapodio.com), and also on the event’s official fanpage on Facebook. Copa Podio director Jeferson Maycá explained the decision to offer the audience free streaming.
“We decided against the pay-per-view system as we are looking to reach a wider audience. Our event has evolved greatly since the previous edition, the production is a lot more dynamic and I am certain the audience will love it. We are working with “Live Stream”, the world’s largest online streaming platform, so fans can relax as we don’t expect any problems in this area”, he guaranteed.
The first match of the event will be the “Country Challenge”, featuring Edwin Najmi, representing the USA, and Alex Cabanes, defending the honor of Spain.
The event will also feature two No-Gi bouts, with Miltinho Vieira and Goiti Yamauchi disputing the lightweight title (up to 77 kg/169.8 lbs) and Gregor Gracie and Daniel Moraes fighting it out for the middleweight title (up to 87 kg/191.8 lbs).
Before the Heavyweight GP finals, one of the most anticipated matches among fans of the gentle art will take place. With 34 fights, 29 wins, four draws and only one loss in Copa Podio, Leandro Lo will try maintain his impressive record against two-time world champion and UFC contender, Sergio Moraes.
Three-time lightweight and middleweight champion, Leandro Lo submitted Gilbert ‘Durinho’ at his last Copa Podio appearance.
All no-gi matches, just like the super match, will last 10 minutes and be scored according to official IBJJF rules.
Check the full schedule below for another edition of Copa Podio Jiu-Jitsu (Los Angeles time)
2 PM: COUNTRY CHALLENGE
Edwin Najmi (USA) x Alex Cabanes (SPA)
2:20 PM – 1ST ROUND OF THE GP
(Green): Erberth Santos (BRA) x Nelton Pontes (POR)
(Green): Vinny Magalhães (BRA) x Fernando Reis (BRA)
(Yellow): Victor Honório (BRA) x Maks Wisniewski (POL)
(Yellow): Delson “Pé de Chumbo” (BRA) x Eduardo “Luta Livre” (BRA)
2:50 PM- 2ND ROUND OF THE GP
(Green): Erberth Santos (BRA) x Fernando Reis (BRA)
(Green): Tim Spriggs (USA) x Nelton Pontes (POR)
(Yellow): Victor Honório (BRA) x Eduardo “Luta Livre” (BRA)
(Yellow): Maks Wisniewski (POL) x Felipe Preguiça (BRA)
3:20 PM- 3RD ROUND OF THE GP
(Green): Tim Spriggs (USA) x Fernando Reis (BRA)
(Green): Vinny Magalhães (BRA) x Erberth Santos (BRA)
(Yellow): Felipe “Preguiça” (BRA) x Eduardo “Luta Livre” (BRA)
(Yellow): Delson “Pé de Chumbo” (BRA) x Victor Honório (BRA)
3:50 PM – 4TH ROUND OF THE GP
(Green): Vinny Magalhães (BRA) x Tim Spriggs (USA)
(Green): Nelton Pontes (POR) x Fernando Reis (BRA)
(Yellow): Felipe “Preguiça” (BRA) x Delson “Pé de Chumbo” (BRA)
(Yellow): Eduardo “Luta Livre” (BRA) x Maks Wisniewski (POL)
4:20 PM – 5TH ROUND OF THE GP
(Green): Nelton Pontes (POR) x Vinny Magalhães (BRA)
(Green): Erberth Santos (BRA) x Tim Spriggs (USA)
(Yellow): Maks Wisniewski (POL) x Delson “Pé de Chumbo” (BRA)
(Yellow): Victor Honório (BRA) x Felipe Preguiça (BRA)
INTERVAL (15 min)
5:05 PM – SUPER FIGHT
Middleweight No-Gi Challenge: Daniel Moraes (BRA) x Gregor Gracie (BRA)
5:20 PM – GP SEMIFINALS
Match 1: 1st place from Green Group x 2nd place from Yellow Group
Match 2: 1st place from Yellow Group x 2nd place from Green Group
5:50 PM – SUPER FIGHT
Lightweight No-Gi Challenge: Goiti Yamauchi (BRA) x Miltinho Vieira (BRA)
6:10 PM – SUPER FIGHT
Serginho Moraes (BRA) x Leandro Lo (BRA)
6:30: THIRD PLACE OF THE GP
Loser of Match 1 x Loser of Match 2
6:50 PM – GP GRAND FINAL
Winner of Match 1 x Winner of Match 2