Mendes vs Miyao Brothers finals: get used to it for it looms on the horizon.
Cobrinha still hashed it out with Rafa, but Cobrinha must be nearing the tail end of his competitive career. This only threat to Rafa I see anywhere in the distance is spelled M-I-Y-A-O.
The booing of the Mendes brothers was not something I had anticipated. But, the moment the match became a hunt for the 50/50 on their part, the crowd was not enthused and truncated matches in stagnant sweeping back and forth positions have their detractors even among the most die hard sport Jiu-Jitsu enthusiasts.
Roger Gracie has stated he will return to Gi competition. Let that soak into your brain as the heavier weight classes have guys like Rodolfo, Faria, Buchecha, (Keenan looking competitive in the Open as well), and with Alexander Trans and the like, I find myself watching more heavyweight and ultra heavyweight matches than I have in a long time.
Worm Guard is here to stay/at least has become en vogue seeing it in a variety of weight classes as part of a larger lapel guard onslaught coming to high level and eventually low level events near you.
Caio Terra was out which made for an interesting bracket and it will be very interesting to see him and Bruno fight it out again along with Joao.
Keenan Cornelius, JT Torres, and the Miyaos have all represented well as the new crop of black belts, all of whom made the podium in their respectively stacked divisions.
It was an interesting worlds with the return of Braulio, arrival of Murilo Santana, and the new crop of black belts all making a splash. Who can know what next year will hold as this new crop of black belts plies their wares in the various International events?
