BJJ Stars 18, held last Saturday in São Paulo, closed out the season for the superfight event. With a Peaky Blinders theme, the card was eagerly awaited thanks to the appeal of its announced matchups. Pedro Marinho, the no-gi open class Grand Prix champion at the 16th edition in July of this year, put his belt on the line against Roosevelt Sousa, an athlete enjoying an excellent run in 2025. In the IBJJF, he became a gi world champion and dominated the No-Gi Pans, winning gold in his weight class and in the open class.
In the night’s biggest match, Pedro kept his belt, but at a very conservative pace. The challenger, whose mission was to take the title, also fought with his foot on the brake, taking a long time to commit to the strategy that would have suited him best: fighting on the ground. The champion, in turn, used that posture to fight strategically, without exposing himself much.
The match went the distance without either side scoring. The no-gi open class title did not change hands, and Pedro Marinho is already waiting for his next challenger, Mica Galvão, who promised on the BJJ Stars stage to return to action for that matchup after the birth of his son.
The co-main event of BJJ Stars 18 was the no-gi match between Vagner Rocha and Sérgio Moraes. A veteran who built his grappling career with multiple appearances at the world’s top events, especially ADCC, Vagner is always a trap for anyone who agrees to face him. Sérgio Moraes’ strategy didn’t work, and he ended up backing up a lot on the feet. On the ground, inside Vagner’s guard, Sérgio lacked the explosiveness to pass. The night’s second biggest match also went to the judges, who declared Vagner the winner.
REFEREES DELIBERATE AND DECLARE FABRICIO ANDREY THE WINNER IN A HARD-FOUGHT CLASH WITH OLIVER TAZA
In the clash between Fabricio Andrey and Oliver Taza, the smallest mistake would be fatal, and both athletes knew it. Evenly matched technically, they needed a single detail to get ahead. Taza is an experienced athlete and showed a lot of volume on offense, but Fabricio didn’t back down and made the difference with leg picks for takedowns.
During the referees’ deliberation, it was clear the win wasn’t leaning toward either side. In the end, with the score at 0-0, it was the Brazilian who had his hand raised. Fabricio, used to delivering big performances, even apologized in his post-fight interview for his more cautious showing.
MEYRAM MAQUINÉ IS A BJJ STARS STAR: DOMINANT IN THE GI, HE IS INCREASINGLY PROVING TO BE A THREAT IN GRAPPLING
It’s more than proven. Meyram Maquiné is already a name to fear in no-gi. In another no-gi matchup at the 18th edition of BJJ Stars, the two-time Jiu-Jitsu world champion beat Owen Jones after a lot of provocation from the Englishman during the fight’s promotion. Meyram came into the match determined to get ahead, fueled above all by his rival’s trash talk.
The Manaus native’s attitude was key to breaking down the extremely flexible guard of Owen, who had Faris Benlamkadem in his corner. Meyram’s endless-gas pace paid off, as he passed the guard to score. The final score was 3-0. “This is Brazil!” Meyram shouted again and again during his celebration.
Yatan Bueno’s recent grappling performances have put him in a privileged spot, and his win over ‘Big Dan’ Manasoiu added even more to that. Yatan put on another show on the promotion’s mats against his much bigger opponent. With his takedown game sharp and zero intimidation, Yatan took ‘Big Dan’ down with ease and kept control of him on the ground. Visibly frustrated, the American couldn’t mount any meaningful response after the first takedown. At the end of seven minutes, ‘Yatrem’ showed why he has that nickname, finishing in mount and winning 9-0.
VETORACI, GIOVANAH OLIVEIRA AND GUILHERME AUGUSTO DELIVER WINS IN GI MATCHES
In one of the card’s gi matches, Matheus Vetoraci fought with a strategist’s cool head to take the win home. Against Rider Zuchi, he took the initiative with a takedown entry and used the follow-up movement to earn an advantage. Rider tried to create danger with a guillotine attack, but Matheus escaped quickly, before it was locked in.
The performance of the night belonged to Giovanah Oliveira, a new-generation black belt developed by Caio Almeida. Coming off a submission win at BJJ Stars 17, Giovanah kept the same aggression in trying to submit Andressa Guirau. What made the difference this time was the flexibility of her opponent, a former gymnast, which kept her in the fight until the end. Giovanah won on points.
Guilherme Augusto added another win to his rivalry with Luis Fernando Cantareira. In the night’s third match, Guilherme played the top game while Cantareira looked confident in guard. Guilherme, always dangerous with his pressure, was nearly swept, but answered by evening the advantages after a guard pass reaction. At the end, the two paid tribute to the legend Leandro Lo.
The opening black belt match was between Leandro Rounaud, representing Lótus Club, and Leo Santos, an Alliance talent. Leandro came out on top, opening the scoring with two points and holding the lead to the end. The night’s first matchup, between purple belts, put João Macedo and Paul Chistopher face to face. João came out on top, beating Paul 6-1.
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
