The Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan Ams is by far the biggest and most prestigious tournament in the United States. Huge black belt stars Xande Ribiero and Pe De Pano faced off in the finals of the black belt absolute division, while Andre Galvao and Eduardo Telles provided awesome highlights in their weight divisions. New brown belt Jeff Glover swept his division, submitting all but one oponnent in grand fashion to win the featherweight brown belt division.

Sean Williams faced Joao Silva in his first match of the day. Williams worked from the top after Silva pulled guard, and eventually passed to a solid side-control position. Silva was able to recover his guard and both fighters stood. Williams pulled guard and went for an omoplata, and Silva bounced Williams on his head once while posturing to escape (incredibly, the ref did nothing to stop this).
The match ended with Silva pulling guard and Williams defending, winning 3-0.

Sergio Laurenco (Saulo) attained the rear mount against Francisco Neto (Yamasaki), securing the gi choke a few minutes in and getting the tap.

Laurenco went on to face last year's Mundials brown belt absolute champion Andre Galvao. Galvao put on a clinic, showing seemingly flawless technique, sweeping, passing, getting the mount, and winning by a large points margin.

Andre Galvao went on to beat Regis Lebre on his way to the finals, where he faced Cassio Werneck.

2004 Pan American purple belt champion Marcos Torregrossa gives his matside report:

"First of all some history because I personally know both fighters: Cassio is mainly a guard guy and pushed guard 100% of the time. Don`t get it twisted as he has a super tough passing game too. He loves to sweep and does so usually with the arm drag (both sides- he works them real nice).

Galvao is a monster and has a game that covers all aspects: guard (De la Riva, Half, Open, I`ve seen him use them all) and he has a fast paced passing game known to many in Brasil as the Oswaldo Alves style of passing(that`s where he started). He is most known for his ability to finish the majority of his fights.

The fight: Cassio circles a bit and as expected pulls guard and immediatly there is a scuffle to determine grips and angles. Both fighters can`t manage to get a superior grip and Galvao turns to a standing pass game: pulling up on Cassio`s arm and pulling his legs down to pass. Although the technique had been working all day Cassio was able to stabalize a half guard/open guard game (more of a De La Riva guard). Cassio secures his trademark armdrag grip and begins to try to sweep to Galvao`s left, forcing Galvao to stand. Cassio follows his movement and stands as well almost grabbing Galvao`s back. Galvao showing the experience that has made him a multiple world champion broke free and Cassio pulls guard immediatly to avoid a quick take down (Galvao has always excelled at the fast-paced game that catches many off guard because of his exceptional gas). Galvao then gets a double under hook and plays a stalling game that is VERY uncharacteristic. Seemingly content to stay in this position puts Cassio in gear and he tries to get some angle to work a sweep. Galvao calmy works a pass and happens to get to half guard at one point but not for long. Cassio continued to work the sweep and at one point almost pulled off a nice half guard sweep.

The work was apparently not enough as Galvao was given the nod. The feeling "around the campfire" was that most were left with a feeling that much was left unsaid between the two fighters.
(IMHO if it`s the finals and there are no points and no advantages there should be an overtime for the black belts.. )

Galvao wins his first Pan American championship as a black belt."

Raphael Lovato Jr faced Fernando De Piero in his first match. Lovato pulled guard and managed to get the sweep for the 2-0 points win to advance. Lovato's next oponnent was Ricardo Franco. Lovato was once again able to get the sweep, passing the guard, and finishing Franco with a kimura. Lovato closed out the division with teammate Rodrigo Pinheiro, an impressive feat for this young American black belt.

Raphael Lovato Jr won his first absolute division match to face none other than heavy favorite Pe De Pano (Marcio Cruz). Pe De Pano pulled guard right away and worked for the pass. Lovato turtled, recovered his guard, then got a sweep of his own, eventually losing on points 6-2 (this was somewhat controversial as Pe De Pano was awarded 2 sweeps, while many argued only one should have counted).



















Andre Galvao (TT) faced Fredson Alves (Gracie Humaita) in a technical and competitive match that saw Galvao pull guard and work a sweep, eventually finishing Alves with a figure-4 footlock to advance.

Meanwhile, Lloyd Irvin black belt Jared Weiner faced Eduardo Telles (TT). Weiner pulled guard right away and fought well against the larger Telles, but Telles was eventually able to pass the guard and get the tap.











Telles's next oponnent was Pe De Pano. This matchup proved to be interesting, as Telles was unable to impose his "turtle guard" on Pe de Pano, who got the back and finished Telles with the choke a few minutes in.

Black Belt Absolute Finals: Xande Ribiero vs. Pe De Pano

Pe De Pano immediately pulled half-guard and went to work, off-balancing Xande a few times. Xande got an early advantage, securing a dominant half-guard position (with the underhook), while Pe De Pano worked a belt-grab sweep from half-guard. Xande efficiently switched his base, leaping across the much bigger Pe De Pano, switching to a knee-drive guard pass. Here's where the controversy began: as Xande was working a knee-drive guard pass, Pe De Pano managed to get some space, hopping on Xande's back, getting 2 points for the sweep (reversal- see the updated CBJJ rules for more info on this). Xande immediately picked Pe De Pano up on his shoulders, taking the bigger man down and landing on top. No points were awarded to Xande, however, and the match ended with Xande aggressively trying to pass the guard, and Pe De Pano working to keep his half-guard.

Featherweight Paragon Jiu Jtisu's Jeff Glover absolutely stole the show in the featherweight brown belt division. Glover is a true phenom- having received his brown belt just two months earlier, he has consistently torn up the submission grappling and BJJ competition circuit. Facing his first oponnent, Glover quickly went for his patented flying triangle, which was defended well. His oponnent acheived a dominant half-guard position with the underhook for the advantage, but Glover kept his composure, and appeared like a magician on the back of his Japanese oponnent, finishing with a very quick gi choke. Glover's next oponnent was Daniel McCown (Cleber). After a strong beginning, Glover tapped McCown with a "crucifix" gi choke, trapping one arm with his legs and the other arm with his arms. Glover advanced to the semi-final round to face Yuji Uchuda (Ralph Gracie), pulling half-guard right away. Defending Uchuda's cross-choke from half-guard, Glover gripped the opposite lapel, using the gi to create a body-lock, and working to the back. The Japanese fighter stood, then pulled half-guard. Glover used the grip he had on the lapel to work a dominant top half-guard position, scoring an advantage. Time ran out and Glover advanced to the finals.

Click here for the full review of the Brown Belts Division at the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan Ams 2005.

17-year-old Bill "The Grill" Cooper and Kron Gracie were the two favorites in this division, having fought earlier at the Copa Pacifica . Kron edged out a very narrow win over Cooper, and Cooper looked forward to a rematch in the finals with Kron should the opportunity arise.

Cooper first faced the very talented Brian Dushez (Yamasaki), an excellent purple belt with a killer guard and a well-rounded game. Dushez pulled guard first, landing a sweep on Cooper, and pressuring to pass. As Cooper turned his back to roll through the pass, Dushez sunk the hooks in, taking Cooper's back for 4 points. Down 6-0 a few minutes in, Cooper seemed to wake up, energized. Cooper escaped the back, coming up on top in Dushez's guard. As Dushez opened up, Cooper passed to side control, landing knee-on-stomach, making the score 6-5. Dushez recovered his guard, and Cooper once again passed, taking the lead on points 8-6. As Bill "The Grill" transitioned into north-south, he sunk in a tight gi choke, forcing the tap with only about a minute left. Cooper's impressive come-from-behind victory was one of the most exciting matches of the day.

Click here for the full review of the Purple Belts Division at the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Pan Ams 2005.