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History
What were the members of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu community to do? Where would they go to compete, to hone their skills, to participate in the sport they so loved? That is when Claudio Franca and friends stepped in to give the sport a competition outlet. Thus, in 1988 the Copa Atlantica Sul was born! From 1988 - 1994 Claudio Franca, Marcus Vinicius, and Joe Moreira organized and promoted the Copa Atlantica Sul, providing and arena for such athletes as Gordo, Renzo, Ralph, Ryan, & Royler Gracie, Jean-Jacques Machado, Ze Mario Sperry, Macaco, and Walid Ismael to go head-to-head in some of the most exciting competition of the era.
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In 1995 Claudio Franca moved to the United States and opened his first school in Santa Cruz, California. He saw a need for Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu sport tournaments in the United States, because most people to whom he talked about Jiu-Jitsu, assumed it was all about No-Holds Barred fighting, due to the immense success and popularity of the Ultimate Fighting Championships. He wanted to show the American public that anyone could practice Jiu-Jitsu as a hobby, a sport, or a self-defense art; it was not just for professional fighters!
So in the fall of 1996, the first ever U.S. Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament commenced at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium. The turn-out was small (compared to other sports and martial arts) but the competitors, coaches and crowds participated enthusiastically, realizing that here was something special. And to be sure, athletes who did eventually go on to have success in Mixed Martial Arts competition got their start at tournaments like the U.S. Open--BJ Penn, Javier Vasquez, Genki Sudo, and Nick Diaz, to name a few.
Over the twelve years of its history, the U.S. Open
has gone from garnering about 150 competitors to over 500, and has
featured fights with such greats as Carlos Machado, Marcus Vinicius,
Fabio Santos, Marcio Corleta, Mauricio Behring, Marcio Corleta,
Megaton Diaz, Sapao, Rodrigo Madeiros, Eduardo Telles, Fabricio
Werdun, Cleber Luciano, Frajinha Miller, Cassio Werneck, Paulo Gilobel,
David Meyer, Garth Taylor, Chris Hauter, Wander Braga, Saulo Ribeiro,
Xandre Ribeiro, Rafael Lovato Jr., and many others.
In 1990, Claudio Franca hosted the first Team Tournament at the
Barra Mares in Río. Sixteen years later, he was, to the best
of our knowledge, host of the first Brown and Black Belt Team Tournament
in the United States, featuring the 2005 Champions Team Saulo Ribeiro
and second place Team Boulder BJJ, along with Team Werneck-Sauer.
The event proved very popular to the public as a spectator sport
and we are proud to present the Brown and Black Belt Team Challenge
3 this year!