Decorated Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) star Victor Hugo capitalized on a devastating error from Pedro Marinho to win another championship and get an extra $50,000 to boot.
After going back-and-forth early, the WNO light heavyweight champion in Marinho made an unforced error that completely derailed him from the match. As the referee docked him with a penalty for passivity — a call that doesn’t stop the action — Marinho complained and turned his back on his opponent. Hugo took advantage and just tackled the distracted Marinho to the ground to get a takedown straight into mount.
Marinho was up by one advantage prior to that, but the mistake proved to be incredibly costly as Hugo went on to completely dominate the match from there to win 15-2 on points.
The five-time IBJJF world champion in Hugo beat three men in one night, and ended up dominating Marlon Tajik, Javier Barter and Marinho to win the $50,000 prize. Marinho beat featherweight king Diego Pato and Gustavo Batista to make it to the final, but his costly mistake led to him settling for the $10,000 prize for second place.
Outside of the Absolute Grand Prix tournament, BJJ stars like Helena Crevar and Sarah Galvao also both picked up quality submission wins in separate super fights.
