The IBJJF London 2023 Open occurred this past weekend on February 18th and 19th and Roberto Jimenez let his Jiu-Jitsu skills shine. Even with plenty of top-notch competition, Roberto put on an impressive display in both the gi and no-gi parts of the tournament. He competed in his weight class and in the absolute divisions, providing plenty of matches for the athlete. Roberto left the tournament with three gold medals and a silver ending an impressive weekend run.
Roberto has competed between 77kg and 90kg in the past. He came into the London Open at his heaviest competition weight of 94kg in the gi and 91.5 kg in no-gi. Roberto competed well at the heavier weight, taking gold at heavyweight in both gi and no-gi. Both divisions provided tough battles all the way through the finals. He managed to bring home gold in no-gi absolute, but fell short of a sweep, grabbing silver in the gi absolute division.
One of his toughest challenges came when he met Tarik Hopstock in the no-gi heavyweight final, but Roberto was able to squeeze out the victory. He fell short of his four gold medal sweep after losing a battle with Jasen Ramon in the absolute gi final.
Roberto showed off slick moves since we last saw him compete at ADCC 2022. Walking away with three golds and a silver definitely made for a successful weekend back on the competition mats. We are looking forward to seeing him make further competition appearances this year.
Roberto wasn’t the only one to make noise this past weekend. Tayane Porfitio returned from a four-year suspension, winning gold in the absolute gi division. She also took home gold at superheavy but didn’t have any other competitors.