Lightweight standout Estevan ‘El Terrible’ Payan took a Strikeforce fight against a very tough opponent in Alonzo Martinez with just days notice and dominated the the three-round affair convincingly. The performance earned him a unanimous-decision victory via 30-27 scores.

“I felt great out there,” he said. “I work with so many tough guys. I’ve been trying to get here for such a long time, and now that I’m here, I plan on staying. … I got the fight on Monday, so on short notice I didn’t have great conditioning. Hopefully now I will get a couple of weeks’ notice to show my full game out there.”

Payan (13-3 MMA, 1-0 SF), a veteran of the Rage in the Cage promotion, now has won seven straight fights.

Artwork: Alex Gomez

Gustavo Dantas is offering privates and semi-privates classes for GD Jiu-Jitsu Students and Non-Students. The hours are flexible and rates may vary. For more info, contact Gustavo @ (480) 310-5483 or Gustavo@gdjiujitsu.com

Private Rates (45 Minutes):

Student:

1 class: $80

5 classes: $375 ($75/class)

10 classes: $700 ($70/class)

Non-Student:

1 class: $100

5 classes: $450 ($90/class)

10 classes: $800 ($80/class)

Semi-Private (2 people) Rates (45 minutes):

Student:

1 class: $120 ($60/person)

Non-Student:

1 class: $140 ($70/person)

Gustavo won the Black Belt/Feather/Master

From: www.novauniao.com

The 2010 Vegas International Open and the U.S. No-Gi Nationals took place in Las Vegas on August 14th. Team Nova Uniao had an awesome performance taking 2nd place at the Vegas Open (Gi), and 3rd place at the U.S No-Gi Nationals. Thanks IBJJF for promoting another great event, and special thanks to Nova Uniao instructors Gustavo Dantas, Steve Rosenberg, Paul Nava, Pedro Diaz, John Lewis, Chris Lopez, Bob Merriman, and Bruno Bastos.

Here are the standouts of our Team:

Las Vegas International Open

Team GD Jiu-Jitsu:

Steve Rosenberg in 2nd place

Nova Uniao Arizona’s leader, Gustavo Dantas, contributed 9 points to the Team by winning his division in the Black Belt/Master/Feather. Kids Program instructor, Steve Rosenberg, placed 2nd in the Black Belt/Adult/Light, with the Adult division always offering the toughest competitors. After testing his new Purple Belt by becoming the 2010 AZ BJJ State Champion, Issa Able was able to continue his winning streak by claiming victory in the Purple Belt/Adult/Light. Issa took 3rd place in the Open Class.

Issa Able took 1st in the Purple/Light

Nava BJJ:

Nava BJJ Well represented!

Gustavo’s Brown Belt, Paul Nava, was able to represent his team alongside 4 of his students. The 5 competitors were able to bring home 4 Golds and 1 Bronze. Aaron Wilson was the standout of the Team, winning all 3 of his matches to become the White Belt/Adult/ Light Division Champion.

Tigers Lair AZ:

Pedro Diaz, Gustavo’s Purple Belt, competed with one of his students, Jason Estep, and were able to take 3 Silver Medals back to AZ. Although competing for the first time, Jason performed well to place 2nd in the White Belt/Master/Middle.

J-Sect Jiu-Jitsu:

Christopher, GD and Christian Broadnax

Newly promoted Purple Belt, Christian Broadnax had an outstanding first time performance in his new belt by placing 2nd in the Purple Belt/Adult/Middle.

ISMA:

Represented by only 3 competitors, the Chris Lopez Blue Belts won 5 medals. 2 of those medals came from Dan Krpata who won the Blue Belt/Senior 1/Medium Heavy and placed 2nd in the Open.

East West MMA:

A student of Gustavo Dantas and Bob Merriman, Kelly Fiori fought hard to place 2nd in the White Belt/Senior 1/Heavy.

Bruno Bastos Jiu-Jitsu:

Traveling from Texas, Bruno Bastos Blue Belt, Nicolas Nuila, represented his team and his instructor very well by becoming the Blue Belt/Adult/Middle Division Champion.

US No-Gi Nationals

3rd @ U.S Nationals & 2nd @ Vegas Open

Team Nova Uniao was only represented by 8 competitors, but was still able to claim 4 Golds, 2 Silvers, and 2 Bronze to repeat their 2009 performance and placing 3rd overall in the Team Division. The standouts of the team include father and son duo, Steve and Ryan Heilman, Christian Broadnax, and Kristina Barlaan who all won their respective divisions.

Check out the Full Results:

Black Belt

Gustavo Dantas – 1st place (Master/Feather/Gi)
Steve Rosenberg – 2nd place (Adult/Light/Gi) & 3rd (Adult/Light/No-Gi)

Brown Belt

Paul Nava – 1st place (Senior 1/Brown/Gi) & 3rd place (Senior 1/Open/Gi)

Purple Belt

Issa Able - 1st place (Adult/Light/Gi) & 3rd place (Open/Gi)
Christian Broadnax – 2nd place (Adult/Middle/Gi) & 1st place (Adult/Middle/No-Gi)
Ryan Heilman - 1st place (Adult/Light/No-Gi)
Steve Heilman – 1st place (Master/Light/No-Gi) & 3rd place (Master/Light/Gi)
Pedro Diaz - 2nd place (Senior 3/Medium Heavy/Gi) & 2nd place (Senior 3/Open/Gi)

Blue

Nicolas Nuila – 1st place (Adult/Middle/Gi)
Dan Krpata - 1st place (Senior 1/Medium Heavy/Gi) & 2nd place (Senior 1/Open/Gi)
Kristina Barlaan – 1st place (Female/Feather/No-Gi), 3rd place (Feather/Gi) & 3rd place (Open/Gi)
Alex Centner - 2nd place (Adult/Open/Gi) & 3rd place (Adult/Ultra Heavy/Gi)
Arnold Monterroso – 2nd place (Adult/Light Feather/No-Gi) & 3rd place (Adult/Light Feather/Gi)
Josh Rodriguez – 2nd place (Adult/Feather/Gi)
Zack Surdyka – 2nd place (Adult/Middle/No-Gi) & 3rd place (Adult/Open/No-Gi)
Jonathan Van Buren - 3rd place (Adult/Feather/Gi)

White

Aaron Wilson – 1st place (Adult/Light)
Summer Begay – 1st place (Female/Heavy)
Vincent Ortega - 1st place (Master/Feather)
Michael Leonard - 1st place (Master/Super Heavy)
Jason Estep - 2nd place (Master/Middle)
Kelly Fiori – 2nd place (Senior 1/Heavy)
Kevin Duran – 3rd place (Adult/Light Feather)

Classes located at CrossFit Prescott

Gustavo Dantas is proud to announce his newest location, GD Jiu-Jitsu Prescott, located at CrossFit Prescott @ 3260 Tower Rd., Prescott, AZ 86305. The classes are taught by GD’s black belt, Steve Judson.

To celebrate the grand opening of GD Jiu-Jitsu Prescott, we are offering a special rate of $ 99 per month for unlimited training when you sign up with a 1 year agreement. We will also waive the sign up fee if you take advantage of our Grand Opening Special.

This represents a savings of over $360 per year based on the month-to-month rate!

The unlimited training rate allows you to participate in any of the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes at GD Jiu-Jitsu Prescott.

This is hands down one of the best deals in the industry and a one time only special! The offer is good only through the end of December, 2010.

Not comfortable signing a long term contract? No problem! GD Jiu-Jitsu Prescott also offers extremely reasonable rates and programs for everyone. Contact us to find out more! Steve 480-250-1232

*$99 special requires a signed 1 year agreement with GD Jiu-Jitsu Prescott.

Here is the schedule:

The 2010 AZ BJJ State Championship was featured in Issue #161 of GracieMag. Make sure you grab your own copy!Subscribe to GracieMag @ GracieMag Summer Subscription Special

Take advantage of their Summer Special and save over $80 AND receive a FREE Limited Edition GracieMag T-Shirt!

Many Weapons has produced an action packed Highlight video featuring the ever-growing pool of Jiu-Jitsu talent in Arizona at the 2010 AZ BJJ State Championship!

The registration for the 2nd Southwest BJJ Classic is now available.

Gustavo, Kristina and Jonathan Dantas

The 2010 International Master and Senior Championship and the Rio International Open took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 22nd to 25th. Our team was represented by Gustavo Dantas and Kristina Barlaan. Gustavo won the Black Belt/Senior 1/Feather Weight Division, and Kristina won the Blue Belt/Female/Feather Weight, and took 3rd place in the Open Division. Kristina went 5-1 with five submissions. Special thanks to our sponsors Many Weapons and Crossfit Southwest.

GD Submitting 2010 Brazilian National Champion Alcenor Alves

GD Jiu-Jitsu Events and the AZSBJJF are proud to announce the 2nd Arizona Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Kids Cup on April 24, 2010 at Westwood High School in Mesa, AZ. The tournament will feature Kids (4-15) and Juvenile (16-17) Divisions ONLY. Pre-Registration prices for Kids are $40 ($50 after April 16th) and Juveniles are $50 ($60 after April 16th). The Final Registration Deadline is April 21st, but will be closed sooner if 230 competitors is reached. Don’t wait until the last minute to register, the kids division was sold out at the 5th AZ Open. All Juvenile and Pre-Registered Kids competitors will receive a FREE tournament T-Shirt. 3.5″ Medal for Juvenile Medalists and ALL Kids Competitors. ALL Kids competitors will also receive a Performance Certificate. ALL Competitors will receive the chance to win a Nintendo Wii, regardless of win or loss. The Top 5 Teams will also be awarded trophies. Registration is ONLINE ONLY. Click here to register.

The 5th AZ International Open of BJJ took place at the Westwood High School on March 13th and 14th, in Mesa,AZ. Team GD Jiu-Jitsu had an amazing performance with 9 Medals in the Kids Division (3 gold, 3 silver, and 3 bronze), and 45 Medals in the Adult Division (17 Gold, 15 Silver, and 13 bronze), taking the first place,  Adult Division Trophy home once again.

Here are the standouts of the Team:

White/Adult/Feather – Matt Mamolen and Stephen Barnes repeated the finals of the Kaju AZ/Nava BJJ Tournament, when they closed out the division.

White/Adult/Middle – In the biggest bracket of the tournament, Jeremy Larsen and Mark Garland went at it, and Jeremy won,  securing the gold.

Kristina wins Feather and Open Class

Blue/Female – Kristina Barlaan repeated her No-Gi US Nationals performance, winning again the feather weight division, and the Open Class. Kristina submitted both her opponents at Feather with triangles from upside-down guard and surpassed her Middleweight opponent in the Absolute 11-0.

Issa had 6 matches (6 submissions)

Issa and Christopher sharing 1st place

Blue/Middle/Open – Issa Able went up one division, and still dominated his opponents at Middle. With a total of 6 matches, Issa closed out the Open Class with Christopher Broadnax.

Jacob wins after his two year hiatus from BJJ Tournaments

Brown/Medium Heavy – Jacob McClintock won both of his matches by submission.

Here our Team’s Results:

Click Here for full results

Some of our AZ Open Champions