LONG BEACH, Calif. — Kaua‘i’s Randall Silva took third place at the 2009 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, also known as Mundials, on June 7 in Long Beach, Calif. The event is considered the most prestigious and most anticipated International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
LONG BEACH, Calif. — Kaua‘i’s Randall Silva took third place at the 2009 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship, also known as Mundials, on June 7 in Long Beach, Calif.
The event is considered the most prestigious and most anticipated International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Federation tournament in the world and this was Silva’s second consecutive third-place finish.
Silva, 27, a member of the Kaua‘i Technical Institute, competed against over 70 other participants and assembled a 5-1 record — three of his victories coming by submission and two determined by points. He has been training in the KTI for more than five years and has attained a fourth-degree blue belt.
The World Championship event began in 1996 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and was held annually in Brazil until 2006. Due to the sport’s increased popularity, both in participation and attendance, the event left Brazil for the first time in 2007 and came to the United States.
It attracted over 1,800 athletes that year and has been growing since.
One former Mundials champion is Kailua’s B.J. Penn. Penn is the current Ultimate Fighting Championship lightweight champion. He won the featherweight title at Mundials in 2000.
Silva is congratulated on all of his successes by his KTI family.
