This year the IBJJF American Nationals took place in Las Vegas with the UFC International Expo. The event show cased the best martial artists in jiujitsu, wrestling, tae kwon do, karate, judo, and other types of cross fit competitions. The event culminated with the McGregor v Mendes fight. The event was an exciting step in jiu-jitsu as it joins forces with the UFC and MMA community. Hosting the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation tournaments in conjunction with the UFC expo will only help educate MMA fans on the details and excitement of jiu-jitsu.

The American Nationals featured jiujitsu competitors from all over the globe. The event featured two tournaments, one in the gi and one nogi. The tournament also featured the Kids American Nationals, one of the premiere IBJJF Kids tournaments of the year.

Eliot represented the team from El Dorado Hills. The first day was composed of theNoGi tournament. Eliot finished with a double silver making it to the finals in the weight division and absolute (all weights combined) open weight division. The second day was composed of the tournament in the gi. Eliot finished with a silver in his weight division, again making it into the finals of the tournament. In the absolute (all weights combined) open weight division Eliot fell short in the semi-final, finishing with a bronze.

Eliot finished the two day American Nationals with 9 matches 5 in the nogi and 4 in the gi. “The tournament was great! There were warm up mats, great organization, and a lot of action all day long. It was a bitter sweet experience for me as a competitor because I made it to the finals in three different occasions, but I wasn’t able to get the gold. Needless to say I learned from my mistakes and I’m excited for the next opportunity to compete!”