SEPTEMBER 13, 2020, MOSKOW, RUSSIA was jiu-jitsu’s capital for a weekend as the famous Eastern European city became the host of the famous AJP Grand Slam Tour, a tournament that gathered some of the top athletes in the sport. Among the competitors were quite a few Brazilian grapplers, competitors who’ve been somewhat held hostage to the current travel restrictions still in place due to the COVID19 pandemic that prevent them from competing in the US.
BRAZIL’S NEW GENERATION SHOWS ITS POTENTIAL
With an unusual mix of Eastern European grapplers and the cream of the crop of Brazil’s jiu-jitsu, the results swayed towards the more broadly respected/experienced South American contingent, particularly through its younger competitors, names such as Diogo Reis, Jonas Andrade, Yuri Hendrex, Luiz Paulo, Roosevelt Sousa, and a few more dominated their respective divisions despite the presence of their higher-ranking, more veteran countrymen.
DAGESTANI BLACK BELT UPSETS THE ESTABLISHMENT
One of the most pleasant surprises of the adult black belt division was Arsen Shapiev. Granted, we did not know much about Shapiev to begin with. Judging by his social media, Arsen is not only a very tough BJJ black belt, but he is also a successful politician in his home country.
Competing in the 94 kilograms division, Shapiev didn’t appear on many people’s radar as the favorite to win the tournament, that status was fully on the shoulders of the highly-rated Catriel Oliveira who was making his black belt debut but had been a true force as a brown belt, particularly on the AJP Lague with wins over Jansen Gomes, Sebastian Rodriguez, Pedro Machado, to name few.
Both Oliveira and Shapiev had strong showings on their run towards the final, beating 2 very solid opponents each. In the final, when most were expecting a tough battle between the Brazilian and the Dagestani, Mr. Arsen made it look easy, conquering a quick submission via kneebar in the early seconds of the match. Check out the full results of the adult black belt division.
56KG DIVISION MALE
Semi-Finals
– Jonas Andrade def. Rodney Barbosa via 3×3
– Yuri Hendrex def. Samat Aitpanbet via 2×2
3rd Place
– Rodney Barbosa def. Samat Aitpanbet via Submission
Final
– Closed between team-mates
62KG DIVISION MALE
Round-Robin
– Hiago George def. Cleber Sousa via Armbar
– Sousa was injured in the first match and could not continue
– Diogo Reis def. Hiago George via 5×3
69KG DIVISION MALE
Semi-Finals
– Pablo Mantovani def. Raul Basilio via 4×4
– Leo Saggioro def. Thiago Macedo via 3×2
Final
– Pablo Mantovani def. Leo Saggioro via 5×3
3rd Place
Thiago Macedo def. D. Razmadze via 5×2
77KG DIVISION MALE
Round-Robin
– Luiz Paulo def. Arslan Gadzhiev via Triangle
– Magomed Ansarov def. Arslan Gadzhiev via 1×0
– Luiz Paulo def. Magomed Ansarov via Armbar
85KG DIVISION MALE
Semi-Finals
– Andre Cantanhede def. Murtazali Murtazaliev via 8×0
– Julio Anjos def. Rotislav Berezovchuck via Armbar
Finals
– Julio Anjos def. Andre Cantanhede via 2×0
3rd Place
– Murtazali Murtazaliev def. Rotislav Berezovchuck via 1×0
94KG DIVISION MALE
Semi-Finals
– Catriel Oliveira def. Ruben Lemos via 5×2
– Arsen Shapiev def. A. Guseinov via 4×4
Final
– Arsen Shapiev def. Catriel Oliveira via Kneebar
3rd Place
– Bruno Lima def. Arsen Shapiev via 6×1
120KG DIVISION MALE
Round-Robin
Matheus Felipe def. Walter Santos via 1×0
Roosevelt Sousa def. Walter Santos via Triangle
Roosevelt Sousa def. Matheus Felipe via 3×0
55KG DIVISION FEMALE
Round-Robin
– Brenda Larissa def. Alexa Yanes via 1×0
– Brenda Larissa def. Alexa Yanes via 1×0
62KG DIVISION FEMALE
Round-Robin
– Sayuri Batista def. Liisi Vaht via 1×1
– Liisi Vaht def. Oksana Bench via submission
– Sayuri Batista def. Oksana Bench via 2×1
70KG DIVISION FEMALE
Round-Robin
– Olga Vladimirova def. Ekaterina Kustikova via submission
– Olga Vladimirova def. Ekaterina Kustikova via submission
95KG DIVISION FEMALE
Round-Robin
– Yara Soares def. Y. Poznyakova via Choke from back
– Yara Soares def. Y. Poznyakova via Modified clock choke
