MAY 09, 2022, ABU DHABI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES saw another edition of the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Tour’s (AJP) Grand Slam, one of the most important tournaments on the international circuit.
Despite its importance, the event was somewhat overshadowed by the sheer number of tournaments that took place this weekend. Events such as AJP’s Queen Of Mats, AJP’s King Of Mats, the IBJJF Brazilian Nationals, San Diego Open & Atlanta Open as well as the ADCC European Trials. Quite a lot of big matches and an exhausting weekend for news reporters (cough cough).
Despite the many events on offer, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam still gathered the interest of many big players, particularly in the feather, light and middleweight divisions. Below is our report on the event at the professional, black belt level.
56-KILO MEN
The smallest division in the tournament with just two athletes led to a dominant victory by Cicero Costha’s Jonas Andrade.
ROUND ROBIN
– Jonas Andrade def. Samat Aitpanbet via 4×2
– Jonas Andrade def. Samat Aitpanbet via 2×1
– Jonas Andrade def. Samat Aitpanbet via triangle choke
62-KILO MEN
Overall a very even division with the majority of competitors being seasoned and accomplished black belts such as Rodnei Barbosa, Lucas Pinheiro, Hiago George, Yuri Hendrex, Andrew Soares, Kalel Santos, and more. Despite the many big names on the roster, veteran Hiago George pulled it off with another great performance.
SEMI-FINALS
– Hiago George def. Rodnei Barbosa via 2×0
– Lucas Pinheiro def. Andrew Soares via 2×0
FINAL
– Hiago George def. Lucas Pinheiro via 5×1
3RD PLACE
– Andrew Soares def. Yuri Hendrex via 3×1
69-KILO MEN
The featherweights have been one of the most interesting divisions to follow for the past few years and as expected, the weight class’s Grand Slam turnout did not divert from this sentiment.
With close matches from every side of the brackets, we (the spectators) ended up seeing very few submissions (1) and a lot of tactical exchanges, nevertheless, an interesting division to follow and watch a few “out of the box” names make it to the semi-finals, names such as Marlus Salgado of Brazil and Dzhimsher Razmadze from Georgia.
SEMI-FINALS
– Thiago Macedo def. Dzhimsher Razmadze via 4×2
– Marlus Salgado def. Alex Sodre via 4×2
FINAL
– Thiago Macedo def. Marlus Salgado via 2×0
3RD PLACE
– Isaac Doederlein won bronze as Alex Sodré could not compete due to injury.
77-KILO MEN
Another AJP star was born in the 77-kilogram division and his name is Ademir Barreto. The GF Team lightweiht took on a weight class stacked with solid black belts like André Cantanhede, Alessandro Botelho, Lucas Protásio, Tiago Bravo, Adriano Araújo, and more. This was by no means a cakewalk for Barreto, the brown belt had 3 tough matches to glory but held his own extremely well and was undoubtedly the worthy champion.
SEMI-FINALS
– Andre Cantanhede def. Alessandro Botelho via 2×0
– Ademir Barreto def. Jonatham Silva via 9×0
FINAL
– Ademir Barreto def. Andre Cantanhede via 3×2
3RD PLACE
– Lucas Protásio def. Adriano Araújo via 8×7
88-KILO MEN
Another brown belt causing havoc in the professional division, Uanderson Ferreira made it all the way through to the final, repeating what he had done in England a few weeks ago, at the London Grand Slam tournament. Sadly for Ferreira, despite making it to the final, he also repeated the second place position.
Ahead of Uanderson in the final was Guigo Jiu-Jitsu’s Gabriel Costa, a young man who is slowly but surely cementing his claim to the top 10 of the medium-heavyweight division, internationally.
SEMI-FINALS
– Gabriel Costa def. Charles Negromonte via 2×2
– Uanderson Ferreira def. Pedro Cadete via 5×4
FINAL
– Gabriel Costa def. Uanderson Ferreira via choke from the back
3RD PLACE
– Charles Negromonte def. Pedro Cadete via 6×0
94-KILO MEN
A very small division for the 94-kilogram division, certainly due to the sheer amount of important tournaments that took place this weekend across the globe. In this weight class, Catriel Oliveira dominated once again. Catriel has shown tremendous potential over the past year and we are hopeful to see him compete in more challenging waters soon.
ROUND-ROBIN
– Catriel Oliveira def. Ithalo Araujo via toe-hold
– Renato Cardoso def. Ithalo Araujo via 3×2
– Catriel Oliveira def. Renato Cardoso via 10×2
120-KILO MEN
Strella Team’s Anton Sleznev broke out as the big star of the day with epic performances throughout the tournament. The 28YO Russian athlete had 3 wins paving his path to gold, taking out some of the bigger names in the division such as Guilherme Bacha (Chekmat) and Wallace Costa (GF Team) with a very accurate jiu-jitsu style.
SEMI-FINALS
– Anton Sleznev def. Guilherme Bacha via 4×1
– Wallace Costa def. Rodrigo Ribeiro via 5×3
FINAL
– Anton Sleznev def. Wallace Costa via 2×0
3RD PLACE
– Felipe Bezerra def. Yatan Bueno via 6×3
49-KILO WOMEN
Lots of submissions here in the roosterweight division as 50% of the matches were won via tap out. The weight class lacked the more traditional heavy-hitters of the sport, but found in Vanderlucia Lima its new hero.
SEMI-FINALS
– Vanderlucia Lima def. Sabrina Migliozzi via 2×1
– Sharifa Alnaamani def. Wadima Alyafei via submission
FINAL
– Vanderlucia Lima def. Sharifa Alnaamani via submission
3RD PLACE
– Kacie Tand def. Wadima Alyafei via submission
55-KILO WOMEN
A huge day for the Qatar based black belt, Gabriela Pereira. Representing Vision BJJ the super talented athlete had one of her most memorable performances by defeating the dominant light-featherweight that is Anna Rodrigues in the final of the event.
SEMI-FINALS
– Anna Rodrigues def. Rose Sharouni via 3×2
– Gabriela Pereira def. Alexa Yanes via 2×0
FINAL
– Gabriela Pereira def. Anna Rodrigues via 2×1
3RD PLACE
– Alexa Yanes def. Laurie Oliveira via 9×6
62-KILO WOMEN
How is Julia Alves still a brown belt? Your guess is as good as ours. The GF Team competitor has consistently been at the top of the heat, beating seasoned black belts on a regular basis in the international grappling circuit, and this weekend was no different. Another glorious run for the talented lasso-guard stylist.
SEMI-FINALS
– Julia Alves def. Violeta Angelova via 5×0
– Brigida Felipe def. Larissa Paes via submission
FINAL
– Julia Alves def. Brigida Felipe via decision
3RD PLACE
– Luciane Silva def. Priscilla Assunção via 5×0
70-KILO WOMEN
Thalyta Lima continues to impress the grappling world. Another victorious and dominant run in the AJP Tour, where she didn’t suffer a single point after 3 hard-fought matches.
SEMI-FINALS
– Thalyta Lima def. Larissa Martins via 2×0
– Rebeca Lima def. Ingridd Alves via 2×2
FINAL
– Thalyta Lima def. Rebeca Lima via 2×0
3RD PLACE
– Rafaela Bertolot def. Ingridd Alves via 2×1
95-KILO WOMEN
An easy win for one of the prime super-heavyweight athletes in the world right now, Dream Art’S Yara Soares.
SEMI-FINALS
– Yara Soares def. M. Cantanhede via 10×0
– Silvia Scomparin def. Amanda Ribeiro via 3×3
FINAL
– Yara Soares def. Silvia Scomparin via bow and arrow choke
