JANUARY 14, 2024, TOKYO, JAPAN, kickstarted this year’s jiu-jitsu season with the first big tournament of the year, the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Tour’s (AJP) Grand Slam. A tournament that brought some of the top professional grapplers in the world to the Japanese capital city for one of the federation’s most coveted medals. The AJP Grand Slam tournament met many renowned local challengers such as Masaaki Todokoro, Robert Oda, Koji Shibamoto, to mention a few, as well as international stars from all across the globe.
In the 69 kilogram division, many expected 2023’s world champion Diego Pato to dominate and dominate he did. Nevertheless, taking the gold medal here was not as easy as most would have expected. The toughness of opponents such as Dzhimsher Razmadze, the ruleset, and shorter rounds at play with the AJP did pose a challenge to the outstanding talent that is the AOJ representative, nevertheless, he was able to overcome these with relatively comfortable point margins on the scoreboards.
UAE’s Khaled Alshehi continues the good form he showed last year by taking another gold medal in one of the toughest divisions of the event. Khaled had, arguably, the hardest bracket in the tournament but was able to cement his claim as one of the very best light featherweight competitors in the world. Much like Alshehi, another young black belt made his mark in the AJP Tokyo Grand Slam. He was Pedro Silva of Team Fratres, whose submissions brought joy to the spectators in attendance.
The event was also an important one for Gutemberg Pereira as it marked his first time representing the colors of team AOJ after a lifetime under GFT’s banner. Pereira was expected to do well, considering he is widely regarded as one of the finest super-heavyweights of his generation, and he did perform to his potential with a lot of fun matches and a few submissions added to his record.
56 KILOS, MALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Welison Fernandes def. Gyeongseop Lee via 4×2
– Theyab Alnuaimi def. Kai Takasugi via submission
– Omar Alsuwaidi def. Erick Meneghin via 4×3
– Masaaki Todokoro def. Marko Oikarainen via 9×0
SEMI-FINALS:
– Omar Alsuwaidi def. Masaaki Todokoro via submission
– Welison Fernandes def. Theyab Alnuaimi via 5×5
FINAL:
– Omar Alsuwaidi def. Welison Fernandes via 4×2
3RD PLACE:
– Erick Meneghin def. Kai Takasugi via 13×4
62 KILOS, MALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Jefferson Fagundes def. Juhyuck Yim via 4×4
– Marcos Froede def. Yuma Nomura via 1×0
– Khaled Alshehi def. Robert Oda via 5×4
– Yuri Hendrex def. Said Almazrouie via DQ
SEMI-FINALS:
– Khaled Alshehi def. Yuri Hendrex via 4×3
– Marcos Froede def. Jefferson Fagundes in a friendly match between teammates
FINAL:
– Khaled Alshehi def. Marcos Froede via 7×6
3RD PLACE:
– Jefferson Fagundes won via WO due to the opponent not being able to compete
69 KILOS, MALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Thomy Yano def. Matheus Onda via 4×4
– Mohammed Alswaidi def. Craig Hutchison via 7×6
– Danilo Hamazaki def. Omar Alfadhli via 3×3
– Diego Pato def. Dzhimsher Razmadze via 4×3
SEMI-FINALS:
– Mohammed Alswaidi def. Thomy Yano via 4×3
– Diego Pato def. Danilo Hamazaki via 6×0
FINAL:
– Diego Pato def. Mohammed Alswaidi via 4×1
3RD PLACE:
– Omar Alfadhli def. Danilo Hamazaki via 9×1
77 KILOS, MALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Myke Ohura def. Andre Cantanhede via 12×3
– Moolele Cuellar def. Adriano Araujo via 2×1
– Lucas Protasio def. Shinji Morito via 7×0
– Artem Kaygarodov def. Ali Monfaradi via 1×0
SEMI-FINALS:
– Lucas Protasio def. Artem Kaygarodov via 6×0
– Myke Ohura def. Moolele Cuellar via 5×0
FINAL:
– Lucas Protasio def. Myke Ohura via 1×0
3RD PLACE:
– Ali Monfaradi def. Adriano Araujo via 4×0
85 KILOS, MALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Pedro “Bolo” Silva def. Raymond Varilla via submission
– Wallisson Souza def. Daniel Soares via 16×1
– Anthony Cruz def. Naser Albreiki via submission
– Pedro Neto def. Faris Ben-Lamkadem via 4×4
SEMI-FINALS:
– Pedro “Bolo” Silva def. Wallison Souza via 7×5
– Pedro Neto def. Anthony Cruz via 9×4
FINAL:
– Pedro “Bolo” def. Pedro Neto via submission
3RD PLACE:
– Wallison Souza def. Anthony Cruz via submission
94 KILOS, MALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Marcos Carrozzino def. David Khoza via 7×1
– Ives Sacramento def. Yuji Arai via submission
– Clemer Canario def. Francesco Fragala via 5×0
– Luiz Henrique def. Italo Lima via via 2×1
SEMI-FINALS:
– Marcos Carrozzino def. Ives Sacramento via 5×1
– Luiz Henrique def. Clemer Canario via 1×1
FINAL:
– Double DQ for both competitors
3RD PLACE:
– Clemer Canario def. Italo Costa via 2×0
120 KILOS, MALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Paulo Brasil def. Dmitrii Vostrikov via submission
– Gutemberg Pereira def. Michael Pankov via submission
– Matheus Felipe def. Dae Woong Lee via submission
– Wesley Silva def. Vladimir Blium via 1×0
SEMI-FINALS:
– Gutemberg Pereira def. Paulo Brasil via submission
– Matheus Felipe def. Wesley Silva via decision
FINAL:
– Gutemberg Pereira def. Matheus Felipe via 2×1
3RD PLACE:
– Vladimir Blium def. Wesley Silva via 3×3
49 KILOS, FEMALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Satomi Suga def. Lee Ai Jin via 3×1
SEMI-FINALS:
– Diana Teixeira def. Satomi Suga via decision
– Mayssa Bastos def. Kim Sieun via 11×2
FINAL:
– Mayssa Bastos def. Diana Teixeira via 10×4
55 KILOS, FEMALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Beatriz Gutierrez def. Olesia Zhuravleva via submission
– Pnina Aronov def. Mongoljin Ganbaatar via 4×0
– Yin Yi Wang def. Mitomo Moriwaki via 2×1
– Alexa Yanes def. Eonju Im via 2×1
SEMI-FINALS:
– Alexa Yanes def. Yin Yi Wang via submission
– Pnina Aronov def. Beatriz Gutierrez via 5×4
FINAL:
– Alexa Yanes def. Pnina Aronov via submission
3RD PLACE:
– Olesia Zhuravleva def. Beatriz Gutierrez via 10×4
64 KILOS, FEMALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Julia Alves def. Milli Mccourt via submission
– Dayane Bazzoni def. Fiona Toh via 6×0
– Gabriela Pereira def. Heejoo Choi via submission
– Nicholle Stoller def. Tomoko Inoue via 2×0
SEMI-FINALS:
– Gabriela Pereira def. Nicholle Stoller via submission
– Julia Alves def. Dayane Bazzoni via submission
FINAL:
– Julia Alves def. Gabriela Pereira via 2×1
3RD PLACE
– Dayane Bazzoni def. Nicholle Stoller via submission
70 KILOS, FEMALE DIVISION
QUARTER-FINALS:
– Kira Sung def. Raquel Santos via 9×0
– Rafaela Bertolot def. Gabriella Ripepi via submission
SEMI-FINALS:
– Izadora Silva def. Kira Sung via submission
– Rafaela Bertolot def. Anna Remneva via 13×0
FINAL:
– Izadora Silva def. Rafaela Bertolot via 2×0
3RD PLACE:
– Kira Sung def. Anna Remneva via submission
95 KILOS, FEMALE DIVISION
ROUND-ROBIN
– Tayane Porfirio def. Magdalena Loska via submission
– Maria Vicentini def. Magdalena Loska via 6×1
– Tayane Porfirio def. Maria Vicentini via 2×0
