DECEMBER 16, 2023, yesterday the grappling world witnessed another edition of the AIGA (Amateur International Grappling Association) Champions League tournament finals, a Team vs Team event held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, featuring athletes from all over the world.
To clarify the dynamics of the show, although the idea behind AIGA’s Champions League is to place teams against each other, two of the groups in the semi-finals this year clashes were not Teams in the true sense of the word and more like coalitions of grappling superstars, put together for the event, as in a super suad. The two groups in question were Team Acai Republic and Team Modolfo which opposed the academies of Universal Fighters and Battle Force.
Team Modolfo – so-called in correlation to Mo Jassim’s nickname (ADCC’s top promoter & organizer of the team) – came with the bigger names of the whole tournament. Among them were athletes like ADCC 77 kg finalist, Micael Galvão, 2022 ADCC gold medalist Giancarlo Bodoni, and Oceania & Asian Trials winner Izaac Michell, to name a few. The quality of the group was evident by the near-total domination set forth by the Modolfo squad who cruised through the tournament with relative ease despite the solid opposition on the mats.
Although Team Modolfo did show its dominance, Team Acai Republic, led by Juliano Prado, also had solid performances, particularly through athletes like Kennedy Maciel & Dominic Mejia who looked tremendous throughout the tournament. Below are the team standings and full match results.
#1 TEAM MODOLFO
(60KG) Felipe Machado
(65KG) Kauã Gabriel
(70KG) Gabriel Sousa
(76KG) Dante Leon
(83KG) Izaak Michell & Mica Galvão
(91KG) Giancarlo Bodoni
(+91KG) Big Dan Manasoiu
#2 TEAM ACAI REPUBLIC
(60KG) Felipe Nacib
(65KG) Dominic Mejia
(70KG) Kennedy Maciel
(76KG) Ygor Rodrigues
(83KG) Johnatha Alves
(91KG) Henrique Cardoso
(+91KG) Anton Dmitrakov
#3 UNIVERSAL FIGHTER
(60KG) Magomedbek Temeev
(65KG) Zaur Akhmedov & Mukhammad Shakhbanov
(70KG) Gairbek Ibragimov
(76KG) Mogamed Abdulkadirov & Rizvan Rizvanov
(83KG) Abduzhalil Adilov
(91KG) Gadzhimurad Abdullaev
(+91KG) Ruslan Abdulaev & Abdurakhman Bilarov
#4 BATTLE FORCE TEAM
(60KG) Nariman Mynbayev
(65KG) Atakeldy Esetov
(70KG) Bolatbek Sailkhan
(76KG) Nurbek Talbudin & Magjan Maratkhan
(83KG) Magomed Djarbaev
(91KG) Alibi Orazbek
(+91KG) Pouya Rahman
SEMI-FINAL 1: TEAM MODOLFO DEFEATED BATTLEFORCE VIA 7X0
– Dante Leon def. Talbudin Nurbek via wristlock in R1
– Felipe Machado def. Nariman Minbaev via RNC in R1
– Izaak Michell def. Magomed Djarbaev via points
(R1 – 4×0, R2 – 0x0, R3 – 0x0)
– Gabriel Sousa def. Bolatbek Sailkhan via points
(R1 2×0, R2 0x0, R3 0x0)
– Dan Manasoiu def. Pouya Rahman via inside heel hook in R3
(R1 0x0, R2 2×2, R3 …)
– Giancarlo Bodoni def. Alibi Orazbek via points
(R1 3×0, R2 6×0, R3 0x0)
– Kauã Gabriel def. Atakeldy Esetov via decision
(R1 0x0, R2 0x0, R3 0x0)
SEMI-FINAL 2: ACAI REPUBLIC DEFEATED UNIVERSAL FIGHTER 4×3
– Kennedy Maciel def. Gairbek Ibragimov via RNC in R3
(R1 3×0, R2 2×0, R3…)
– Mogamed Abdulkadirov def. Ygor Rodrigues via decision
(R1 0x0, R2 0x0, R3 0x0)
– Magomedbek Temeev def. Felipe Nacib via points
(R1 0x0, R2 8×0, R3 0x0)
– Anton Dmitrakov def. Ruslan Abdulaev via kneebar in R1
– Dominic Mejia def. Zaur Akhmedov reverse triangle in R2
(R1 2×0, R2 …)
– Johnatha Alves def. Rizvan Rizvanov via kneebar in R1
– Gadzhimurad Abdullaev def. Henrique Cardoso via decision
(R1 2×0, R2 2×3, R3 0x0)
3RD PLACE: UNIVERSAL FIGHTERS DEFEATED BATTLE FORCE 5X2
– Magomed Djarbaev def. Abduzhalil Adilov via inside heel hook in R1
– Atakeldy Esetov def. Mukhammad Shakhbanov via armbar in R1
– Abdurakhman Bilarov def. Pouya Rahman via DQ (slam) in R1
– Magomedbek Temeev def. Nariman Mynbayev via points
(R1 0x0, R2 0x0, R3 0x0)
– Gadzhimurad Abdullaev def. Alibi Orazbek via points
(R1 0x0, R2 0x0, R3 3×0)
– Rizvan Rizvanov def. Magjan Maratkhan via short choke in R1
– Gairbek Ibragimov def. Bolatbek Sailkhan via points
(R1 2×0, R2 0x0, R3 3×0)
FINAL: TEAM MODOLFO DEFEATED ACAI REPUBLIC VIA 5X2
– Mica Galvão def. Ygor Rodrigues via RNC
– Dominic Mejia def. Kauã Gabriel via points
(R1 0x0, R2 0x0, R3 2×0)
– Dan Manasoiu def. Anton Dmitrakov via inside heel hook in R1
– Felipe Machado def. Felipe Nacib via armbar in R2
(R1 3×0, R2 …)
– Kennedy Maciel def. Gabriel Sousa via anaconda choke in R3
(R1 2×0, R2 2×0, R3 …)
– Dante Leon def. Johnatha Alves via triangle in R2
(R1 0x0, R2 …)
– Giancarlo Bodoni def. Henrique Cardoso via arm-in guillotine in R1
(R1 0x0, R2 …)
