NOVEMBER 16, 2024, ABU DHABI, UAE. The final stage of the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Tour (AJP) is finally behind us after an epic edition of the World Pro, one of the biggest Gi-Jiu-Jitsu events in the sport and the biggest in this global federation seeded in the United Arab Emirates. As usual, this tournament provides the final points to its winners and helps elect the top-ranking athletes of the season.
Running somewhat parallel to the IBJJF circuit, the AJP has been successful at building its own set of stars by creating a highly competitive league with tournaments all over the world, including big numbers outside of the mainstream (USA/Brazil), setting itself as the alternative to the IBJJF, whose tournaments focus mainly in two countries and a scarce few events in Western Europe. The AJP’s relentless pace has set roots in many lesser-known BJJ hubs such as Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa, expanding Gi BJJ to a wider front.
Despite the continued progress in other areas of the globe, Brazilians still heavily dominate the sport, particularly in the Gi ruleset. This event did nothing to disprove that claim as the South Americans took all but one of the gold medals on offer at the Adult Black Belt division. This lone disruptor was none other than Canada’s Lillian Marchand of Atos BJJ, a brown belt no less, who competed in the mixed brown and black female division at 70 kilograms. Marchand earned her brown belt in June and has hit the ground running, showing she deserves to be among the best athletes in the world at her weight class by submitting 3 out of her 4 opponents this week.
Cicero Costha Academy alumni dominated the lighter-weight classes. Although many of his pupils have moved on from the legendary gym in Sao Paulo to pursue solo careers, Costha’s champion factory was very visible on the mats through the wins of Thalison Soares (56-kg gold), Jonas Andrade (56-kg bronze), Jefferson Fagundes (62-kg gold), Yuri Hendrex (62-kg bronze), and Thiago Macedo (70-kg gold), all of whom poured flair and experience on those Mubadala Arena mats this week.
Also worthy of none were the local UAE-based athletes. Some were United Arab Emirates nationals like Zayed Alkatheeri, Khaled Alshehi, Mohamed Alsuwaidi, and Omar Alfadhli, who all had 5-star performances and showed the UAE has some of the best jiu-jitsu in the world. Others were athletes built in the AJP circuit, who have been based in the Middle East for most of their careers, despite being Brazilian Nationals. Athletes like Jefferson Goteu and Uanderson Ferreira showed beautiful jiu-jitsu from start to finish. Below are the results of the main matches and medals at the Professional Level of the black belt division.
MATCHES BY NUMBERS:
– 241 matches total
– 174 in the male division
– 67 in the female division
– 80 submissions, overall (33% sub rate)
– 61 in the male division (35% sub rate)
– 19 in the female division (28% sub rate)
2024 AJP WORLD PRO CHAMPIONS:
56KG: Thalison Soares (BRA)
62KG: Jefferson Fagundes (BRA)
69KG: Thiago Macedo (BRA)
77KG: Lucas Protasio (BRA)
85KG: Uanderson Pereira (BRA)
94KG: Fellipe Andrew (BRA)
120KG: Felipe Bezerra (USA)
49KG: Grasielle Brandao (BRA)
55KG: Maria Luisa Delahaye (BRA)
62KG: Sarah Galvao (BRA/USA)
70KG: Lillian Marchand (CAN)
95KG: Yara Soares (BRA)
MALE, 56KG
Quarter Finals:
– Zayed Alkatheeri def. Omar Alsuwaidi via 9×8
– Rafayel Kostanyan def. Gevorg Arutyunyan via 9×9
– Thalison Soares def. Jonas Andrade via 1×0
– Samat Aitpanbet def. Marko Oikarainen via 3×2
Semi-Finals:
– Thalison Soares def. Samat Aitpanbet via 5×1
– Zayed Alkatheeri def. Rafayel Kostanyan via Armbar
Final:
– Thalison Soares def. Zayed Alkatheeri via 8×6
3rd Place:
– Jonas Andrade def. Omar Alsuwaidi via 6×6
MALE, 62KG
Quarter Finals:
– Yuri Hendrex def. Stefano Bui via 6×0
– Jefferson Fagundes def. Gonzalo Oliva via 3×2
– Enrique Guerrero def. Azat Myrzabekov via 6×1
– Khaled Alshehi def. Nariman Mynbayev via 8×1
Semi-Finals:
– Khaled Alshehi def. Enrique Guerrero via 5×2
– Jefferson Fagundes def. Yuri Hendrex via Submission
Final:
– Jefferson Fagundes def. Khaled Alshehi via 7×6
3rd Place:
– Yuri Hendrex def. Gonzalo Oliva via 1×0
MALE, 69KG
Quarter Finals:
– Diego Sodre def. Omar Alfadhli via 2×1
– Mohamed Alsuwaidi def. Francisco Macabe via Submission
– Toth Zoltan def. Dzhimsher Razmadze via Submission
– Thiago Macedo def. Noah Lim via 50/50 armbar
Semi-Finals:
– Thiago Macedo def. Toth Zoltan via 5×1
– Mohamed Alsuwaidi def. Diego Sodre via 2×2
Final:
– Thiago Macedo def. Mohamed Alsuwaidi via 2×1
3rd Place:
– Omar Alfadhli def. Florian Bayili via 4×0
MALE, 77KG
Quarter Finals:
– Jefferson Goteu def. Iurii Kuznetsov via Cachecol choke
– Lucas Protasio def. Alberto Guzman via 3×1
– Pedro Ramalho def. Ali Abualhaj via Submission
– Pierpaolo Chiappe def. Abdallah Allam via 3×2
Semi-Finals:
– Pedro Ramalho def. Pierpaolo Chiappe via Straight ankle lock
– Lucas Protasio def. Jefferson Goteu via 2×2
Final:
– Lucas Protasio def. Pedro Ramalho via 2×0
3rd Place:
– Jefferson Goteu def. Artem Kaygarodov via 5×3
MALE, 85KG
Quarter Finals:
– William Dias def. Bruno Lima via 3×2
– Inelton Bombo def. Pedro Cadete via Armbar
– David Cartwright def. Charlie Adorian via 2×1
– Uanderson Ferreira def. R. Shihshabekov via Choke from back
Semi-Finals:
– William Dias def. Inelton Bombo via 5×3
– Uanderson Ferreira def. David Cartwright via Choke from back
Final:
– Uanderson Ferreira def. William Dias via 5×5
3rd Place:
– Bruno Lima def. R. Shihshabekov via 9×0
MALE, 94KG
Quarter Finals:
– Fellipe Andrew def. Adrian Sebastian via Violin armlock
– Henrique Betta def. Catriel Oliveira via decision
– Roberto Dib def. Stanislav Varshavskiy via 6×2
– Renan Cruz def. Harry Loseby via 3×1
Semi-Finals:
– Fellipe Andrew def. Henrique Betta via 3×2
– Roberto Dib def. Renan Cruz via 9×2
Final:
– Fellipe Andrew def. Roberto Dib via 9×0
3rd Place:
– Fawaz Haddadin def. Julian Mercado via 10×0
MALE, 120KG
Quarter Finals:
– Felipe Bezerra def. Fawaz Haddadin via Verbal tap
– Tacio Carneiro def. Gilberto Ferraz via 12×3
– Anton Seleznev def. Paulo Brasil via 1×1
– Vladimir Blium def. Thiago Borges via 3×2
Semi-Finals:
– Felipe Bezerra def. Tacio Carneiro via 7×6
– Anton Seleznev def. Vladimir Blium via 2×0
Final:
– Felipe Bezerra def. Anton Seleznev via 5×0
3rd Place:
– Tacio Carneiro def. Benjamin Sehic via 3×2
FEMALE, 49KG
Quarter Finals:
– Grasielle Brandao def. Diana Teixeira via 3×0
– Yasmyn Castro def. Lilit Danielyan via Triangle armlock
– Sonia Ariz def. Shouq Aldhanhani via Bow and arrow
– Rosangela Teixeira def. Anastasiia Leonovich via 2×0
Semi-Finals:
– Sonia Ariz def. Rosangela Teixeira via 2×2
– Grasielle Brandao def. Yasmyn Castro via decision
Final:
– Grasielle Brandao def. Sonia Ariz via 2×1
FEMALE, 55KG
Quarter Finals:
– Maria Delahaye def. Maria Luisa via 1×0
– Mongoljin Ganbaatar def. Olesia Zhuravleva via 1×0
– Asma Alhosani def. Adriana Mejia via Submission
– Lina Grosset def. Miranda Galban via 1×0
Semi-Finals:
– Maria Delahaye def. Mongoljin Ganbaatar via DQ
– Asma Alhosani def. Lina Grosset via 2×1
Final:
– Maria Delahaye def. Asma Alhosani via 2×0
3rd Place:
– Miranda Galban def. Olesia Zhuravleva via 3×2
FEMALE, 62KG
Quarter Finals:
– Tamara Toros def. Laura Virtanen via 7×0
– Violeta Angelova def. Zara Di Tofano via 8×0
– Sarah Galvao def. Natalia Zumba via 18×0
– Rafaela Bertolot def. Joanna Zabulewicz via Kimura
Semi-Finals:
– Sarah Galvao def. Rafaela Bertolot via 1×0
– Tamara Toros def. Violeta Angelova via decision def.
Final:
– Sarah Galvao def. Tamara Toros via 5×0
3rd Place:
– Rafaela Bertolot def. Violeta Angelova via 3×0
FEMALE, 70KG
Quarter Finals:
– Sabatha Lais def. Ingridd Alves via decision
– Giovanna Carneiro def. Anna Remneva via Armbar
– Lillian Marchand def. Emily Eyles via Choke from back
– Denise Krahn def. Marwa Alhosani via Kneebar
Semi-Finals:
– Lillian Marchand def. Denise Krahn via submission
– Sabatha Lais def. Giovanna Carneiro in a friendly match between teammates
Final:
– Lillian Marchand def. Sabatha Lais via 1×0
3rd Place:
– Giovanna Carneiro def. Denise Krahn via Submission
FEMALE, 95KG
Round-Robin:
– Leticia Santos def. Yasmira Dias via 2×1
– Yara Soares def. Anabel Lopez via 5×1
– Yasmira Dias def. Anabel Lopez via 2×0
– Yara Soares def. Leticia Santos via 7×2
