NOVEMBER 12, 2017 – Sunday was the final day for UAEJJF’s Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Rio de Janeiro. Arguably the most packed event in the 4 world stops of the tour (the other being LA, Tokyo and London), with a adult black belt division filled to the brim with high end grapplers, from legends such as Celso Venicius, Alexandre Ribeiro to established athletes such as Jaime Canuto and Adam Wardzinski to the new school of Brazilian athletes, which included a few high profile debuts – the biggest, that of IBJJF 2017 World Championship brown belt silver medalist Gustavo Batista (AKA Braguinha) of the New School Brotherhood.
BRAZILIAN NEW SCHOOL AT LARGE
The tournament proved BJJ is very much alive in the city that propelled it out of anonymity with good displays of grappling, although also a lot of 0x0 pts matches and referee decisions – common to 6 minute bouts. Among all the talent shown on the mats, the big winner of the event was the new generation of grappling athletes being developed in the region, particularly in Rio de Janeiro and the neighbouring state of Sao Paulo. José Carlos Lima (GFT), Hiago George, Rafael Mansur, Joao Paulo Neto, Hugo Marques, Gustavo Batista, Isaque Bahiense, Guilherme Augusto, Patrick Gaudio, Claudia Doval, Ana Carolina, Amanda Monteiro all made it to the finals, all being part of this new golden generation and all putting on amazing displays of skill + composure.
POLISH UPSETS BRAZILIAN RULE
One of the big names to come out of the tournament was the recently promoted Leandro Lo black belt Gerard Labinski (referenced last week by BJJ Heroes as one of Europe’s rising stars – here). The Polish super-heavyweight made his debut this weekend, taking on the Brazilian establishment and winning the 110 kg division without conceding one single point. Arguably the big upset of the black belt division #polskapresja.
Below are the results for the finals and 3rd place matches. Some of the divisions went 6 bouts deep, so for individual matches please check the grapplers bios.
56 KILOGRAMS
Final – José Carlos Lima defeated David Herrera by 1 advantage (0x0 pts)
3rd Plc – Juan Lopes defeated José Filho by 2 advantages (0x0 pts)
62 KILOGRAMS
Final – Hiago George won in a friendly match with teammate Joao Miyao
3rd Plc – Tiago Barros defeated Pedro Dias by 2 advantages (0x0 pts)
69 KILOGRAMS
Final – Joao Paulo Neto defeated Rafael Mansur by triangle choke
3rd Plc – Fernando Vieira defeated Victor Moraes by 5×2 pts
77 KILOGRAMS
Final – Hugo Marques defeated Ricardo Rocha by 2×0 pts
3rd Plc – Jaime Canuto defeated Samuel Dias by referee decision (0x0 pts)
85 KILOGRAMS
Final – Isaque Bahiense defeated Gustavo Batista by 1 advantage (0x0 pts)
3rd Plc – Ruan Oliveira defeated Luis Neves by DQ
94 KILOGRAMS
Final – Patrick Gaudio defeated Guilherme Augusto by split referee decision (0x0 pts)
3rd Plc – Alexandre Ribeiro defeated Dimitrius Souza by 2×0 pts
110 KILOGRAMS
Final – Gerard Labinski defeated Igor Silva by 1 advantage (0x0 pts)
3rd Plc – Guilherme Costa defeated Igor Schneider by referee decision (0x0 pts)
55 KILOGRAMS – female
Final – Amanda Monteiro defeated Mayara Abrahao by 2×0 pts
3rd Plc – Gabriela Fechter defeated Thauany C. by 2×0 pts
62 KILOGRAMS – female
Final – Beatriz Mesquita defeated Bianca Basílio by 6×0 pts
3rd Plc – Juliana Maira (bracket of 3)
70 KILOGRAMS – female
Final – Ana Carolina Vieira defeated Thamara Silva by slide in choke from back control
3rd Plc – Renata Moreira defeated by Glaucia Braga 2×0 pts
90 KILOGRAMS – female
Final – Claudia Duval defeated Heloisa Ferreira by referee decision (0x0 pts)
3rd Plc – Samela S. defeated Brenda Heller by 5×0 pts
