Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London black belt champions crowned in thrilling ending of a outstanding season

March 11, at the Copper Box Arena. The adult and masters 1 black belt divisions treated the crowd to a series of thrilling gold medal matches.

Here’s a quick recap of how each weight class final played out.

56kg – On Saturday, Jose Carlos Lima once again finished the division on the top. In two matches, the Brazilian first beat João Kuraoka 4-2 in a tough match and then managed a 2-0 lead over Andrea Verdemare to take the gold medal home. It’s Jose’s fourth title in five Grand Slam events this season.

62kg – Hiago George worked hard on his top game to put pressure on Wanki Chae and eventually get a guard pass in place to go ahead 3-0 in the board to secure another gold medal in the season.

69kg – Paulo Miyao is the back to back champion. In the final he worked his way to Victor Otoniel’s back and got a choke in place to secure the gold medal.

77kg – Jaime Canuto had to work hard to secure the gold medal. After getting an armlock in place, which Marcos Paulo Costa defended for over three minutes, one advantage was the narrow lead that granted Canuto the title.

85kg – In a rematch of the division final at the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi two months ago, this time Isaque Bahiense went in the match against Charles Negromonte decided to finish it quickly. That he did with a toehold that ended the match before the halfway mark and granted Bahiense a much deserved gold medal.

94kg – In a heated match, brave Paulo Pinto went full throttle against Jackson Sousa, who was able to score a 2-0 lead early. The match went on with a fierce standing game all the way to the end when Jackson was able to land on side control and let the clock run out to secure his gold medal.

110kg – In a hair-raising six minutes, Thiago Sá and Gerard Labinski traded sweeps to build a 4-4 tie with an advantage each one as well. It came to the referees to decide the winner and the trio unanimously pointed to Thiago.