World Pro Black Belt Finals Recap: Biggest Takeaway Points

 

After twelve days at the Mubadala Arena in Zayed Sports City, the 2018 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship came to a close.

The seven male black belt finals went down in front of a crowd of the passionate UAE fans. $15,000 was on the line and some of the top athletes in our sport were in action.

The black belt level was still dominated by Brazilians, with a "Brasileiro" taking home the gold in ten out of twelve weight classes. Typically, the Americans have been the next level of competition, but the performances by a pair of Europeans in the finals show the worldwide scope that jiu -jitsu has taken on.

The 77 kg male final was the only final to not contain a Brazilian, with Canadian Jake Mackenzie and Norwegian Espen Mathiesen fighting through a huge bracket to make the final. First-year black belt Mathiesen took the win with a reverse armlock from a triangle.

Felipe Pena cruises to victory in 94kg World Pro Qualifier

Felipe Pena (Gracie Barra) has won the Abu Dhabi World Pro three years in a row, but as he has been inactive so far in the 2017-18 UAEJJF season, he still needed to qualify for the 2018 tournament's main bracket on Thursday in Abu Dhabi.

Pena looked flawless on his run through the 94kg qualifying rounds at Mubadala Arena, giving up zero points and submitting two out of three opponents.

Now that Felipe has advanced to the main bracket, he will need four wins to reach the top of the podium in Abu Dhabi for a fourth straight year. The likely semifinal match will be against top-ranked Brazilian Helton Jose Junior (Cicero Costha).

ACBJJ 13 Card

 

The ACB Jiu-Jitsu promotion will be hosting its 4th event of 2018, and this time taking place on one of the busiest grappling hubs in the world today, Long Beach – California, May 5 2018.

Yet another talent filled card, this time with two mega title matches: Marcus Almeida vs Joao Gabriel Rocha at ultra-heavyweight and Leandro Lo vs Gabriel Arges at middle. The rematch between Gabriel and Leandro being one of the most anticipated clashes to be made in the sport today.

The most accomplished grappler of all time, Marcus “Buchecha” will be making his second appearance at ACB and is likely to be seen as a heavy favorite to steal the ultra-heavyweight belt from the hands of Joao Gabriel Rocha. The two have met 5 times at black belt, all clear-cut victories for the 10x IBJJF world champion Almeida. This is not to say that Rocha will be an easy target. Joao is a hard nose competitor and laying down is not in his nature.

Title matches aside, ACBJJ 13 is also bringing sub-only’s front man Gordon Ryan to the mats. The DDS member will be battling veteran grappler Vinny Magalhaes for the first time under this rule-set, albeit without the gi.

The line-up will also include other big match-ups, particularly in the 75 and 85 kilogram division given that the next title challengers might very well come from one of these matches. 

 http://jiu-jitsu.news/acbjj-13-card/

Abu Dhabi 2018 King of Mats Recap and Results

The UAEJJF crowned their first ever “King of Mats” champions in three weight classes on Tuesday, April 24 in Abu Dhabi. 

Three different divisions composed of former Wolrd Pro and Grand Slam champions battled it out at lightweight (69kg), middleweight (85kg) and heavyweight (110kg).

The competitors would first meet in two round robin groups, and then finally with a four person single elimination bracket. The winner took home $30,000, second place $10,000 and third $5,000, with extra bonus money to be awarded on for best match and best submission.

Saggioro toughs out 69kg division with perfect run

Group A: Samuel Canqueirino (UAEJJ), Jose Lima (GFTeam), Isaque Paiva (Saikoo), Hiago George (Cicero Costha), Leonardo Saggioro (BTT)

2014 World Pro champion Saggioro went undefeated in group A to finish with the top spot from this group heading into the final bracket. Paiva defeated George, Lima and Canquerino but lost to Saggioro, finishing second and advancing.

Group B: Celso Vinicius ( X Coach), Gianni Grippo (Alliance), Wanki Chae (John Frankl), Tiago Bravo (UAEJJ), Thiago Marques (Commando Group)

Three out of five athletes in this group finished with a 3-1 record, which resulted in Grippo winning the group while Vinicius finished third with a win over Grippo. The deciding factor between Marques and Celso would be Marques referee decision victory over Celso in their final match of the group.

Semi-finals

Gianni Grippo vs Isaque Paiva: Back and forth sweep battle between the two, with Grippo scoring last to take an 8-6 victory and advance to the final.

Thiago Marques vs Leonardo Saggioro: Marques would score first in this semi, but Saggioro swept back to win 2-2 with 1 advantage.

Final

Gianni Grippo vs Leonardo Saggioro: Grippo pulled guard but wasn’t able to get much going. Saggioro spent the later part of the match pressuring with a double under pass, takes the unanimous decision and the $30,000 prize.

Negromonte grinds opposition at 85kg

Group A: Andre Galvao (Atos), Jaime Canuto (GFTeam), Charles Negromonte (Roger Gracie)

All three athletes in group A went 1-1, with Canuto taking the top spot with a points win opposed to wins by advantage by Galvao and Negromonte. After beating Canuto 0-0 on advantages, Galvao would go down the same way to Negromonte shortly after. Canuto wins 2-0 with a foot sweep off a guard pull to take the group, Negromonte advances with the second spot.

Group B: Renato Canuto (Zenith), Roberto Satoshi (Bonsai), Tarsis Humphreys (Alliance), Clark Gracie (Clark Gracie BJJ)

Renato Canuto went 2-0 with a forfeit by an injured Tarsis Humphreys to take the group, Along the way he defeated Satoshi on points and hit a beautiful armlock on Clark Gracie. Satoshi hit a triangle on Tarsis for the submission and defeated Clark to finish second. A last second omoplata advantage gave Clark the victory over Tarsis.

Semi-finals

Jaime Canuto vs Roberto Satoshi: Jaime was all over Satoshi with guard passing chains to come away with a 6-0 victory.

Renato Canuto vs Charles Negromonte: Negromonte got Renato into his closed guard and controlled the match from there, eventually taking a referee decision victory, setting up a rematch with Jaime in the final.

Final

Jaime Canuto vs Charles Negromonte: Jaime looked to be in control for much of the match, Negromonte gets a late advantage for a near pass to take the 0-0 win at the buzzer. Canuto was spinning under for a leg lock when he ended up in a bad 50/50 with Charles leg on the wrong side, Negromonte would smash his way through to force the turtle and become King of Mats.

Trans emerges top dog at 110kg

Group A: Tanner Rice (Soul Fighters), Alexander Trans (GFTeam) Helton Jose Junior (Cicero Costha)

Trans goes 2-0 with Rice going 1-1 to both advance. Jose lost both of his matches 0-0 on an advantage, while Trans beat Rice 2-0.

Group B: Lucio Rodrigues (Gracie Barra), Roberto Abreu (Fight Sports), Alexandre Souza (AS Team), Andre Campos (UAEJJ Team)

Roberto “Cybrog” Abreu expectedly ran away with this group, winning all three matches to advance. Souza and Campos both went 2-1, with Souza winning the head to head matchup and getting the tie breaker.

Semi-Finals

Alexander Trans vs Alexandre Souza: Quick rib injury off a trans takedown, Souza has to forfeit and Trans advances.

Roberto Abreu vs Tanner Rice: Close battle with neither athlete able to get much going, Abreu nearly gets a throw at the end which most likely gave him the ref decision.

Final 

Alexander Trans vs Roberto Abreu: Trans looked like a man on a mission in the final, and took Cyborgs back before finishing a collar choke to become the first ever heavyweight King of Mats.

http://jiu-jitsu.news/abu-dhabi-2018-king-of-mats-recap-and-results/ 

Notable purple belts at the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu World Pro 2018

Today begins competition among purple belt divisions at the 2018 Abu Dhabi World Pro.

The champion of each weight class winning $4,000 and second- and third-place finishers taking home $2,000 and $1,000, respectively. Here's a deeper look at three of the top competitors to watch for in the purple belt ranks.

Thalison Soares

Brazil, 56kg, Cicero Costha

The Cicero Costha prodigy known as “Little Miyao” has been on a rampage at the lightest weight since getting promoted to purple belt in 2016. Already a World Pro, Worlds, European, and Pan champ at purple belt, Soares has not lost in his weight category since he was a blue belt two years ago. Soares is currently the second-ranked overall purple belt in the 2017-18 season after gold medals at the Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, and Abu Dhabi Grand Slams.

Cemil Karahan

Sweden, 94kg, Prana

Karahan recently took first in the open class at the 2018 Europeans, submitting several opponents with his trademark “Kurdish Necktie” along the way. A regular top finisher on the European BJJ scene at purple belt, Karahan’s unconventional style of hunting for subs with collar chokes from any position leaves his opponents in constant danger of getting finished.

Pedro Machado

Brazil, 85kg, Gordo

Pedro Machado burst onto the scene when he won double gold as a blue belt at the 2017 World Championships. Machado has continued this success so far at the next level, winning the medium-heavyweight division at the 2018 Pans. The 18-year-old Rio de Janeiro native is no doubt one of the most promising prospects in the purple belt divisions.

Ukrainian young fighters successfully performed at the "World Jiu-Jitsu Festival"!

Prior to the “Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2018”, which has been taking place until the 28th of April, young members of the SC “Borets” / ZR Team Ukraine have succeeded at the "World Jiu-Jitsu Festival".

The event is a part of the “Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship” and this year it was extended with additional categories, which allowed younger fighters to compete in Jiu-Jitsu tournament. Therefore, three Ukrainian fighters from the SC “Borets” / ZR Team participated in "World Jiu-Jitsu Festival" among hundreds of participants from all over the world.  As a result Kostya Zhyvanov, Nikita Petushynskyi (both 8 years old) and Vlad Danchul (11 years old) won gold medals in their divisions.

According to fighters’ coach Ievgen Skyrda, this event has allowed children to feel the competitive spirit and improve their skills. At the same time, none of the participants has stayed without award since medals were guaranteed for everyone. 

Pena & Bahiense Shine Once Again At Marianas Open

 

The Marianas Open went down in beautiful Mangilao, Guam. There was $20,000 at stake, and some of the world's most talented jiu-jitsu fighters were on hand with hopes of dethroning the two returning champions. But it would not be the challenger's day.

After besting Josh 'Wu' Jerome and Tanner Rice in the opening rounds, Felipe Pena met Checkmat representative Jackson Sousa in the final. Sousa, seemingly drained from his two previous battles with Mahamed Aly and Felipe Trovo, appeared to gas early in the match and was unable to recover a strong defensive position after an early onslaught from Pena.

The 181lb division final was a tightly contested scrap between Isaque Bahiense and Renato Canuto. The duo had several intense scrambles, but somehow Bahiense always seemed to get the upper-hand.  For his part, Canuto was exceptionally close to sweeping Bahiense off his powerful base but was unable to secure the points. Bahiense took the match, belt – and the $10,000 – by a lone advantage.

Masahiro Iwasaki has proven that he's a force to be reckoned with. He took out Gilbert Burns and Servio Tulio on his route the bronze medal in the 181lb division. Iwasaki is for real, and he is not one to be slept on. 

Servio Tulio looked fantastic in his first major gi tournament as a black belt. He beat Atos veteran Michael Liera Jr. in his opening round and went on to battle Renato Canuto and Iwasaki in very close matches.

http://jiu-jitsu.news/pena-bahiense-shine-once-again-at-marianas-open/