Abu Dhabi Grand Slam: Andre beats Najmi, Satoshi; Xande, Arges, Bia, Nathi win big on day 2
The second and final day of the Abu dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour, this Saturday, January 14, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, offered all the thrills the crowd was hoping to experience. World class Jiu-Jitsu was displayed by some of the best black belts in the world as they fought as hard as they could to win each division and also secure their share of over US$150,000 in prizes.
Both men and women put on a show worth of the IPIC Arena, an awesome setting for the gentle art. Here’s how each of the weight classes in the adult male black belt division and also in the adult female brown/black belt division played out.
Male – Adult Black Belt
Pictures: Ane Nunes/Gentle Art Media
62kg – Hiago George fought twice this Saturday on his way to the gold medal. First he finished Jean Pereira in the semifinals and then had a tough final against Japan’s Tomoyuki Hashimoto. In the end, one advantage was a big enough lead for Hiago to cash the US$ 3,000 check.
69kg – Isaque Paiva worked hard in three matches to become the division’s champion. First he caught Johnny Crispim in an armbar, then outscored João Bosco in the semifinal to meet Tiago Bravo in the gold medal match. A sweep, followed by a back take and a choke was the recipe for Paiva to celebrate the title.
77kg – In the most star-studded division of the event, Brazil’s Marcio Andre first finished Fernando Neto, then met no other than Edwin Najmi in the semifinal. In a tough match, André Swept twice to outscore his American rival 4-0. On the other side of the bracket, Roberto Satoshi first finished Raphael Mello with a triangle and then caught Alexandre Cavalieri with a choke from the back. The final was close and in the end André had a 3-1 lead on advantages thanks to two near guard passes and a near sweep.
85kg – Gabriel Arges went two for three to win the gold medal and the cash prize. He finished Marcos Costa from the back, then outscored Jaime Canuto 3-0 on advantages and made it to the final. For the gold medal, Arges was on fire and worked his way to Matheus Souza’s back to sink the choke and secure the victory.
94kg – Xande Ribeiro collected his second gold medal this season in the Grand Slam with two finishes in three matches. First he caught Thiago Pessoa with a kimura. Then he finished Basel Fanous in the semifinal. The gold medal match was against Adam Wardzinski. Xande built a 4-0 lead on advantages to win the gold medal.
110kg – In two matches, Jose Junior made his way to the top of the podium. First he outscored Mauricio Lima in the semifinal and then he caught Jiddu Lemos with a kimura in the final to win the title.
Female – Adult Brown/Black Belt
55kg – Talita Alencar won another gold medal in the Grand Slam with three wins in three matches. First she beat Maxine Thylin 2-0 and then choked Katsuja Horman from the mount. In the final, Talita met the very tough Japanese black belt Rikako Yuasa and a 1-0 lead on advantages was enough to secure the title.
62kg – Bia Mesquita feels right at home in Abu Dhabi, as she once again rose to the top of the podium. In two matches, she stretched Larissa Silva’s leg to make it to the final and meet familiar rival Luiza Monteiro, who had choked Natalia de Souza from the back in her semifinal. The gold medal match was short lived, as Bia worked her way to Luiza’s back and got a choke in place for the gold medal and the US$ 2,250 cash prize.
70kg – Ana Carolina Vieira repeated the performance she had two months ago, in Rio de Janeiro. In two matches, she finished both her opponents. First she caught Priscilla Santos with a katagatame and then put an Ezekiel choke from the mount in place to beat Brenda Heller in the final.
90kg – Nathiely de Jesus fought only once to conquer the division. She faced Vanessa de Oliveira in the final. Vanessa had outscored Gessica Fontoura 1-0 on advantages in the semifinal. The gold medal match was a thrilling one and in the end Nathiely was able to capture Oliveira’s back to get the lapel choke in place and get the tap.
In the Master black belt division, the highlight was Davi Ramos winning the Master 1 85kg division with a choke from the back on Mauricio Antunes. Click here for the complete results.
The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu returns on March 18, in London, England, to finish the 2016/2017 season. Click here to know more and to register to compete in the UK.
Three events of the 2017/2018 season already have their dates set. Tokyo will host the Tour on July 16-17, then Los Angeles will be the setting on September 23-24 and finally Rio will welcome the Grand Slam on November 10-12. Click here to know more about the Grand Slam.