Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Miami: Season Opener Crowns International Roster of Champions in a Day Filled With Jiu-Jitsu Greatness
The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour is back! The 2021/2022 season kicked off this Sunday, in Florida. The ADGS Miami gathered hundreds of competitors from all over the world. All of them have the same sense of joy for being able to do what they love after such a difficult year.
The Hall at the Miami Airport Convention Center started to fill up early in the morning as athletes in the Professional and Masters divisions for purple belts, brown belts and black belts. Familiar faces and newcomers came together to compete for the glory of becoming and ADGS champion, an accolade few in the Jiu Jitsu community have.
The Professional black belt division for men and the Professional Brown/Black belt division for women featured the biggest stars of the weekend. In each weight class, they fought hard to come out as champions. Here’s how the matches played out.
Male Professional Black Belt
Light-featherweight (56kg) – Roiter Lima was able to achieve in the first event of the new season something that no athlete did in the past season. With a 7-5 lead after a very close match, Roiter beat Francisco Jonas Andrade and put an end to his winning streak in the weight class.
PODIUM
1st – Roiter Lima (Brazil)
2nd – Francisco Jonas Andrade (Brazil)
3rd – Willis Nunes (Brazil)
Featherweight (62kg) – Diogo Reis fought three times on his way to the gold medal. Always intense, he first beat Gabriel Gaudio 3-0, then faced off with Kalel Santos to win 3-1. Former champion Bebeto Oliveira was the opponent and once again the match was filled with action. A 1-0 lead made Diogo the new champion.
PODIUM
1st – Diogo Reis (Brazil)
2nd – Bebeto Oliveira (Brazil)
3rd – Keven Carrasco (Brazil)
Lightweight (69kg) – Fabricio Junior was at home. In each of the three matches he had on his way to the top of the podium, Junior had the cheer of his training partners at Fight Sports. He first finished Cristhian Cevallos, then choked Brian Machecha to meet up with former ADGS champion Thiago Macedo. A 3-2 lead was enough for Fabricio to secure the title.
PODIUM
1st – Fabrício Junior (Brazil)
2nd – Thiago Macedo (Brazil)
3rd – Israel Almeida (Brazil)
Welterweight (77kg) – If you are a welterweight, you know there are a lot of competitors in your bracket. Tainan Dalpra knew that and came to Florida prepared. In four matches, he outscored Rodrigo Gortari 15-1, finished Fabricio Barbarotti and also Caio Caetano. In the final, a friendly challenge, as AOJ teammate Jonatha Alves was the opponent. A 4-2 lead made Dalpra the champion.
PODIUM
1st – Tainan Dalpra (Brazil)
2nd – Johnatha Alves (Brazil)
3rd – Caio Caetano (Brazil)
Middleweight (85kg) – Never doubt a seasoned competitor with tons of drive. Specially if the competitor is called Jaime Canuto. He fought twice in Miami to win the gold medal. First, he beat Ricardo de Rezende 3-0 in the semifinals. The gold medal match put Canuto against Andre Porfirio and a narrow 3-2 lead secured Canuto the title.
PODIUM
1st – Jaime Canuto (Brazil)
2nd – Andre Porfirio (Brazil)
3rd – Alexandre Jesus (Brazil)
Light-Heavyweight (94kg) – Renan Cruz and João Costa were the only two athletes registered in the weight class. Cruz finished Costa in the first of two matches. The second win came via walkover.
PODIUM
1st – Renan Cruz (Brazil)
2nd – João Costa (Brazil)
Super-Heavyweight (120kg) – Mahamed Aly fought twice to become the champion. He first finished Davi Cabral with a choke and then outscored Max Gimenis 2-0 in the final.
PODIUM
1st – Mahamed Aly (Brazil)
2nd – Max Gimenis (Brazil)
3rd – Helton Silva Junior (Brazil)
Female Professional Brown/Black Belt
Roosterweight (49kg) – Mayssa Bastos was on fire! She fought twice and finished both her opponents. First she choked Jessa Khan in the semifinals and then quickly found a choke from the back to beat Abbigayle Pontes in the final.
PODIUM
1st – Mayssa Bastos (Brazil)
2nd – Abbigayle Pontes (USA)
3rd – Brenda Larissa (Brazil)
Light-Featherweight (55kg) – Ana Rodrigues is still on top. She fought twice in Miami to claim the gold medal. First she finished Jessica Branco with a kimura lock and finally beat Alexa Yanes 4-0 for the title.
PODIUM
1st – Ana Rodrigues (Brazil)
2nd – Alexa Yanes (USA)
3rd – Fernanda Figueira (Brazil)
Lightweight (62kg) – With no clear favorite, the division was open for any contender. Puerto Rico’s Alanis Santiago took the opportunity. She first finished Madeline Choconta, then beat Suellen de Souza with a narrow 3-2 lead. The final put Alanis against Brazil’s Betina Pereira. After a 1-1 tie, Alanis took the gold medal home for scoring last.
PODIUM
1st – Alanis Santiago (Puerto Rico)
2nd – Betina Pereira (Brazil)
3rd – Margot Ciccarelli (Italy)
Middleweight (70kg) – Larissa de Almeida also took her opportunity in a weight class without clear favorites. She fought three times to claim the gold medal. A 3-1 lead over Deise Leonanjo was followed by a 8-3 win over Gloria Armas. The final match was a tough contest against Melissa Cueto decided by a 1-0 lead.
PODIUM
1st – Larissa de Almeida (Brazil)
2nd – Amelissa Cueto (Brazil)
3rd – Gloria Armas (USA)
Heavyweight (95kg) – Who can beat Yara Nascimento. In Miami, no one. The Brazilian fought twice and finished both opponents. First she caught Sarah Rice with a lapel choke and finally managed an armbar against Tara White. Gold for Yara.
PODIUM
1st – Yara Nascimento (Brazil)
2nd – Tara White (USA)
3rd – Sarah Rice (USA)
Masters & Color Belts
There was tons of action outside the Professional Black Belt division. Talented competitors came from all over the world to secure their medals. After a full day of matches, here are the champions:
Male Masters Black Belt
56kg – Justin Ordinário (USA)
62kg – João Miyao (Brazil)
69kg – Osvaldo Moizinho (Brazil)
77kg – Pedro Farias (Brazil)
85kg – Gabriel Fonseca (Brazil)
94kg – Diogo Araujo (Brazil)
120kg – Gustavo Saraiva (Brazil)
Female Professional Purple Belt
55kg – Emily Nicholson (USA)
95kg – Marion Peralta (Argentina)
Male Professional Purple Belt
56kg – Gustavo dos Santos (Brazil)
62kg – Juan Jaramillo (Ecuador)
69kg – Mohamed Alsuwaidi (UAE)
77kg – João Pedro Rodrigues (Brazil)
85kg – Mahdi Khaled Al Awlaqi (UAE)
94kg – Francisco Papasidero (Argentina)
120kg – Hazza Mohammed (UAE)
Male Professional Brown Belt
56kg – Zayed Alkatheeri (UAE)
62kg – Thalys Pontes (Brazil)
69kg – Vinicius Barbosa (Brazil)
77kg – Eduardo Roque (Brazil)
85kg – Enderson Almeida (Brazil)
94kg – Cassio Costa (Brazil)
120kg – Justin Primrose (Canada)
Click here for the full results.