Brazil: Rio de Janeiro has hosted the opening round of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam (ADGS) Jiu-Jitsu World Tour on Friday, drawing large crowds to see the competition. There are 2,000 warriors from all over the world competing over three days at the Carioca Arena. The youth division has some formidable opponents.
Because of the popularity of Jiu-Jitsu in Brazil and the enormous number of practitioners, the ADGS Rio de Janeiro is both the most competitive and the largest in terms of participant numbers compared to prior editions.
Leading off the first day of play, the UAE’s Commando Group squad, who finished fourth with 35,000 points, outperformed other foreign clubs and academies in the Youth category.
The Professional category matches, which will include the sport’s most seasoned practitioners, including brown and black belt holders from the UAE, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, and other nations, will wrap up the ADGS Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.
Rodrigo Valerio, Director of Operations at the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Professional (AJP), said that the championship, held in Brazil for its tenth season in 2024-2025, is seeing record participation featuring stars from outside Brazil.
He reaffirmed that the tournament is a great chance for practitioners all over the world to hone their craft, emphasizing the AJP’s dedication to giving Jiu-Jitsu fans a world-class athletic experience.
Black-belt masters of the men’s category displayed incredible achievements on the mats during the matches on Saturday. Emerson Cassio and Deeysson Cardoso were well matched in the under 56kg division of the Master 1 category. Emerson pulled off a thrilling comeback, closing the score at 9–7 to claim the lightweight title in his native nation.
Leo Alves introduced a very technical style of Jiu-Jitsu to the under 62kg division for the featherweight final. The Brazilian athlete defeated the Chilean, Nicolas Ponce, three times to win.
ADGS Rio de Janeiro Highlights
- Thiago Macedo won the under 69kg gold with a narrow 1-0 victory over Thiago Marques.
- Luan Carvalh defeated Lucas Barros 6-1 in the under 77kg final.
- Lucas Laet Moutinho edged Manoel Junior with a golden score decision in the under 85kg division.
- Leandro “Baião” Santos secured the under 94kg title with a 2-0 win over Jackson Sousa.
- Felipe Bezerra quickly defeated Juan Bitterncourt in the under 120kg category.
- Alexa Yanes took gold in the under 55kg women’s Master 1 division.
- Andreia Cavalcante won the lightweight final in under a minute.
- Elen Tito triumphed 7-0 over Barbara Brito in the under 70kg final.
- Carla Leal claimed the Master 1 heavyweight gold after a close golden score battle with “Karlona” Albuquerque.