UAE Ambassador to Italy Abdulla Ali Al Saboosi, Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Professional, and the International Vision Sports Management launched the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour at the Centro Olimpico Matteo Pellicone in Rome.
Byline Khoder Nashar
Over a thousand men and women from sixty countries registered to compete in the Youth, Amateur, Professional, and Master categories in this year’s tournament in Rome, with great demand from European and international athletes, with plenty of the sport’s most prominent players participating from day one.
Among the Professional black belt athletes who registered to participate in the tournament, highlights included Yuri Hendrex, Leonardo Mario, and Jefferson Fagundes from the PSLPB Cicero Costha Academy, as well as Lucas Protasio from Checkmat, and Uanderson Ferreira from the Commando Group.
Academies around the globe had their best members fighting for the top prize. Athletes who reach first place in each category earn two thousand points in Abu Dhabi’s Professional Jiu-Jitsu ranking system.
One of the tournament champions, Brazilian black belt Thiago Barreto (from the Emirati academy Commando Group) won the gold medal in the Masters category under 69kg.
Discussing his win, Thiago thanked the UAE and organisers for their efforts in bringing it all together.
“I am looking forward to earning the highest points in all rounds of the championship, especially since it is an opportunity for us as players to compete and interact with the strongest names and stars in the world of Jiu-Jitsu. I would like to thank the UAE and the tournament organizers for facilitating registration procedures and providing the best competitive environment in all tournaments,” says Thiago.
On the Women’s side, the standouts were Fratres’ Yara Nascimento, GFTeam’s Julia Alves, and DreamArt’s Ingridd Sousa and Ana Rodrigues.
Brazilian Ariadne de Olivera (brown/black belt) from Al Ain Club also commented on winning gold in the Women’s Master category under 55 kg.
“We are happy to be in this wonderful tournament in Italy. I started preparing for it weeks ago and I was completely ready to be successful in this major international event,” says de Olivera.
Commenting on the venue, Abu Dhabi Director of Operations Rodrigo Valerio says that the participation rate of the tournament is testament to its broad appeal.
“Over the past ten years, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Championship has succeeded in presenting itself as the largest destination for Jiu-Jitsu players from around the world, and the large turnout witnessed by each round of the tournament is strong evidence of its importance and great value,” says Valerio.
Apart from being a drawcard for professional competitors and champions, the Rome venue is located in a strategic position in Europe, which is considered a desired destination for sports tourism during this time of the year.
According to Valerio, fans can expect to witness more success in the upcoming tours, the most important of which he says is the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu World Tour, which will conclude the tournament season next May.
