Amin Abbas

The third day of the 13th Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, the sport’s largest event on the global calendar, showcased intense competitive action with athletes within the Masters category taking center-stage at the six-day event.

“The sport of Jiu-Jitsu is on the rise in Abu Dhabi and the UAE, and the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship has succeeded in gathering the sport’s best competitors from all around the world. These tremendous athletes have shown us their wealth of experience on the mat today,” Secretary-General of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, Fahd Ali Al Shamsi, said.

Al Shamsi praised UAE contestants Haitham Hanawi and Mohamed Al Shehhi for their gold achievement in the Masters category and highlighted the organizational efficiency of the tournament. He also praised the achievements of the UAE athletes who achieved 6 silver and 3 bronze in two days Masters championship.

“In the UAE and through the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, our aim is to organize and host tournaments at the highest level, according to the highest international standards,” Al Shamsi said.

“What we are witnessing today is the organizational efficiency that gives us exceptional success and enables us to host more than 4,000 players from all over the world. This gives us great pride, and I would like to thank everyone who contributed to this success, especially the Federation’s partners,” he added.

Abu Dhabi was labelled “the UAE capital of the world” and credited with increasing the popularity of the sport worldwide by a number of the athletes competing at Masters level.

Brazilian athlete Pedro Duarte, a 46-year-old, won gold in the black belt Masters 4, 94kg category.

“It’s fantastic to see how Jiu Jitsu is part of the culture now – Abu Dhabi is definitely the Jiu Jitsu capital of the world. I have watched the youngsters competing, and now I see fellow local and international black belts – the sport is so widespread, it’s a pleasure to watch it grow,” Duarte said.

“Jiu jitsu is growing all over the world because of Abu Dhabi and Brazil. The country has dedicated so much to the sport and you can see the impact of this across the globe. It’s a dream for Brazilians to come here. When I visit my friends and family back home, the only thing they ask is about the tournaments here and they really resonate with the UAE and the efforts that have been put in to grow the sport,” Duarte added.

Abdullah Al Junaibi from the Oman Jiu Jitsu Academy, who won gold in the brown belt 62kg category, agreed with the comments put forth by Duarte, saying that “this is my second year in a row winning first place in this competition, it feels amazing, I feel proud and motivated to keep moving forward.”

“Abu Dhabi is the capital for Jiu jitsu. The technology, commitment, energy and professionalism are all on a different level. I feel this is the best place for a Jiu Jitsu championship and I really believe the UAE is become a leader in this sport. My plan for the future right now is to go back to Oman and keep teaching, motivating, and inspiring others to practice Jiu Jitsu. It is a sport which really benefits the individual, and in turn ultimately benefits the wider society,” Al Junaibi said.

Marina Ribeiro, a 36-year-old Brazilian living in the capital, hailed the energy of the competition after claiming gold in the Masters 1, 62kg division in brown black belt.

Ribiero, who has normally paricipitated as a a Jiu Jitsu trainer was back on the mat as a contestant for the first time in nearly six years at the ADWPJJC. The Palms Sports athlete said: “It’s amazing to win gold today. It’s great to come back to compete. To actually be able to win gold is a dream.

“Jiu Jitsu is growing so fast in the country. The number of Emiratis now involved in the sport is mind-blowing. The number of them fighting at such a high technical level is just amazing. Most of my students are Emirati and they go from 10 years old to adults. I’ve been coaching for 8 years, and the number of Emiratis involved from that time to now has grown significantly. The majority of my students are local and are girls – it’s great to see how the UAE is empowering women to partake in the sport” Ribiero added.

Jamil Semhat, who won gold in the brown belt masters 1 category at 69kg, said: “It’s incredible how the UAE can put something so high level that really attracts this kind of talent and this kind of crowd – there is truly a global presence here and the level is incredible.”

The 35-year-old Canadian, who represented Al Wasl Jiu Jitsu Club, said: “I’ve been following many of these athletes on social media for years – it’s so rewarding to compete against them or on the same mats as them. This is the good thing about Jiu Jitsu. In basketball you see sports starts but you will never play or train with them. Here, you see these amazing athletes and you are fighting against them.”

On day two, the Masters – contestants over 30 – took to the mat in the blue and purple belt categories on day two of the event which brings 4,000 contestants together for six days of high-quality competition.

UAE-based academy the Commando Group claimed the lead in the first day of the Masters category with 123,920 points, ahead of Sharjah Self-Defence Sports Club with 52,800 points, and the Checkmat International from the US in third with 44,000 points.

Mathias Engstrom was thrilled to claim gold in the Masters 2, 77kg category for purple belts, after travelling from Sweden with the Stark Jiu-Jitsu club. The 37-year-old said: “I love competing and it’s always such an energy boost coming to Abu Dhabi and competing against all these excellent competitors. I’ve been competing for about four and a half years, and I love it. It is such a professional event; the venue is fantastic and the competition is very fierce.”

Daniel Fernandez Paz, a 36-year-old purple belt from Belgium, was delighted to take gold in the Masters 1 85kg category. He said: “The last few months were very difficult for me as I have been working very hard but winning a gold medal today makes everything worth it.”

Abdulkhamid Magomedov claimed gold in the Masters 3, 85kg category at purple belt after travelling with the Abubakarova Club from the Republic of Dagestan for his second competitive contest in the UAE. The 41-year-old said: “I am proud and happy to win first place, I hope to keep competing and practicing until I reach the top and compete on an international level at black belt. Out of all the international competitions I have competed in over the years, I feel that this is the best organized, I am very impressed with this event.”

The female athletes were also battling it out on the mat at Masters level, and Bianca Antman from the All Stars Training Centre in Sweden was thrilled with gold at blue belt in the 55kg category, in her first visit to Abu Dhabi. She said: “It feels amazing to win at such an incredible event, it was so well organized and professionally run. My future plans are to win first place in all belts; I have won in white, and now in blue, so I plan on proceeding with all the belts and hopefully winning first place with every color.”

The head of state toured the arena with world-famous Jiu-Jitsu coach and compatriot Renzo Gracie, pausing for photographs with Jiu-Jitsu fans and watching the action from the Masters competitions featuring athletes in the over 30 categories, in the six-day event held under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

Al Hashemi said: “We take this occasion to thank His Excellency the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and congratulate the people of Brazil and all the Brazilian coaches and citizens residing in the UAE for their Republic Day celebrations.

“Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro is gradually expanding by holding tournaments in various states of Brazil, out of our enthusiasm to provide the best competitive environment and next level of professionalism to discover and refine talents in Brazil, given that there are nearly 2.5 million registered players in Brazil who practice this sport, and more than 20,000 special academies for Jiu-Jitsu training. We are eager to receive large numbers of Brazilian champions in the most important tournaments organized and hosted by the UAEJJF in Abu Dhabi annually.”

Gracie, one of the biggest names in the history of Jiu-Jitsu, praised the tournament organizers for this year’s event. He said: “Here, Jiu-Jitsu is everything, and to be here is a real honor. This is the best competition I have seen in my life, and the event gets better every year.”

President Bolsonaro expressed his happiness with the development of jiu-jitsu in the UAE, as well as the role of the UAE in promoting the sport in all countries of the world.

ADWPJJC action continues during the official opening on Wednesday, Nov. 16, which is when the professionals will take to the mats at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena.