AJP NEWSLETTER JANUARY 2024: YOUR MONTHLY RECAP OF THE HIGHLIGHTS FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD

February 1, 2024

After almost a month of hiatus, the AJP is back! Going full throttle from the get-go, the organization decided to kick off the return of its stellar tournaments with the explosive Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo, keeping the action going throughout the month with both Nationals and Internationals and setting the tone for the coming weekends. So, before we march into February, let’s take a moment to check out the highlights of January!

Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour Tokyo 2024: Professional black belts take the gold in Japan

On January 13th and 14th, the ADGS made its long-awaited return to the Land of the Rising Sun, setting up its battlefield on the Ota Gymnasium and giving athletes of all ages and graduations a reason to travel to Japan and fight for a chance to rise in the rankings early on.

In the men’s side, the 56kg and 62kg divisions saw Omar Al Suwaidi and Khaled Alshehi going above and beyond with their techniques to outscore their opponents and become champions, While Diego Pato used his berimbolo and put pressure to take the 69kg title. Meanwhile, Lucas Protásio landed a takedown and kept his adversary in check to climb the 77kg division podium and Pedro Silva locked a tight rear naked choke to reign over the 85kg bracket. In the heaviest weight division, Gutemberg Pereira faced a tough battle and ended up seizing the win and the 120kg title in the golden score.

As for the women’s side, Mayssa Bastos completely dominated the 49kg final and added another high-profile victory to her record, while Alexa Yanes used a bow and arrow choke to submit her way to the 55kg gold. Julia Alves and Izadora Silva both used the scoreboard to respectively seize the 62kg and 70kg division titles and last but not least, the powerhouse Tayane Porfírio used her arsenal of techniques to outscore her opponent and climb the 95kg podium.

AJP Tour Guaratuba International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Henrique Russi dominates his opponents and conquers the triple gold

On January 21st, AJP landed in the Brazilian state of Paraná for one of its first Internationals of the year. As usual, many competitors made their way to the venue in hopes of seizing the win and racking up some points for their respective rankings, but the Professional black belt Henrique Russi managed to steal the spotlight at the tournament as he went on a rampage and dominated every one of his opponents on his journey to the triple gold.

Representing Checkmat International, Henrique started off in the 85kg bracket, where he first submitted Cezar Bernardo and then scored 15-0 against Thales Barkmann to reach the final, where a submission against Jocimar Tarczewski would land him his first title of the day. It wasn’t long before he returned to the mats, as he joined the race for the No-Gi 85kg gold, a goal he achieved by submitting Thiago Silva and then scoring 11-0 against his teammate Rafael Felippi.

Still hungry for more, Henrique found his way to the Open Heavyweight division, ready to once again unleash his winning Jiu-Jitsu and take down any adversaries as he rose through the bracket. As it turns out, Henrique had a sole challenger for the title, Arena BJJ’s representative Nilson Almeida, and both men went toe-to-toe with the Open Weight title on the line. Henrique once again was unstoppable, scoring 12-0 against Nilson and climbing the podium for the third and final time that day.

UPCOMING: February brings No-Gi Grand Prix, Nationals, and much more!

The second month of the year has a lot of competitions in store for athletes all around the world, but the biggest one this time around is the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix No-Gi which takes place in Barcelona. Scheduled to take place at the Poliesportiu Municipal Camp del Ferro on February 10th, the tournament is the perfect chance for competitors who like fighting without the gi to earn a good amount of points early in the season, so don’t wait any longer and save your spot in this event as the registration window closes on February 5th.

On the National side of things, the AJP will be traveling to quite a few countries both on the first and last weekends of the month. From February 2nd to the 4th, the UAE National returns to the Mubadala Arena, while the Slovakia National lands at the Sportová Hala on February 3rd and the Brazil National takes over the Ginásio Paulo Sarasate on February 3rd and 4th. Then, the Bosnia and Herzegovina National takes place at the Hotel Hills Sarajevo on February 24th, the Colombia National shakes up the Palacio de Los Deportes on February 24th and 25th, and the Australia National promises a day of action at the Whitlam Leisure Centre on February 25th.

It's worth noting that this month will also feature Regionals in Siberia (February 3rd-4th) and South Russia (February 24th-25th), while Luanda hosts a Festival on February 17th. Last but not least, here’s the list of the Internationals that will take place this month: Bangkok (February 3rd), Maintal (February 3rd), Guarapari (February 4th), Gramado (February 4th), Bishkek (February 4th), Barcelona (February 10th), Bologna (February 11th), Amsterdam (February 17th), Lima (February 17th-18th), Astana (February 17th-18th).