Weekend Recap: AJP lands in Mexico, Peru, and China with high-profile tournaments

July 14, 2025

With the goal of expanding Jiu-Jitsu's reach and spreading its benefits to all people in the world, the AJP has become well-known as one of the most important organizations in the sport as it continued to host event after event to provide practitioners with the chance to test themselves on the competitive mats, and this weekend couldn't be any different. Bringing its mats and breathtaking tournaments to three different countries this time around, the AJP set out to host Internationals in Mexico and Peru on Saturday, followed by a Regional in China on Sunday, so let's check out the highlights from each championship.

AJP Tour Cancun International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Carlos Milord conquers the double gold in Mexico

Taking place at the Poliforum Playa del Carmen on Saturday, July 12th, the Cancun International welcomed athletes of all ages, graduations, and backgrounds to put their skills to the test and fight to become champions in the AJP.

Cue Carlos Milord, a Panamanian Professional black belt representing Panama Jiu-Jitsu Academy who completely stole the spotlight in the competition as he competed twice in the 69kg division and conquered the coveted double gold. Starting in the gi, Carlos ended up going toe-to-toe with the local Luis Gonzales (Flow Art Academy) in the final, with the former's technical prowess putting the latter on the defensive most of the time. For his part, Luis managed to fight back at times and even scored, but Carlos just landed point after point and, when the match ended, a comfortable 9-2 score gave the Panama athlete his first title.

Not long after, Carlos returned to the battlefield and joined the No-Gi 69kg division, entering a three-man bracket with the Americans Thomas Fisher (Gracie Barra Playa Del Carmen) and Aidan Collins (Team Marcelo Pereira) to fight for his second gold medal. After Aidan beat Thomas by 6-0 in the first round, Carlos took the stage and swiftly gave the Gracie Barra athlete his second defeat, going all-out from the start to quickly overwhelm his opponent and land a submission with less than 30 seconds on the clock. In the final against Aidan Collins, which started out slower as both sides measured each other up, Carlos once again used his technique to end the bout early, seeing his opportunity early on and locking the winning submission around the two-minute mark to return to the top of the podium.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Piura International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Black belts become champions in Peru

Still on Saturday, the Piura International landed in the Universidad de Piura for an afternoon of exciting battles as foreign and local athletes went at each other for gold, glory, and 600 global ranking points.

Highlighting the event, the warriors from the Professional Black Belt category took the stage and had fight fans on the edge of their seats as they showed the world what it takes to make it at the highest competitive level. In the 69kg division, Jeremias Echevarria (Outer Heaven) faced Bruno Carrillo (JFC Almeida JJ) in a battle of locals and emerged victorious with a 2-0 score, while the Peruvian Alfonso Estrada (JFC Almeida JJ) used his technical prowess to submit his compatriot Rodolfo Malo (Guardians BJJ) in less than thirty seconds to become the 77kg champion.

Up in the 85kg division, the Brazilian Luiz Santos (Team Predador International) completely dominated his Ecuadorian teammate Tony Santillan in the final, scoring a whopping 16-0 before ultimately submitting around the four-minute mark. With all athletes representing Team Predador International, the 120kg bracket saw Ecuador's Adrian Almeida go through teammates from the same country to reach the gold, first outscoring Patricio Loor by 2-0 and then landing a submission on Emilio Andrade in the final. In the No-Gi 120kg division, the Mexican Juan Albarello (Team Predador International) rose as the champion after beating the local Angelo Cappelletti (Checkmat International) by 3-1, and the Ecuadorian María Barriga (Team Predador International) became a double champion after beating her Argentine teammate Victoria Garay twice in the 95kg division, taking her first win in the gi by 3-1 and then doubling down with a submission to climb the No-Gi podium.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour North China Regional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Valter Lima and Yefei Zhang become double champions in Tianjin

On Sunday, July 13th, the North China Regional took over the Wuqing Sports Center in Tianjin and welcomed competitors from all over the world to show their skills in the AJP mats, giving locals the chance to compete without spending money on travel while also providing the perfect opportunity for foreigners to visit the Asian country and see the sights through the eyes of Jiu-Jitsu.

Among the many athletes who rose as champions in the event, the Professional brown belts Valter Lima (Irmandade Jiu Jitsu Carlos Lima) and Yefei Zhang (Atrixion Combat Sports) stood out as they showed incredible prowess by conquering their respective weight classes and, most notably, the Black Belt Open Weight divisions. Hailing from Brazil, Valter Lima started his campaign in the 62kg division, beating the local Daping Fan (Gracie Barra Shunyi) by 10-1 to take his first gold. He then made his way to the Open Lightweight division, kicking off the bracket with wins over his compatriots Jean Colares (The Real Freedom Jiu Jitsu School) and Wellington Christiano (TigerShark) to head to the final. In the last match, Valter found himself face-to-face with the local heavy hitter Xiaosong Shi (Kuzushi BJJ) but kept his cool and unleashed his game, scoring multiple times throughout the bout and taking his second title with a 5-2 score.

The Chinese Yefei Zhang was no less impressive, first competing in the Master 1 category and putting on a dominating display against his compatriot Jiaan Zou (Gracie Barra) to take the 94kg division title via submission after putting the scoreboard at 14-0. Hungry for more after climbing the podium, Yefei entered the Open Heavyweight bracket and once again showed his high level of technique, submitting the Brazilian Anthony Eduardo (The Real Freedom Jiu Jitsu School) in the semifinal and entering a final against Weiyi Yu (EFL). With no submissions in the last match, the duel took up the entirety of the regulated time but was still pretty one-sided from start to finish, with Yefei imposing his game and scoring repeatedly while Weiyi struggled to keep up and avoid his opponent's advances. At the end of it all, a whopping 13-2 score gave Yefei the win and his second gold medal.

Check out the full results here!