ADGS Moscow: Amateurs show their mettle on the tournament's first day

August 30, 2024

The wait is finally over. Starting this Friday, August 30th, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Moscow 2024 took over the Sports Academy Dinamo in the Russian capital, welcoming athletes of all ages and graduations to climb the mats and test their skills to earn the 2000 ranking points and the coveted title of ADGS champion.

Opening the competition, the Amateur category was the first in line to race for the gold in Moscow. Comprising white and blue belts, the group made up for its lack of experience with sheer grit and fierceness as each athlete clashed against one another to advance in their respective brackets. With these rookies putting on a great show at the very start of the tournament, it's safe to say that the sport's future is looking bright, so check out below the highlights from the ADGS Moscow 2024's first day.

Under 69kg - Dibir Isimov vs Fedor Kozhin

The under 69kg division was a thrilling ride from beginning to end. On one side of the bracket, the local Dibir Isimov (M.O.D UAE) made his way to the final submitting Ilya Kuzmin (Strela Team) in the semis halfway through the match. On the other side, the Russian Fedor Kozhin (Strela Team) made a flawless campaign as he submitted both Makar Kolesnikov (Kristian Cestaro Jiu Jitsu Association) and his teammate George Vasilyev. With both competitors coming from victories via submission, the gold round promised to be yet another high-octane bout and it didn't disappoint, as Dibir quickly seized the advantage in the scoreboard with a 2-0 and then managed to submit Fedor around the two-minute mark, taking both the win and the division title.

Under 77kg - Salih Magomedaliev vs Matvey Malakhov

Entering a stacked bracket, the Russian Salih Magomedaliev (Eagles BJJ) had four fights to win before he could call himself the under 77kg champion. After scoring two wins in the bracket, Salih advanced to the semifinals and again showed his technical prowess by facing and defeating the Algerian Rezki Amir Abdelali (Checkmat International) by an 8-2 score. His final opponent would be another Russian athlete, as Matvey Malakhov (Fight & Fitness) found his way to the gold round after defeating Maksim Golubey by 6-0 in the quarters and Jassim Alhatem (Kuwait Jiu-Jitsu Academy) by 4-1 in the semis. The last match of the under 77kg division was a balanced affair until it wasn't, with both athletes quickly tying at 2-2 on the scoreboard and Salih ending matters with a timely submission almost at the three-minute mark.

Under 120kg - Daniil Chaika vs Nikolay Voropaev

In a bracket with only Russian athletes, Daniil Chaika (Kristian Cestaro Jiu Jitsu Association) completely dominated the battlefield and conquered the gold after a flawless campaign. Starting in the semifinal, Daniil went up against Roman Falkov (Strella Team) in a match that lasted almost the entirety of the regulated time, with the former quickly seizing the lead on the scoreboard and landing a whopping 17-0 score before ultimately submitting his adversary in the final moments of the bout. Facing Nikolay Voropaev (Strela Team) in the gold round, Daniil unleashed his Jiu-Jitsu yet again and was once again unstoppable, scoring 14-0 against Nikolay and landing a submission around the three-minute mark to seize his rightful place atop the podium.

With the first day completed, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Moscow 2024 now gets ready to welcome the Youth and Master categories to the mats this Saturday, August 31st. Watch every second of the action on the TX7.com platform, and follow @ajptour on social media to be the first to know about the greatest tournaments in the international competitive scene.