ADGS Tokyo: Professional Black belts rise as champions in the Land of the Rising Sun

January 14, 2024

On its third and last day, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour Tokyo 2024 went the extra mile to put on a show that fights fans would not forget anytime soon. This Sunday, January 14th, the Professional finals took place at the Ota Gymnasium as athletes put their skills and training to the test in the birthplace of martial arts.

As always, the Black Belt category was a standout, with each warrior showing why they number among the sport's elite. When the finals came around, each competitor climbed the mats with unwavering resolve as they reached for the top of the podium, regardless of favoritism. Check out below how each of the Professional Black Belt finals went down and click here for the full results!

Men's GI / Black / Professional

56kg - Omar Al Suwaidi vs. Welison Fernandes

Omar Al Suwaidi conquered his first major gold as a black belt. Opening the ADGS Tokyo finals, the Emirati went up against Welison Fernandes, who came as the favorite for the 56kg division. Putting a lot of pressure on top, Omar controlled the flow of the battle and before long took the points he needed to seize the win and take aim at the upcoming ADXC 2.

62kg- Khaled Alshehi vs. Marcos Froede

Another gold medal for Khaled's record. In his duel against Marcos Froede, which was fought down to the tiniest details with an intense sweep exchange, Khaled came out on top with a 7-6 score.

69kg - Diego Batista vs. Mohamed Al Suwaidi

Diego "Pato" Batista once again conquered the ADGS throne and opened 2024 with a gold medal. After landing the score at 1-1 for lack of combativeness from both Pato and Mohamed Al Suwaidi, the former used a berimbolo spin and went up to increase the score to 3-1. From the top, Pato applied a lot of pressure, but Mohamed managed to stop the Brazilian's advances, with Pato earning another point for almost passing the guard. When the battle ended, a 4-1 score secured a victory against Diego Pato in Tokyo.

77kg - Lucas Protasio vs. Myke Ohura

Lucas Protasio gained some important points for his race toward the top of the global ranking. In his duel against Myke Ohura, Lucas put pressure and used his opponent's waist to land a takedown, only earning a single point for the dangerous move. Lucas then maintained the pressure while Myke attempted to take the lead with attacks from the guard, but the score remained unchanged and Protasio took the title by a 1-0 score.

85kg - Pedro Silva vs. Pedro Neto

In a battle between two athletes with the same name, the 85kg division final saw Pedro Silva "Bolo" go up against Pedro Neto for the gold. After the double pull, Neto quickly went up to start ahead on the scoreboard with a 1-0. Silva responded with a sweep to seize the lead, then sliding to the side, and took the back to land the winning submission. With the rear naked choke locked tight, Pedro Silva took his place atop the podium.

94kg - Marcos Carrozzino vs. Luiz Betta

A difficult battle between Carrozzino and Betta, with intense grip exchanges throughout the match. In the Golden Score, after the match restarted with the fighters standing up, the referees talked over the radio and decided to disqualify both competitors.

120kg - Gutemberg Pereira vs. Matheus Xavier

Gutemberg and Matheus had a tough battle ahead of them. After landing a 1-1 score during the regulated time, the match went into Golden Score and Gutemberg saw his chance, reaching the side and attempting a back take to earn the deciding points that made him the 120kg division champion.

Women's GI / Brown/Black / Professional

49kg - Mayssa Bastos vs. Diana Teixeira

In her duel against Diana Teixeira, Mayssa showed her favoritism in the 49kg division. Diana started the match by sweeping and controlling well from the top, but Mayssa found enough room for a berimbolo spin and almost passed. Near the end, Mayssa took complete control of the flow of the battle, sweeping and then taking the back to close the score at 10-4 and take the gold in Japan.

55kg - Alexa Yanes vs. Pnina Aronov

Another high-profile title for Alexa Yanes in AJP. Facing Israel's Pnina Anorov, Alexa first attacked the foot and then spun to take the back, locking a modified bow and arrow choke that left Pnina unconscious on the mat. With the submission, Alexa took the 55kg division gold.

62kg - Julia Alves vs. Gabriela Pereira

An intense fight between Julia and Gabriela in the 62kg final. After both sides received a penalty due to lack of combativeness, Julia went up and put pressure to reach the north-south position without stabilizing, landing only a single point. Now with the lead, Julia took a tactical approach and focused on avoiding Gabriela's attacks until the clock ran out. With a 2-1 score, Julia Alves reached the top of the podium.

70kg - Izadora Silva vs. Rafaela Bertolot

Izadora Silva rose as the champion in the 70kg division, if only because of a small detail. After Rafaela put pressure to pass the guard, a standing Izadora attacked with a loop choke, prompting the former to spin to avoid the submission. However, the spin landed Rafaela outside the fight area, which cost her a penalty, and placed Izadora in the lead with the 2-0 score she needed to take the win.

95kg - Tayane Porfirio vs. Maria Vicentini

A balanced match between Tayane and Maria for the 95kg division gold. Maria went for the takedown, but Tayane countered with a takedown of her own to put the scoreboard at 2-0. Without slowing down, Maria attempted many attacks from below, but Tayane deftly avoided all of them and maintained pressure on top without giving her opponent the chance to earn a single point. The 2-0 score landed Tayane the victory and the gold medal in Tokyo.