AJP Asia Continental: Who are the names to look out for in the Professional category

September 13, 2024

Landing at the Mubadala Arena, in Abu Dhabi, between September 13th and 15th, the AJP Tour Asia Continental Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024 has all the makings of another stellar competition in the organization's history, drawing local and foreign athletes to the mats with the promise of the 1400 global ranking points in addition to the gold and glory of becoming a champion in the AJP.

Taking over the tournament's last day, the Professional category is always a sight to behold. But while the purple and brown belts have a lot to show on the battlefield, the spotlight truly belongs to the Elite of Jiu-Jitsu, men and women who tie their black belts and join the fray to put on memorable duels for the attending crowd and fight fans who follow the competition at the TX7.com platform. Without further ado, check out the black belt highlights from the Professional category below.

In the under 56kg division, the Emirati Haitham Hanawi returns to the mats after battling in the Master division to face the Armenian Rafayel Kostanyan and the Brazilian Altamir Junior in the bracket. In the under 62kg division, Khaled Alshehhi and Theyab Alnuaimi, both from the UAE, will represent Al Ain Jiu-Jitsu against Brazil's Welison Fernandes, Finland's Marko Oikarainen, and Oman's Abdullah Khamis.

The Georgian Dzhimsher Razmadze will have his work cut out for him in the 69kg bracket as he faces strong Brazilians such as Jefferson Fagundes, Giovanny Nascimento, Rony Fialho, and Rerisson Gabriel. In the under 77kg division, Jefferson Goteu and Lucas Protasio will once again share a bracket in the AJP, with names like Ali Monfaradi and Adriano Araújo joining the bracket to fight for the gold.

Uanderson Ferreira comes as the favorite in the under-85kg division after a stellar campaign at the ADGS Moscow earlier this month. The Emirati Naser Albreiki is another dangerous name in the bracket, which will also feature Jonatham Silva and Lucas Giraud, from Brazil. Meanwhile, in the under 94kg division, Luiz Henrique Betta, Renato Cardoso, and Saif Alhimany come as the strongest contenders for the title, while Felipe Bezerra, Matheus "Tá Danado" Xavier, Paulo Silva, and Vladimir Blium are the powerhouses of the 120kg bracket.

In the women's category, Diana Teixeira, Shouq Aldhanhani, Asma Alhousani, Rafaela Bertolot, Violeta Angelova, Dayane Bazzoni, Marwa Alhousani, Yara Kakish, Nikki Lloyd-Griffths, and Marcelle Cantanhede are the names to look out for on this year's edition of the Asia Continental.