Weekend Recap: AJP brings powerful competitions to Bulgaria and the US

November 25, 2024

Another solid weekend here at AJP as the organization holds steady in its mission to increase Jiu-Jitsu's reach and improve people's lives through the sport. This time around, two competitions were held in different parts of the world this Saturday, November 23rd, with a National landing in Bulgaria while the US held an International in Tulsa. Without further ado, check out the highlights from each championship below.

AJP Tour Bulgaria National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Alexandar Alexandrov keeps the double gold in Sofia

Bringing the fires of competition to the Hall Sofia, the Bulgaria National dialed the action all the way up to eleven as it welcomed athletes of all ages and graduations to the AJP mats. With 1000 global ranking points on the line for each division lead, competitors went all-in as they chased the glory of becoming champions in the organization.

Representing Bruno Bastos Jiu-Jitsu Association, the local Alexandar Alexandrov highlighted the tournament as he conquered the coveted double gold. Fighting in the 120kg division, Alexandar donned his gi and went on to face the Greek Nikolaos Tsifoutis (Checkmat International). Despite being a talented athlete in his own right, Nikolaos was unable to contain Alexandar's advances, with the latter scoring 7-0 before ultimately submitting around the halfway point of the match.

After taking his first title, Alexandar still had some fight left in him, so he took off his gi and made his way back to the battlefield, gunning for the No-Gi 120kg division. Once again, Alexandar was faced with Nikolaos Tsifoutis, but having encountered this opponent before, he knew exactly what to do. When the match began, Alexandar put the pedal to the metal and quickly overwhelmed Nikolaos, locking his second submission with less than a minute on the clock.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Tulsa International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Jake Ichinose and Jackson Schilling conquer the gold in the US

On that same Saturday, the Tulsa International landed at the Cox Business Convention Center, in Oklahoma, giving colored and black belts the chance to test and improve their Jiu-Jitsu by competing at a high level in AJP.

Highlighting the tournament, two athletes from the Professional category showcased their skills and left the competition as champions. Starting in the No-Gi 77kg division, the American black belt Jake Ichinose (Omar French BJJ) dominated his compatriots to take the gold. Facing Venn Johns (Triton Fight Center) in the semifinal, Jake was initially unable to score any points but soon enough found his chance to end the bout, submitting Venn around the two-minute mark to advance through the bracket. His last match was against Jose Loera (Jean Jacques Machado Academy), another talented opponent who ended up falling prey to Jake's attacks, with the latter submitting in the latter half of the match to take the title.

Meanwhile, in the Open Heavyweight division, the American purple belt Jackson Schilling (Omar French BJJ) beat two opponents in an American-only bracket to take the top spot on the podium. First, in the semifinal, Jackson dominated Turk Escalada (Triton Fight Center), scoring 9-0 before submitting around the three-minute mark. The gold round saw Jackson going up against Alan-Michael Chow (Lovato Jiu-Jitsu) in a very balanced duel, with both athletes remaining evenly matched throughout the regulated time and Jackson taking the win and the title with a narrow 2-0 score.

Check out the full results here!