Weekend Recap: Five tournaments bring the AJP action to the world

June 10, 2024

While the ADGS celebrated its 10th anniversary in Istanbul with memorable duels over the course of its three days of competition, the AJP maintained its usual weekend tournaments around the world. This time around, the organization brought Nationals to the Netherlands, Montenegro, and Spain, while the Internationals were held in the US and Brazil. Without further ado, let's check out the highlights from each championship.

AJP Tour Netherlands National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Black belts take the gold in Eindhoven

On Saturday, June 8th, colored and black belts were welcomed at the Indoor Sportcentrum Eindhoven to show their skills and fight for the gold at the Netherlands National. Highlighting the tournament, the Professional Black Belt category brought many thrills and gifted fight fans with three divisions jam packed with action.

Starting on the men's side, the locals Remo Corstjens (Checkmat International) and Stefano Van Bovene (Satsang BJJ Rotterdam) went toe-to-toe in the 94kg division final, which saw the former completely dominate his opponent during the five minutes of regulated time and emerge victorious by a whopping 15-0 score. Meanwhile, the Belgian Paulo Silva (Gracie Barra Anderlecht) got yet another title in the AJP, showcasing his techniques to outscore Mexico's Jorge Lagos (Bujutsu) by 9-0.

On the women's side, Raquel Santos (Cantagalo Jiu Jitsu London) entered the Open Heavyweight division determined to seize the title for herself. Her campaign first led her to butt heads with Giselle Leite (Checkmat International) and Raquel wasted no time in scoring eight points before ultimately submitting with a little over one minute on the clock. Then, in the final, Raquel went up against the Dutch Merel Van Leeuwen (Checkmat International) and, like her first match, got a quick submission to become the champion. It's worth noting that, on the following day, Raquel made her way to Turkey and put her skills to good use yet again, this time taking the under 70kg division gold at the ADGS Istanbul.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Houston International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Austin Oranday keeps the double gold in the US

On that same Saturday, the Zone Sports Complex opened its doors for the Houston International, welcoming athletes of all ages and graduations to put the AJP mats set up in the venue to good use while they sought to show the fruits of their training in an internationally-recognized stage.

Fighting in his homeland, the American Austin Oranday (Oranday Bros Jiu Jitsu) went above and beyond in his campaign, conquering not one but two gold medals in the tournament. Fighting with his gi in the 94kg division, Austin faced the Brazilian João Pedro Menezes (ADMA) in a very well-balanced final, with neither fighter able to land a winning submission during the regulated time. When the clock ran out, a narrow 2-1 score gave Austin his first title.

Later on, Austin returned to the battlefield, this time to fight without his gi in the 85kg division. This time around, his opponent was Brazil's Henrique Barreto (Gracie Barra) and the fight was even more challenging than the previous one, with both athletes struggling to land even a single point during five minutes of combat. The decisive moment wouldn't take too long to come around though, as Austin found the chance to land the defining point after thirty seconds into the Golden score. With a hard-earned 1-0 on the scoreboard, Austin Oranday got his second gold medal and ended the competition in high spirits.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Montenegro National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Nikola Perovic conquers the double gold in Podgorica

Still on Saturday, the Montenegro National landed at the Bemax Arena for an afternoon of high-level competition in one of Europe's youngest countries. The tournament welcomed competitors from all corners of the world, but the highlight was Nikola Perovic (Mata Leao A-Force BJJ Montenegro), a local black belt who attained double gold in the Professional category.

Nikola's journey began fighting with his gi in the 94kg division. Facing the Romanian Mihai Buidan (MatSide BJJ Romania) in the gold round, Nikola left no room for doubts when it came to his skills and, after the five minutes of regulated time, emerged victorious with an 11-0 score to make his first trip to the top of the podium.

After taking his first gold, Nikola still had enough gas left in the tank to race after another achievement, so the athlete took off his gi and made his way back to the 94kg division. After beating the Turkish Devran Tuzla (Mellivora BJJ Academy) by 9-0 in the semifinal, Nikola once again found himself going up against Mihai Buidan in the final round and decided to go full throttle from the start, scoring five points and then submitting with a little over one minute on the clock.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Spain National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Jonas Andrade and Matheus Vetoraci conquer the double gold in Barcelona

On Sunday, June 9th, athletes from all corners of the world flocked over to the Poliesportiu Municipal Virrei Amat in Barcelona for another chance to accrue valuable points in hopes of leading the AJP's global ranking. With six fight areas and competitors of all ages and graduations, the tournament had no shortage of exciting duels, with two Brazilian black belts rising above their peers with performances that earned them the coveted double gold.

Fighting with and without the gi in the 69kg division, Jonas Andrade showed his prowess in the Spain National. Starting in the gi, Jonas first submitted the Spaniard Carlos Anguita (Carlson Gracie Canarias) in the semifinal and then got a 4-0 win over Roger Rodrigues (Gullo Jiu-Jitsu) to take his first title. In the No-Gi bracket, Jonas faced his fellow countryman Fabricio Cunha (Amazon Dojô) in a brief match that ended with the former landing a winning submission in under 30 seconds.

Another highlight in the tournament was Matheus Vetoraci (Blvckout Grappling), who fought twice against the local Francisco Santana (Werdum Combat Team France) to reach his goal. First, in the gi, Matheus completely dominated his foe, scoring a whopping 19-0 to make his first trip to the top of the podium. The rematch without the gi, however, was something else entirely, with Francisco proving to be much more proficient this time around. Regardless, Matheus kept his momentum and managed to land the decisive point, conquering the double gold with a narrow 1-0 score.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour São José International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Professional black belts pursue the gold in Brazil

Still on Sunday, the São José International was a beacon that attracted athletes of all ages and graduations, with the competitors making their way to the Centro Multiuso in the Brazilian state of Santa Catarina.

Once again, the Professional Black Belt category did not fail to deliver memorable performances to fight fans as each of its players sought the top of their respective podiums. In the 69kg division, Israel Pacheco (TJJ School) took the gold after outscoring both Diomar dos Santos (Milioli Jiu Jitsu) and Henrique Kleinhans (Sylvio Behring Association), while Luis Menezes (Checkmat International) got a 6-3 win over Alan Aleixo (OCSJJ) and a 13-0 triumph over Lucas Silva (PSLPB Cícero Costha) to conquer the 77kg gold.

In the 85kg division, Aldo Junior (Piazza Dellariva) got the top spot on the podium after a 6-4 against João Machado (New BJJ School), and Matheus Dauria (The Match Champ) first submitted Enzo Andrade (Milioli Jiu Jitsu) and then scored 10-0 over Thiago Macedo (Start Doing) to become the 95kg champion. Last but not least, on the women's side, Victoria Ulrich (Rilion Gracie) submitted Sabrina Sousa (Gracie Barra) in the semifinal and outscored Patricia Ferreira (Piazza Dellariva) by 4-2 in the final to take the 70kg division gold.

Check out the full results here!