A Brave New World: How the ADGS explored new frontiers in 2024

January 14, 2025

Since its inception, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour has been one of the most important tournaments in the AJP roster, carrying the organization's values and commitment to the sport to athletes all around the world. With its scope widening over the years, the tour has grown even bigger in 2024, visiting three brand-new locales and proving that Jiu-Jitsu's influence continues to grow.

Starting last April, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rome was the penultimate ADGS of the 2023-2024 season. Taking place at the Centro Olimpico Matteo Pellicone, in Italy, the event was held between April 13th and 14th, featuring athletes from all ages and graduations. On the last day of the competition, the Professionals showed their skills and had fight fans in awe, with Diego Pato taking the gold after a solid campaign, Matheus Vetoraci scoring at the last second to beat Uanderson Ferreira in the final, Felipe Bezerra using his pressure to reign over the heaviest division, and Ana Rodrigues becoming the champion after a masterful submission.

Fast forward to June and the tour broke new ground yet again, bringing the first-ever Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Istanbul to open the 2024-2025 season. Held between June 7th and 9th at the Basaksehir Genclik ve Spor Ilce Mudurlugu Tesisleri, in Turkey, the tournament gave athletes not only a great chance to rack up valuable ranking points early on in the season, but also a unique opportunity to make history alongside the tour. On the last day of the competition, the black belts from the Professional category did their thing and completely stole the spotlight, with Asma Alhousani bringing the crowd to the edge of their seats as she beat the favorite Alexa Yanes, Lucas Protasio beating Jefferson Goteu for the title, Thiago Macedo taking another win in his rivalry with Thiago Marques, and Rafaela Bertolot putting the pedal to the metal and submitting Julia Alves in the first minute to take the gold.

Closing 2024 with a bang, the tour made its way to China and gifted fight fans with the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Xi'An between October 18th and 20th. Bringing the ADGS action to the Shaanxi Sports Training Center, the competition featured athletes from all over the world, each one eager to be a part of the competition's history while facing and overcoming some of the toughest competitors that the international scene has to offer. Among the tournament's highlights, Haithan Hanawi showcased his technical prowess as he overcame Jose Filho, Artem Kaygarodov went all-out and landed a leglock on Daniel Soares with less than a minute on the clock, Catriel Rodrigues got the title after outscoring Wallace Costa, Lina Grosset added another gold to her collection after beating Yin Yi Wang, and the local Jiedan Xu represented her homeland as she took the top spot on the podium from Candy Heng.

With 2024 in the rearview mirror, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour now gears up for another stellar year of competition, starting with a return to Italy. Taking place between February 21st and 23rd, the ADGS Rome 2025 will bring the tour back to the Centro Olimpico Matteo Pellicone for another memorable tournament, with Amateurs competing on the first day, Youths and Masters on the second, and Professionals showing their skills on the third and final day. The registration window for the event closes on February 17th, so don't waste any more time and save your spot on this year's first ADGS.