AJP Newsletter March 2025: Your Monthly Recap of the Highlights from all over the world

April 1, 2025

Another stellar month concluded here at AJP. After starting slower with January and kicking things back into gear in February, the organization kept the action going strong in March as it hosted many tournaments in all corners of the world. Between Nationals, Regionals, and Internationals, athletes had their pick when it came to when and where to compete, giving some the chance to save up on travel expenses and others to see new and exciting places through the lens of Jiu-Jitsu. With April already here and bringing even more tournaments, let's take a moment to check out the highlights of March.

AJP Tour Australia National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Black belts take the Professional gold in Sydney

Held on March 1st at the Camellia Indoors Sports Centre, the Australia National kicked off the month in style and brought many memorable duels to Sydney, filling its fight areas with athletes of all ages and graduations as each of them sought to become AJP champions in the Oceanic country.

Often dubbed "The Elite of Jiu-Jitsu", the black belts from the Professional category highlighted the tournament with their performances as they rose through the brackets to conquer the top spot on the podium. Starting with the men, the Australian Max Ferreira used his technical prowess to overcome two opponents in his path toward the 69kg title, outscoring both Guilherme Bernardi and Ryan Silva to become the division champion. Meanwhile, the No-Gi 69kg division was conquered by Malaysia's Journ Tang, who started his campaign with a point win over Ryan Silva before locking a last-minute submission on Daniel Ung to take the gold medal.

On the women's side, the local Nikki Lloyd-Griffiths went through the 70kg division like a freight train, submitting both Miranda Okazima and Frances Bavaro to cement her rule over the bracket. Another Australian showcasing sharp skills on her way to the top was Olivia Ulman, who dominated her final against Leah Budd from the get-go before closing matters with a tight submission. Last but not least, the No-Gi 70kg division saw another Aussie champion rise as Alice Grostein showcased her strategy and technical depth to defeat Victoria Gonzales in the gold round.

AJP Tour South Korea National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Jaeyoung Lee and Igor Dziag become champions in Seoul

Taking place at the Wa-Dong Gymnasium on March 22nd, the South Korea National brought the flames of competition to the Capital of Seoul and promptly attracted colored and black belts from all corners of the world, each of them with designs of taking the gold medal and the 1000 global ranking points for themselves.

But while there was no shortage of champions, the local black belt Jaeyoung Lee managed to steal the spotlight as he climbed the 77kg bracket. With his techniques on point, Jaeyoung showcased his strategic side by outscoring Davaadorj Munkhtur, first taking the lead in the scoreboard and then using his pressure to control the semifinal until the clock ran out. In the final, Jaeyoung's skill set shone once again as he faced Semin Gil for the title, quickly taking the upper hand and becoming champion via points.

Another grand champion who rose to the top of the podium was the Polish Igor Dziag. Competing in the 85kg division, Igor proved himself unstoppable from the get-go as he used his aggressive fighting style to submit Dave Kim around the one-minute mark. Having tasted victory once already, Igor pushed himself even more in the final, putting the pedal to the metal and quickly overwhelming Seonghun Yu to lock the winning submission with a little over 30 seconds on the clock.

AJP Tour Saint Petersburg International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Ivan Popov and Tamerlan Eslemesov conque the double gold in Russia

Landing at the Platonova Academy on March 15th, the Saint Petersburg made its way to Russia and gave local athletes the chance to show what they're made of in their respective weight divisions. With gold and glory on the line, competitors of all graduations spared no efforts to overcome their adversaries and reach the top of the podium.

Fighting in the Professional black belt category, the Russian duo Ivan Popov and Tamerlan Eslemesov impressed the attending crowd as they used their skills to become double champions in their homeland. In the 77kg division, Ivan Popov took his first title by almost completely controlling his final against Leonid Garbuzov, using his technical know-how to score multiple times and take the win with an astounding 10-0 score. Later on, in the No-Gi 77kg division, Ivan returned to the mat and once again made a name for himself, first submitting Leonid Mokrinskiy and then landing a 2-1 win over Leonid Garbuzov in the gold round.

Meanwhile, the heaviest division was dominated by Tamerlan Eslemesov. Starting in the gi, Tamerlan had an intense final match against Ilia Puitlin in which he managed to score repeatedly before ending the bout with a tight submission to take his first gold. In the No-Gi 120kg division, Tamerlan returned but so did Ilia, and the two of them ended up running into each other yet again in the title match. Despite being aware of his opponent's aggressiveness, Ilia was unable to actually do much about it as Tamerlan simply went all-out from the beginning, landed four points, and got the submission with half a minute on the clock.

UPCOMING: Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Moscow, ADGS London, National, and much more!

After making its 2025 debut in Rome last February, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour is back again for more action. This time headed to the United Kingdom, the ADGS London is set to be held at the Copper Box Arena between April 11th and 13th and will gift each of its champions with a whopping 3000 points to seek the lead in the global rankings. With the registration window closing on April 7th, athletes looking to test themselves against the best in the sport should save their spot as soon as possible.

Another high-profile tournament coming in April is the Abu Dhabi Grappling Grand Prix Moscow. Set to take over the Sambo 70 on April 20th, the competition branches out from the usual Jiu-Jitsu and gives athletes from other martial arts the chance to showcase their skills and fight for the glory of becoming the ultimate champion in the AJP's No-Gi circuit. Interested? Registration for the tournament will remain open until April 14th, but there's no telling if there'll be any spots left until the end of the window, so don't take any chances and register now.

In addition to the aforementioned events, April will also feature the AJP's usual batch of tournaments. On the National side, the organization will promote a sole tournament in Qatar, with the competition making its way to the Aspire Ladies Sports Hall on April 25th. Meanwhile, the Regionals come in bulk this month, with championships in Siberia and Kavkaz on April 13th, UAE East Coast between April 19th and 20th, and South Russia on April 26th.

Finally, here's the list of Internationals for the month of April: Dubai (April 4th-6th), Fort Lauderdale (April 12th), Recife (April 12th-13th), Curitiba (April 13th), Almaty (April 19th-20th), Moscow (April 19th), Craiova (April 26th), Charleston (April 26th), Pichilemu (April 26th), and Cape Town (April 26th-27th).