Weekend Recap: Black belts shine in the AJP Rio de Janeiro International

November 18, 2024

While the ADWPJJC 2024 reached its final stretch in the UAE, the AJP decided to keep the action going around the globe and gave athletes a chance to compete in South America. Held last Friday and Saturday, November 15th and 16th, the AJP Tour Rio de Janeiro International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024 landed at the Riocentro arena and gave competitors of all ages and graduations the chance to hone their skills and test themselves while fighting to conquer the top of their weight divisions.

With the first day reserved for the Youth athletes, the second and last day of the competition opened the battlefield for more experienced warriors, with the black belts from the Professional category taking the spotlight with their techniques and memorable duels. Starting on the men's side, the 62kg division saw Cleberson da Silva (MOD UAE) outscore both Alberto Souza (GFTeam) and Matheus Guimarães (Gracie Kore) to take the title, while Anderson Trindade (Gracie Kore) scored 5-0 over Lucas Pascoal (Carlson Gracie) in the semifinal and then submitted Leonardo Silva (Nova União) to climb the 69kg podium. Up in the 77kg bracket, Rosil Filho (Gracie Kore) got a narrow 5-4 win over Arthur Carvalhães (GFTeam) followed by a submission victory against Joacy Junior (MOD UAE) in the gold round, while Pablo Cruz (Nova União International) submitted both Antonio Cunha (Game Fight) and Fernando Peixoto (Game Fight) before scoring 3-1 over Ruan Oliveira (GFTeam) to become the 120kg champion.

Moving on to the women's brackets, Thaynara Silva (MOD UAE) entered the 70kg bracket and took control of her final against Tácia Eloah (Geração UPP) in Riocentro. The match took up almost the entirety of the regulated time, with Thaynara scoring multiple times and giving her opponent no chance to do the same before she landed a winning submission in the last minute of the match. Also taking place at the tournament, the 95kg division saw Natacha Silva (Gracie Barra Rio de Janeiro) go toe-to-toe against Mell Rangel (Geração UPP) for the title. While there were no submissions this time around, Natacha was still dominant in the match, using her technical prowess to complete her transitions and rack up quite the advantage on the scoreboard. When the clock ran out, an 11-1 score gave Natacha the win and the title of champion in the AJP.

Check out the full results here!