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

May 1, 2025

With four months down and eight to go until the end of 2025, the AJP continues bringing high-end Jiu-Jitsu tournaments to countries worldwide as it aims to further spread the sport while also giving its practitioners all the tools they need to live from it. The month of April has been one of the busiest yet, with the ADGS making landfall in the UK, the explosive debut of the Abu Dhabi Grappling Grand Prix in Moscow, and the usual batch of competitions that light the fires of competition in every corner of the planet. With May signaling the end of the 2024-2025 season, let's take a moment to go over the highlights from April.

Abu Dhabi Grand Slam London 2025: Professional black belts take another step toward the top of the ranking in the UK

Held at the Copper Box Arena between April 11th and 13th, the ADGS London took over the UK and welcomed athletes from all over the world as they sought to conquer the coveted ADGS gold medal and the 3000 global ranking points that came along with it. The tournament was kicked off by the Amateur category on the first day, followed by Youths and Masters on the second, and then the Professional category on the third day of the competition.

Taking the stage alongside talented purple and brown belts, the black belts of the Professional category made their way to the UK with some of its toughest representatives, with each of them more than ready to unleash their Jiu-Jitsu and reach the top of the podium. Starting with the men, Omar Alsuwaidi got the better of Bruno Borges by 5-2 to take the 56kg title, Khaled Alshehhi almost passed Yuri Hendrex's guard and controlled the match to come out on top of the 62kg division with a 1-0 score, and Sebastian Serpa swept thrice to put the scoreboard at 7-5 and defeat the favorite Thiago Macedo in the 69kg weight class. Up on the 77kg division, Lucas Protasio got a narrow 1-0 win over his rival Jefferson Goteu, while Uanderson Ferreira trumped Rui Neto via decision in the 85kg final and Jackson Sousa landed a tie-breaking seoi nage to beat Luiz Henrique Betta by 4-3 and take the 94kg gold. In the 120kg division, Fellipe Andrew became the champion after a crushing victory against Wesley Silva, first sweeping and then passing straight to the mount twice to end the match with a whopping 17-2 score.

Over on the women's side, Diana Teixeira scored last in a 1-1 tie to beat Flavia Soares to the 49kg title, Laurie Rocha launched a loop choke attempt at the last second of the 55kg final and earned the point needed to beat Elizabeth Genge, and Julia Alves took the win with 5-4 score after a balanced match against Stephanie Faure for the 62kg gold. Giovanna Carneiro locked a winning footlock against Thamara Silva in the first few minutes of the final to become the 70kg champion, and the fearsome Yara Nascimento added another title to her extensive collection after using her pressure and technique to outscore Magdalena Loska by 4-0 in the 95kg division final.

Abu Dhabi Grappling Grand Prix World Tour Moscow 2025: Locals show their skills and grit at the tournament's debut in Russia

Coming at the latter end of the month, the Abu Dhabi Grappling Grand Prix made its long-awaited debut in the Russian capital of Moscow, landing at the Sambo 70 venue on April 20th for an entire day of high-level competition between local powerhouses.

With a unique and dynamic rule set that focuses on aggressiveness while also employing a 10-point system scored by three judges at the end of each match, the ADGP competitors can only take the win via submission or decision, making each battle that much more explosive as they seek to submit and impress at every moment, with some of the most memorable duels coming in the +18 divisions. Starting with the men, Magomed Shakhbanov got a decision win over Aleksey Velichko in the 65kg division, while Nikolai Vetrov locked a winning heel hook on Gairbeg Ibragimov to become the 75kg champion. Up on the 85kg and 95kg divisions, Magomed Djarbaev and Ilya Poyarkov came out on top of their respective finals via forfeit after powerful campaigns through their brackets, and Eldar Malicovich landed a vicious first-round leglock on Said Avturkhanov to conquer the 125kg gold medal.

On the women's side, Alina Kopeikina mounted and locked a katagatame on Sofya Samsonova to take the 55kg title, Olesia Zhuravleva choked out Aleksandra Kozlova in the 65kg final to become the division champion, and Aleksandra Plemiashova got the better of Tatyana Aleksandrova in the first round with a tight heel hook to take the gold in the 95kg division.

AJP Tour Dubai International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Professionals take the gold in the UAE

Landing at the Shahab Al Ahli Club between April 4th and 6th, the Dubai International set the tone for the remainder of the month as it brought a lot of action from competitors of all ages and graduations across the five fight areas set up at the venue.

Staking their claim to the battlefield on the last day of the tournament, the black belts from the Professional category made their way to the mats and proceeded to dial the action all the way up to eleven, fighting tooth and nail to seize victory in the birthplace of the AJP. In the 62kg division, Bruno Borges got the title after submitting Carlos Samboni and outscoring Felipe Fernandes, while Rony Fialho reigned over the 69kg division after beating both Yendy Cuadrado and Guthiery Melo. Jefferson Goteu had his technical prowess as he outscored Fernando Aparecido on his way to the top of the 77kg podium, Jonatham Silva landed a points win against Lucas Giraud in the 85kg final, Renato Cardoso defeated Vahid Vazirian and Uanderson Ferreira to become the 94kg champion, and Dennis Souza outscored Sviatoslav Ognev and Catriel Fernandes to take the gold in the 120kg division.

Meanwhile, the women's bracket had Layza Rodrigues submitting both Moldir Mekenbayeva and Roama Correa for the 55kg title, Leticia Wambier winning via points against Maria Gabriela Almeida and Raphaella Andrade to become the 62kg champion, Thamara Silva getting the three taps from Marwa Alhosani and Olha Chaliuk to reign over the 70kg division, and Stefhanie Costa outscoring Geovana Malta to take the lead in the 95kg division.

UPCOMING: ADGS Abu Dhabi, ADGP Vienna, Nationals, and much more!

After traveling the entire world with its explosive tournaments, the time has come for the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour to return home to the UAE. Set to take place between May 16th and 18th, the ADGS Abu Dhabi makes its way to the modern Mubadala Arena to close the 2024-2025 season with a bang, welcoming Amateurs and Masters on the first day, Youths on the second, and then Professionals on the third and final day of the event. With the registration window set to close on May 12th, the competition is the perfect chance to score some late points to climb the rankings, so don't waste any more time and save your spot alongside the heroes of the season.

Also coming this month, the next chapter of the Abu Dhabi Grappling Grand Prix takes the brand-new tournament to Austria for another explosive event. Taking place at Sporthalle Lieblgasse on May 25th, the ADGP Vienna welcomes athletes of all grappling martial arts to put their skills to the test against one another, offering a dynamic rule set and points system that allows each competitor to fully unleash their fighting styles on the way to the top. Registration remains open until May 19th, so register now to face some of the toughest warriors in the world.

As usual, the month of May also features the usual batch of AJP tournaments coming each weekend. Starting with the Nationals, the organization makes its way to Uzbekistan on May 10th and 11th, Croatia on May 17th, Costa Rica on May 18th, China on May 24th and 25th, Cyprus on May 25th, and Georgia and Paraguay on May 31st. On the Regional side, athletes will be able to compete in South Angola on May 3rd, Dornogobi on May 8th, Erlian on May 10th and 11th, Volga on May 18th, and Central Asia on May 31st.

Finally, here's the list of Internationals for the month of May: Tacna (May 3rd), Milan (May 4th), Bern (May 17th), Comodoro Rivadavia (May 17th), Stockholm (May 17th), Sevilla (May 18th), Vienna (May 24th), Mosquera (May 31st), Niš (May 31st).