AJP Newsletter May 2024: Your monthly recap of the highlights from all over the world

June 2, 2024

Steady in its mission of helping Jiu-Jitsu and its practitioners to continue evolving through competition, AJP has completed another stellar month of tournaments and successfully kicked off the 2024/2025 season with a bang in Abu Dhabi. Now, as we stand midway through the year and start looking to its latter half, let's take a moment to go over the highlights of the month of May.

Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour Abu Dhabi 2024: Champions rise in the opening of the season

Taking place from May 10th to 12th, the ADGS Abu Dhabi marked both the tour's return to the AJP's birthplace and the beginning of the 2024/2025 season. Given the scale of this tournament, it comes as no surprise that some of the main names in the competitive scene made their way to the UAE, seeking to taste the glory that can only come from becoming a champion in the golden sands of Abu Dhabi.

Standing as the tournament's highlights, the Professional black belts took the stage on the very last day and awed everyone with their displays of strength and technique. In the 56kg division, Theyab Alnuaimi scored a narrow 5-4 against Gevorg Arutyunyan in the final, while Khaled Alshehhi got the better of Kalel Santos to become the 62kg champion.

Diego "Pato" Batista showed used his technical know-how to outscore Dzhimsher Razmadze in the 69kg final, Lucas Protasio beat Luiz Paulo Medeiros to reach the top spot of the 77kg podium, and Uanderson Ferreira choked the fight right out of Pedro Silva to take the 85kg title. The 94kg division saw Jackson Sousa rise as its champion after beating Luiz Henrique Betta, and in the heaviest division, Felipe Bezerra managed to beat his longtime rival Yatan Bueno.

On the women's side, Diana Teixeira outscored Brenda Larissa for the 49kg title, Ariadne Oliveira scored last against Beatriz Campos to take the win in the 55kg final, Julia Alves used an armbar to submit Yara Kakish and take the 62kg gold, Rafael Bertolot scored 2-0 against Gabriele Schuck in the last match of the 70kg division, and lastly, Isabely Lemos outmaneuvered Maria Carolina Vicentini to become the 94kg champion.

AJP Tour Russia National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Black belts conquer the gold in Moscow

On May 1st, the Dvorets Igrovykh Vidov Sporta Sodruzhestvo welcomed contenders from all corners of the world to fight for the title at the Russia National. With the Elite of Jiu-Jitsu putting on another stellar showing, the tournament was a treat for both athletes and fight fans.

In the gi, Alexander Redvanov scored last in a 3-3 tie against Iurii Kuznetsov to take the 77kg title and Vladimir Blium submitted both of his opponents to conquer the 120kg podium. Meanwhile, on the No-Gi side, Iurii Kuznetsov made his way back to the battlefield and took the 77kg gold after a well-balanced duel against Mazhid Kurahov, while Марат Курбанов quickly submitted Dmitrii Vostrikov to become the 120kg champion.

AJP tour Doha International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Arthur Silva and Julia Alves stand out in Qatar

On May 17th, the Doha International made its way into the Al-Gharaffa Stadium Indoor Hall for an afternoon of fighting, welcoming local and foreign competitors of all ages and graduations to show their skills and rise to the top of their respective weight divisions.

Fighting in the Professional category, two Brazilian black belts spared no effort and used all their technical know-how to conquer the gold. In the 77kg division, Arthur Silva went all out from the beginning and overwhelmed Magomed Abdurashidov early on, locking the winning submission at the one-minute mark.

Another highlight in the tournament was GFTeam's Julia Alves. Facing Asma Alhosani in the 62kg final, Julia tapped into all the experience she accrued while fighting abroad and used her Jiu-Jitsu to take and maintain the lead in the scoreboard, earning her gold medal with a sound 7-3 score.

UPCOMING: ADGS Istanbul, Nationals, Regional, and Internationals

After setting the bar pretty high with its latest edition in the UAE, the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour is now headed to make history once again, hosting its first-ever tournament in Turkey. Set to take place between June 7th and 9th, the ADGS Istanbul will bring athletes of all ages and graduations to the Basaksehir Genclik ve Spor Ilce Mudurlugu Tesisleri, Istanbul for three days of intense competition, so make sure to go to TX7.ae to watch every second of the action live!

This month will also bring the usual batch of AJP tournaments to many countries around the world. In June, the Nationals will be held in Montenegro (June 8th), The Netherlands (June 8th), Spain (June 9th), Argentina (June 15th-16th), The US (June 15th), Kuwait (June 21st-22nd), India (June 22nd), Romania (June 22nd), Tajikistan (June 30th).

With a Regional taking place in the Kazakh city of Aktobe between June 22nd and 23rd, here's the list of the upcoming Internationals for June: Houston (June 8th), São José (June 9th), No-Gi Mexico (June 15th), Durban (June 15th), Kastav (June 22nd), Goiânia (June 30th).