Weekend Recap: AJP brings tournaments to Angola, Uruguay, Colombia, and the US

August 12, 2024

Another weekend has gone by and, as always, AJP athletes had their pick of competitions to show their Jiu-Jitsu and pursue the top of the global rankings. With Nationals in Angola and Uruguay in addition to an International in Colombia and a Regional in the US, there was no shortage of action for even the most hardcore of fight fans. Without further ado, let's check out the highlights from each championship!

AJP Tour Angola National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Luís Silvestre and Gerson Sousa take the gold in Luanda

Taking place at the Clube Ferroviario de Luanda on Saturday, August 10th, the Angola National had local and foreign athletes showcasing their best skills as they sought to stand at the very top of their weight divisions. Enter Luís Silvestre (Gracie Barra Angola) and Gerson Sousa (ZR Team Association), two Angolan black belts who displayed their technical know-how as they conquered the gold.

Starting in the Professional category, Luís Silvestre went all out and conquered the 94kg title in the competition. After a narrow 2-1 win over Cabo Verde's Ricardo Brito (Z1 Academy) in the semis, Luís went on to face his fellow countryman and teammate Helio Gonçalves in the final round, scoring multiple times before landing a golden submission in the latter half of the bout.

Meanwhile, Master 1 black belt Gerson Sousa didn't take too long to reach the top of the 77kg division. Facing Aécio Mateus (Z1 Academy) in the final round, Gerson found himself evenly matched at the beginning of the match before seeing his chance to shine and locking the winning submission around the two-minute mark.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Uruguay National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Jeremias Echevarria takes the triple gold in Maldonado

Another competition taking place on Saturday was the Uruguay National, which brought colored and black belts from all over the world to fight for gold and glory at the Campus Municipal de Maldonado. On that stage, the Peruvian athlete Jeremias Echevarria (Outer Heaven) went above and beyond to conquer the coveted triple gold.

Starting in the gi, Jeremias entered a three-man bracket in the 69kg division and got a submission over the local Santiago Acosta (Sukata Central) to advance to the final. In the following match, Santiago managed a submission of his own against his fellow countryman Guillermo Freire (Ratão Jiu Jitsu Internacional) and jumped at the chance to have a rematch against Jeremias for the title. The gold round, however, played out very similarly to the previous match, with Jeremias seizing the lead on the scoreboard before taking the win via submission.

With his first title conquered, Jeremias made his way to the Open Lightweight division and got his first win in the bracket with a 2-0 over Guillermo Freire. After Guillermo submitted Santiago Acosta, both athletes met again in the final and once again Jeremias had the better of his opponent, scoring 4-0 before ultimately submitting around the two-minute mark. Later on, Jeremias took off his gi and made his way back to the 69kg division, submitting the local Simon Tschernij (Ratão Jiu Jitsu Internacional) with less than 30 seconds on the clock to crown his flawless campaign.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Bogota International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Melany Henao keeps the double gold in Colombia

Still on Saturday, fighters from all corners of the globe made their way to the Centro de Felicidad Las Cometas for the Bogota International. With athletes from all graduations flocking to the fight areas, the unexpected highlight of the tournament was the local purple belt Melany Henao (Team FCJJ Colombia), who rose to the challenge and got two gold medals in her homeland.

Facing another Colombian competitor in the 95kg division, Melany went up against Diana Milkes (Axtrition Combat Sports) in the final round. Despite having the lead for most of the match, Melany was unable to find the right opportunity to submit her opponent until the final moments of the bout, when she found a gap in Diana's armor and went in for the kill, earning her first title.

To get her second gold medal, however, Melany had to face a bigger challenge. Fighting without the gi, Melany entered the 70kg bracket of the brown/black category, in which she had to face her black belt teammate Madeline Choconta. Also from Colombia, Madeline tried to put up a fight against her opponent but Melany held nothing back and managed to score multiple times before the end of the regulated time. When the clock ran out, a 9-1 score gave Melany the win and her second trip to the podium that day.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Socal Regional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024: Sarah Galvão and other professional athletes put on a show in the US

On Sunday, August 11th, the La Costa Canyon High School in Carlsbad was the stage upon which competitors from all ages and graduations showcased their skills while seeking to become AJP champions. As always, the Professional category stole the show with each of the division leads putting on memorable performances on their way to the gold.

Such was the case of the local black belt Kalum Klausner (GFTeam), who got the coveted triple gold in his homeland. After beating both Richard Alvarez (Checkmat International) and Marcos  "Petcho" Martins (Atos) in the Open Heavyweight bracket in the gi, Kalum took off his gia and submitted the American Jason Balavram (Atos) halfway through the 120kg final to capture his second title. The third and final trip to the podium came about in the No-Gi Open Heavyweight, with Kalum having a rematch against Jason in the gold round. Jason held his own better this time around but still was unable to pump the brakes on Kalum, who completely dominated the duel and got his last win with a whopping 19-0 score.

Before taking the silver in the Open Heavyweight bracket, Marcos "Petcho" Martins let all the might of his Jiu-Jitsu loose in the 94kg division. Facing the local Ethan Acker (Carlson Gracie Team) in the final, Marcos quickly took the lead and scored multiple times throughout the regulated time, taking the win with a 10-1 score. "I imposed new goals upon myself and the results have started showing", cheered the champion on his social media.

Another highlight was the rising star Sarah Galvão (Atos), who entered the 95kg bracket and went up against her teammate Mayara Munhos in a nerve-wracking battle. Sarah almost passed the guard and took the back, while Mayara avoided the danger and promptly swept back, kicking off a sweep battle. Mayara was no easy opponent, but Sarah's pressure gave her the edge here and the Galvão family representative managed to close the scoreboard at a sound 11-6 and take another gold in the AJP.

Check out the full results here!