Weekend Recap: AJP brings action-packed tournaments to Croatia and Kyrgyzstan

July 21, 2025

While the ADGS Rio drew some of the most talented athletes in the international scene to compete in Brazil this weekend, the AJP kept its usual batch of events going around the globe to give practitioners everywhere the chance to show their skills and hone their techniques in the competitive mats. This time around, the organization held an International in Croatia on Saturday and a National in Kyrgyzstan on Sunday, so let's check out the highlights from each championship.

AJP Tour Split International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Belmir Ahmespahic becomes a double champion in Croatia

On Saturday, July 19th, the Split International landed at the Sports Center Bazeni Poljud, in Croatia, for an afternoon of competition between local and foreign athletes looking to conquer the coveted AJP gold medal and to score the 600 global ranking points reserved for each of the tournament's champions.

Highlighting the event, the Bosnian black belt Belmir Ahmespahic (Commando Group) went above and beyond in his campaign as he entered the Professional category and overcame his opponents in the 94kg division to take the double gold. Starting in the gi, Belmir put on a pretty dominating display against the local Vedran Cugalj (Mladost BD) for the title, seizing the initiative and scoring multiple times in the first few minutes of the match to put the scoreboard at 7-1 before seeing an opportunity and ending the bout with a submission around the two-minute mark.

With one gold medal conquered, Belmir returned to the mats to fight for another title in the No-Gi 94kg division, and ended up running into the Brazilian Vithor Cruz (PSLPB Cícero Costha) in the gold round. The match was a close one, with both sides scoring and avoiding the more dangerous attacks, but Belmir's technique shone yet again in the event as he took the lead on the scoreboard and controlled the match until the clock ran out to become a double champion with a narrow 3-2 score.

Check out the full results here!

AJP Tour Kyrgyzstan National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2025: Salim Hunlov and Miroslav Tan submit their way to the gold in Issyk-Kul

On Sunday, July 20th, the Gazprom Sports and Fitness Complex opened its doors for the Kyrgyzstan National and its contenders, with colored belts of all ages and graduations flocking over to the venue with their sights set on the gold and glory that comes with becoming an AJP champion.

Coming as the highlight of the event, the local blue belt Salim Hunlov (Kyrgyzstan Top Team) showed great promise as he entered the Amateur 85kg division and took the gold after beating both of his opponents. Salim's campaign began in the semifinal, with the up-and-comer going up against Dinmukhamed Azimbaev and emerging victorious with a submission almost 30 seconds into the match. In the final match, Salim went toe-to-toe with his teammate Bilal Budunov and showed the attending crowd once again just how effective his Jiu-Jitsu really is, putting the pedal to the metal from the start of the duel to overwhelm and submit his opponent in the first minute of the bout.

Another highlight who's also coming from the Kyrgyzstan Top Team, the local blue belt Miroslav Tan ruled over the 77kg division after two powerful victories. First going up against Uzbekistan's Ramazon Abdulamitov (Kaizen Jiu Jitsu Academy) in the semifinal, Miroslav used his technical know-how to seize the lead on the scoreboard and then controlled the flow of the match until the clock ran out, advancing to the final with an 8-2 score. Then, in the gold round, Miroslav went up against his compatriot Nurzhigit Sovetov (Alay Jiu Jitsu Team) in a very one-sided battle, using his aggressive game to score 11-0 in the first half of the match and then ending it altogether with a submission around the two-minute mark.

Check out the full results here!