AJP Stories: The late invitation that made Uanderson Ferreira the King of the Mats

August 11, 2025

The current Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 85kg champion and a multiple-time Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour champion with titles conquered around the world, Uanderson Ferreira is a black belt well known in the AJP for his explosiveness and showmanship on the mats. What some fight fans might not know, however, is that the Brazilian athlete has been turning heads ever since his colored belt days, and that talent landed him a great opportunity for his career even before his black belt graduation. Check out below how Uanderson overcame the odds and got his first Abu Dhabi King of Mats title still as a brown belt.

"Back in the first few months of 2022, I was in Abu Dhabi and getting ready to compete in the ADGS London. Coming from a gold in the Abu Dhabi World Professional as a brown belt, this would be my first major event facing black belts despite not having reached that graduation yet. Things were going as smoothly as always. I had already signed up, paid the registration fee, and even bought my plane ticket online, but something unexpected happened.

"As I talked to my family and friends, the AJP made contact with me for the first time in my career, asking if I wanted to compete in that year's King of Mats, which would also be happening in London, just one day before the ADGS. They told me that I would be facing black belts in the 85kg division, which was already my weight class, and reassured me that still being a brown belt wouldn't be an issue, so I said yes and officially joined the tournament.

"My first opponent in the event was Lucas Gualberto, who was very experienced even back then. We put on a real battle and, at the end, I managed to beat him on points to advance to my next fight, getting my second win in the bracket by defeating Guilherme Rocha in a last-minute decision from the judges, who gave me the winning point after the match was done. I then fought Natan Chueng in the semifinal and got a 2-1 win before heading to the final, in which I overcame Tommy Langaker by scoring last in a tie to become the champion. That was the moment I, a brown belt, came out on top of a black belt bracket in the AJP King of Mats.

"It was an incredible moment both in my career and my life. I was 21 years old back then and had never really thought I could be a brown belt champion while facing black belts in a great tournament full of prestige. My parents have always been proud of me every time I compete, but they still remember that King of Mats very fondly. It's very awesome that I get to have that event as a part of my history as an athlete."