May 20, 2023
Held in the city of Alicante, the AJP Spain National Jiu-Jitsu Pro brought together athletes representing more than 20 nationalities, a true celebration of the sport’s growth. The tournament, which took place this Saturday, May 20th, had the mats set up at Ciudad Deportiva Camilo Cano for an awe-inspiring showing of determination and drive from its competitors.
With challenges available for athletes of all ages and weight divisions, the highlights go to the Male Professional Black Belt category, with two fights in the Feminine Brown/Black category. Check the details below and for the full results, click here!
WOMEN’S GI / BROWN / BLACK / PROFESSIONAL / 62KG
Black belt Nadine Silva rose to prominence in the 62kg division. After beating Stephanie Deschuyteneer 3-1 in the semifinal, Nadine faced brown belt Ellie Vipond, who choked Dayane Bazzoni on her way to the final. In the duel for the gold between Nadine and Ellie, the former kicked off the fight, pulling guard, sweeping, sliding straight to the back, and then trying to strangle. Ellie defended well and went up but got stuck in Nadine’s triangle choke. Still very technical despite the pressure, Ellie managed to escape, but Nadine kept attacking and landed the score at 5-0 to take the title.
MEN’S GI / BLACK / PROFESSIONAL / 69KG
Argentine Lautaro Sanguimene had a great day of fighting in Alicante. Two matches were necessary to reach the title, and in both the athlete from Aranha Association found victory. In the semifinal, he beat Rafael Colonhese by 5-0. For the final round against Rodrigo Lima, Lautaro pulled guard and swept, putting pressure on top to pass the guard. Without reaching the side, Lautaro pulled guard again and went up, this time taking the back and tightening a precise choke with the collar. Submission and the coveted division gold for Lautaro.
MEN’S GI / BLACK / PROFESSIONAL / 77KG
Fighting at home, Spaniard Alberto Guzman delighted the crowd with his win. In his campaign, he had to beat Santiago Rios twice in his three-man bracket. In the first duel, he prevailed with 3-0 on the scoreboard. In the second fight, for the gold, Alberto went further. Playing on top, Alberto put pressure to pass, landing two points for almost reaching side control, a position he would not take long to reach. The 5-0 on the scoreboard was just the beginning though, as he managed to unleash his game midway through the match. Once he found the rhythm, Alberto was unstoppable, scoring another 17 points for mounting and taking the back multiple times. With the timer reaching its final moments, Santiago let himself loose and scored six points, but it was too little and too late. The scoreboard ended at 17-6, with Alberto taking the gold medal.
MEN’S GI / BLACK / PROFESSIONAL / 85KG
A quick win for André Cantanhede, the gold medal hunter of Al Ain Jiu-Jitsu Club. To get another AJP title, André faced Caio Rodrigues in the final bout of the bracket. Taking the initiative, André started by pulling guard, gunning for a foot attack. Caio managed to defend initially, even counter-attacking with a footlock of his own, but André spun and landed his attack. With a pinpoint adjustment, André used his footlock to submit the opponent and take the win.
