July 9, 2023
On its third and final day, the AJP Tour UAE National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023 returns to the Mubadala Arena with its seven fight areas. This Sunday, July 9th, Professional athletes rose to the mats and put their skills to the test aiming for gold medals, and giving a true show for the crowd at the arena and to those that watched the event live at AJPTour.tv.
Check out below the highlights from the highly anticipated finals, and to see the full results of this 2023 UAE Nationals, click here!
MEN’S GI / BLACK / PROFESSIONAL
62kg - Zayed Alkatheeri vs. Sam Teague
Showcasing his well-rounded style, Zayed Alkatheeri used his flow to teach a lesson in Jiu-Jitsu at the Mubadala Arena. Aiming at the 62kg division title, the Emirati fought against Sam Teague in the final round. Zayed swept, passed guard, put his knee on the opponent’s belly, and even took the back. When it was all said and done, the scoreboard sat at an astounding 18-2, giving Zayed the gold medal and valuable points in the AJP ranking.
69kg - Thiago Marques vs. Guthiery Melo
Thiago and Guthiery faced each other in a very technical match. After a double punishment for lack of combativeness, Thiago rose from the double pull getting ahead of the score by 2-1. Then, Thiago put heavy pressure to reach the side control, prompting Guthiery to do a quick spin to avoid the pass. The movement, however, still added another point to Thiago’s side. 3-1 victory for Thiago, his second title in the same UAE National weekend.
77kg - Adriano Araujo vs. Francisco Souza
After opening the score at 1-1 due to lack of combativeness, Adriano managed to read Francisco’s attack, countering and sweeping to stay on top. Leading the score at 3-1, Adriano went for the legs and landed a takedown, raising the count to 5-1. Francisco then went full throttle and started an attack from the one-leg, but only managed to score one point. The match ended at 5-2, putting the 77kg division gold on Adriano’s shoulders.
85kg - Uanderson Ferreira vs. Alyson Alves
After taking a brief moment to observe his opponent, Uanderson took advantage of Alyson’s pull to pass and put his knee on the belly, amassing 5 points. In the following move, Uanderson once again positioned his knee on Alyson’s stomach to pass, landing in the mount with 14-0 on the scoreboard and then submitting with pressure on the shoulder.
94kg- Renato Cardoso vs. Igor Sousa
In a very balanced fight, Renato and Igor clashed with mind and body in the 94kg final. With no points in regular time, the athletes reached the golden score. Renato made good moves to pull and sweep with a tomoe-nage, but Igor didn’t give in, trying to take him down on the next move. At the end of the golden score, the referees decided that Renato Cardoso made the best moves in the match, giving him the win.
120kg - Vandre Barbosa vs. Rodrigo Ribeiro
Fast work for Vandre Barbosa in the last final of the day. After Rodrigo Ribeiro pulled to half guard, Vandre quickly freed his leg, turned to the opposite side, and attacked Rodrigo’s arm in a tight armbar, thus guaranteeing the victory and the title in the first minute of the fight.
WOMEN’S GI / BROWN / BLACK / PROFESSIONAL
49kg - Shouq Aldhanhani vs. Wadima Alyafei
The two UAE athletes led a very intense match. Shouq made the first move, pulling and spinning to climb. Wadima attacked on the leg to earn a point, but couldn’t avoid Shouq’s sweep, who took the lead at 2-1 on the scoreboard. Wadima quickly returned the sweep, turning the tables with a 3-2. Shouq closed her guard around the opponent, Wadima responded by getting to her feet, but Shouq attacked with a kimura to tie the match at 3-3. Being the last to score, brown belt Shouq got the win and the title.
62kg - Dayane Bazzoni vs. Hind Charifi
Dayane started the fight playing guard and managed to sweep early on, to open the score at 2-0. Hind got to her feet, and Dayane pulled again to sweep, this time from the spider guard, to make it 4-0. On top, Dayane put pressure until she reached the side and won three more points, closing the score for the gold at 7-0.
95kg - Yara Kakish vs. Stephany Vieira
In a heated duel, the Jordanian Yara Kakish took the lead on the scoreboard by passing Stephany’s legs to arrive at the north-south position. With the score sitting at 3-0, Yara kept working on top until she isolated the Brazilian’s arm, ending the match with a winning kimura to become the champion at the UAE National.
