August 14, 2023
While the Canada National brought the heat to the city of Toronto, the AJP Tour Colombia National Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2023 landed on south american shores. On Saturday and Sunday, August 12th and 13th, the city of Bogota welcomed athletes from all over and opened the doors of the Palacio de Los Deportes for two days of high-level competition across four fight areas.
In the 85kg division, the local Kevin Cuervo (Gracie Colombia) was the name to watch out for. After submitting Camilo Betancourt (Gracie Barra Colombia) in the semis, Kevin went on to face Sebastian Guevara (Art of Jiu Jitsu) in the final round, scoring last to take the win and the gold. Meanwhile, in the 120kg bracket, the Ecuadorian Adrian Sebastian (Satori Alliance Academy) used his prowess to submit every opponent that crossed his path, defeating Alfonso Figueredo (Gracie Colombia) in the gold round to rise to the top of the podium.
On the women’s side, the Brazilian Julia Alves (GFTeam) submitted Samantha Saenz (Satori Alliance Academy) to reach the finals, where she landed yet another submission to beat Madeline Choconta (Team FCJJ Colombia) and take the 62kg title. On the other hand, the 55kg bracket housed a battle between locals, as Adriana Meija (Team FCJJ Colombia) used her technical know-how to land the scoreboard at 10-2 against Lizeth Mondragon (Affinity Studios Colombia).
Other highlights go to the Brazilian Yuri Hendrex, who outscored Jairo Ortizl by 10-2 to take the 62kg gold medal; the Ecuadorian Enrique Guerrero, who used the scoreboard and his skills to conquer the 69kg title; and the Peruvian Sebastian Fernandez, who submitted everyone to take his rightful place on the top of the 120kg no-gi podium.
