Abu Dhabi Grand Slam No Gi Champions Crowned At Day 2 Of The Event

September 4, 2016

Igor Silva beats Ricardo Evangelista at the No Gi 108kg Male Black Belt division finals

UAE National Team won 7 medals in total at the No Gi divisions

Los Angeles, USA, 4 September, 2016: The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Los Angeles continued where it left off yesterday, as UAE National team rose to the occasion in the No Gi divisions and won a total of 7 medals in the presence of UAE General Counsel to Los Angeles, His Excellency Abdulla Alsaboosi and UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation CEO, His Excellency Fahad Al Shamsi.

“Congratulations to all the competitors who participated on both days, it was two exciting days of sportsmanship and display of the highest level of quality and skills” Said H.E Fahad Al Shamsi, UAEJJF CEO

“Our National team players performed on an incredible level today, much better compared to yesterday, we won 7 medals. Congratulations to our players, coaches and the whole management who prepared for this event. We now shift our focus on to the next event in the championship world tour, which will be in Tokyo, Japan on the 23rd October. See you all there” Said H.E Fahad Al Shamsi, UAEJJF CEO

Day 2 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Los Angeles, was a five-hour celebration of the gentle art. Champions of all divisions from white belt to black belt, from juvenile to master 2, were crowned after displaying the highest levels of technique and magnificent will to win.

The highlight of the day were the black belt division for men and the brown/black belt division for women. Some of today’s best competitors fought hard for the highest position on the podium.

In the highly anticipated main event of the day, Igor Silva beat Ricardo Evangelista at the No Gi 108 kg male No Gi black belt division finals and Mahamed Santos Silva picked up the Bronze medal.

“We all know Evangelista is one of the best fighters, and to win against him is an honor. He is a tough competitor, his skills are as good as it gets. I would like to thank Abu Dhabi and UAE JJ for organizing this event and giving us a professional platform at the highest level. I will be there in Tokyo next month and I am also excited to be in Abu Dhabi in January for the Grand Slam. Thank you to all my fans, my coaches and I will see you all in Tokyo” said Igor Silva

The UAE National Team performed on another level today with 7 well deserved medals after some beautiful performances on the mats.

UAE National Team winners:

Naser Omar Al Breiki: Silver at the male adult blue belt No Gi 67kg
Saif Salem Al Qubaisi: Bronze at the male adult blue belt No Gi 75kg
Mohamed Abdullah Khalifa: Gold at the male juvenile blue belt No Gi 53kg
Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi: Silver at the male juvenile blue belt No Gi 53kg
Khaled Eskander Al Blooshi: Gold at the male juvenile blue belt No Gi 58kg
Omar Mohammed Alwan: Silver at the male juvenile blue belt No Gi 58kg
Humaid Yaser Al Kaabi: Silver at the male juvenile blue belt No Gi 71kg

“Firstly I would like to thank my team mates who did not win today, so my medal is dedicated to my teammates. I am very happy, I had some tough fights, these players are very skilled, always on the point. But to come to a competition like the Grand Slam, which has the best jiu-jitsu players from around the world and to win, is a nice feeling. It shows we are up there with the top players” said Khaled Eskander Al Blooshi

“We performed better at the No Gi divisions today, perhaps yesterday [Gi divisions] was us getting used to the competition. I would like to thank our team, coaches and the federation for their continued support. It was amazing to come here in Los Angeles, we saw the city, it is beautiful and then to win the gold, it just made it much more special. We will be back at the next Grand Slam in Tokyo and we hope to do even better over there. Said Mohamed Abdullah Khalifa

The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour will now move to Tokyo next month on 23 October at the Big Turtle Fukaya, Saitama in Tokyo, Japan. Registrations are open, please visit: https://www.uaejjf.org

Please find attached the full results sheet of the fights.

Male Black Belt Results

60kg: Medalists: 1st – Alexis Alduncin
67kg: Medalists: 1st – Joao Miyao, 2nd – Paulo Miyao, 3rd – Arthur Molina.
75kg: Medalists: 1st –Bret James Russell, 2nd – M Silva
83kg: Medalists: 1st – John Taylor Combs, 2nd – Sergio Da Silva, 3rd – Stephen Hargett
92kg: Medalists: 1st – De Mesquita, 2nd – Murilo Santana, 3rd – William Nyman
108kg: Medalists: 1st – Igor Silva, 2nd – Ricardo Evangelista, 3rd – Mahamed Santos Silva.
Female Brown/Black Belt
60kg: Medalists: 1st Heather Raftery, 2nd – Lila Smadja, 3rd – Gegi Van De Walker.
68kg: Medalists: 1st – Dos Santos, 2nd – Amanda Loewen
88kg: Medalists: 1st – Tara Giovanna White, 2nd – Tereza De Souza

Masters

In the master 1 black belt division, Rafael Freit won the 60kg, Paulo Filho won the 67kg, Mozinho Jr took the 75kg gold medal home, Piter Silva won the 83kg division; Paulo Pinto was the 92kg champion and Luke Harris won the 108kg division.

About UAEJJF:

UAE Jiu-jitsu Federation was established in November 2012 as the official authority for jiu-jitsu in the UAE. The Federation plays a leading role in supporting jiu-jitsu and contributing to building a strong generation of UAE athletes to excel at the local and international levels. The Federation’s role is to implement policies that develop the sport in collaboration with various government entities, educational institutions and other partners in order to advance the sport locally, regionally and globally. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @uaejjf, follow us on Instagram @uaejjf and visit us online at https://www.uaejjf.com