The UAEJJF announced today a super match in the Legends series to take place during the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Tokyo, on July 15. Brazilian Alexandre “Café” Dantas and Ricco Rodrigues will battle in the heavyweight division. The winner of the match will keep his chance alive to fight Marcio “Pé de Pano” Cruz for the division belt at the 2018 ADWPJJC, in Abu Dhabi.
Dantas, 38, is a black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr. He has notable wins in against Rodrigo Comprido, Gabriel Gonzaga, Fabrício Werdum, Marcelo Garcia, Demian Maia, Bruno Bastos, Fernando Tererê, Marcio Corleta, and others. In 2007, Dantas won the Brazilian ADCC trials.
Rodriguez, 39, is a four-time ADCC medalist including the1998 gold medal at the +99kg division. He was also the first athlete from Porto Rico to win a belt in the UFC.
About the Grand Slam Tokyo
The 2017/2018 season of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour kicks off July 15, at the Makuhari Messe Convention Center, in Tokyo, Japan. The final registration deadline is July 11, at 11:59PM (Abu Dhabi Time).
The list of household black belt names keeps growing with new sign ups by the day. Roberto Satoshi, Igor Silva, Andre Campos, Isaque Bahiense, Faisal Al Kitbe, Lucas Barbosa, Adam Wardizinski, Nathiely de Jesus, Rikako Yuasa, Tiago Bravo, Mayssa Bastos, Thamires Aquino, Jaime Canuto, Italo Lins, among many others. Don’t miss out and register now to compete in one of the most exciting series of events in the calendar. Click here for more info and to sign up now.
Once again, the tour will make five stops: Japan, USA, Brazil, UAE and the UK. The five events combined will offer over US$800,000 in prizes and also add valuable points in the athletes’ ranking. In the past 12 months, huge names such as Felipe Pena, Xande Ribeiro, Beatriz Mesquita, Mackenzie Dern, Gabriel Arges, Jose Junior, Erberth Santos, Faisal Al Kitbe, Adam Wardzinski among many others were part of the events and the new season should only feature even more great fighters in epic battles. Here’s the schedule for this season.
About the UAEJJF
With the support and guidance of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the 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.
