AJP held another gala event with the participation of today’s best Jiu-Jitsu fighters. The best of the sport took over the Watsco Center in Florida and provided some top-level matches. The championship brought strong results and crowned its champions. Elite stars such as Roosevelt Sousa and Fellipe Andrew shone in the competition and proved why they belong to a feared species in the Jiu-Jitsu universe.
Roosevelt achieved redemption on Sunday, September 17. The Fight Sports athlete, who was defeated in the Master 1 on Saturday, turned things around and retained his title in the -120kg category of the Grand Slam Miami. In the final, Roosevelt defeated Pedro “Bombom” Pimenta on the tiebreaker after a 2-2 draw on points. “Bombom” opened the scoring right from the start, by executing a sweep, but Roosevelt went ahead by gaining two advantages. The GFTeam black belt didn’t come away with the victory, but he celebrated his 27th birthday on the mat after the fight when his friends started singing.
In one of the hottest rivalries of the moment, Fellipe Andrew scored another win over Poland’s Adam Wardzinski. The Alliance predator proved that he is at the top of the food chain at middleweight (-94kg). The star wrote another chapter in his rivalry with Adam and got a happy ending. Andrew put in a solid performance and scored a 3-1 win over his arch-rival to secure victory. In the previous rounds, the Pernambucan eliminated Luccas Lira and Lucas Norat.
José Carvalho defeated Luiz Paulo at middleweight (-85kg). Felipe Bezerra’s student beat “LP” 1-0, after the Alliance athlete was punished. José was one of the surprises that made a splash in the competition and he had a flawless career. In all, he beat four opponents to become champion.
Natan Chueng took gold in the -77kg division after overcoming Vinicius Paoli in a frantic duel. Natan started behind, but fought back to tie the score at 2-2 with a sweep and won thanks to the tiebreaker. During his time at the event, Chueng also passed Daniel Sathler, Felipe Schiavon and Elijah Dorsey.
Atos had two of its athletes in the final of the -69kg category. Israel Almeida, a newcomer to the team, and João Mendes put the team over the top. João, who beat opponents of the caliber of Kevin Mahecha and Guilherme Fernandes in the tournament, scored a 4-2 win over Israel to claim gold.
The promising Andrew Soares was undisputed at featherweight (-62kg). The Vision BJJ fighter beat Yuri Hendrix, from Cicero Costha, 2-1 to win gold. Throughout his campaign in the AJP tournament, Andrew has won three in a row.
The hard-hitting Kalel Santos, a multi-champion for AJP, collected another gold medal to enrich his curriculum in the Federation. The Cicero Costha school representative was dominant at featherweight (up to 56kg) and beat Welison Fernandes 2-1 in the final.
The women’s division was also buzzing on Sunday with quality fights. Future stars of the sport and established athletes were in action at Grand Slam Miami in search of the coveted title. The highlight was the phenomenal Giovanna Jara, champion of the -95kg division.
Giovanna made a triumphant debut at black belt. Returning to competition after more than four months out due to injury, Giovanna won a lightning victory over Kauane Ramos in the final. The Fratres Jiu-Jitsu representative finished Kauane in less than a minute with a bow and arrow and secured the title in the -94kg division. Giovanna is a natural finisher and usually resolves her fights efficiently. She achieved 100% lethality in the championship and proved why there is so much expectation around her.
Ingridd Alves was flawless at middleweight (-70kg). The Dream Art athlete stamped her passport to the final together with Izadora Cristina, her training partner, by winning by submission in the semi-final. Ingridd repeated the scenario from the previous fight and beat Izadora with a straight footlock.
Júlia Alves added another AJP title to her tally. World Pro champion, Júlia provided a triumphant outcome in the 62kg division. She needed less than a minute to finish Larissa Martins with a plastic armbar in the final. The GFteam guard is one of the winningest athletes at the AJP championships in recent years and is already proving to be a distinguished competitor due to her calculating and ingenious style.
Newly promoted to brown belt, Beatriz Gutierrez indicates that it’s only a matter of time before she tops the podium as a black belt. She, who just a few months ago was still a purple belt, defeated opponents from the sport’s elite with authority this Sunday. The Dream Art jewel scored three victories and was the highlight of the -55kg division. In the final, Bia finished Thaynara Victoria, also from Dream Art, to win gold.
Duda Tozoni broke the bank in the -49kg category. The Commando Group athlete won a dramatic victory over Brenda Larissa, a three-time World Pro champion and then Miami Grand Slam champion, to clinch her place in the competition. Duda was losing the match until the final seconds, when she scored an advantage by landing an armbar after the lights went out. Throughout her journey in the tournament, Duda also beat Yamyn Castro and Flavia Soares.