Homework paid off for UAE-based Jose Junior who overcame a spirited display from Russia’s Abdurakhman Bilarov to take gold in the Ramadan Jiu-Jitsu Cup Black Belt 108kg division.
The Brazilian, who coaches Emirati children, was not short of support at the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Centre on Friday night. But he needed to be at his very best against the Russian, who only got his black belt more than a year ago, to prevail on the referee’s decision after the five-minute bout ended 1-1.
It was the first time the two had met in any competition but Junior revealed the key to his success came from studying videos on the internet.
“I’ve faced a lot of opponents before but this was the first time I was meeting Bilarov,” he said.
“I never fought him before so I had to search on the internet to learn more about him.
“I found that he had beaten some strong people in his previous fights and it wasn’t going to be an easy task. I was prepared for a tough fight. So those videos helped me learn what type of competitor he was.”
His task of defeating his opponents was made even more difficult considering the players could not wear the traditional kimono in the No-Gi event.
“For sure No-Gi is harder because you cannot grab your opponent properly,” said Junior, runner-up in the Black Belt Open division at the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championships.
“It means you really need to be on top of your game and I had to use all my experience to win gold.”
Triumphant: Jose Junior (c).
Not surprisingly given the popularity of the game in the UAE, Emiratis dominated the competition with a rich haul of medals across the 26 categories.
Among those flying the UAE flag high was Said Al Mazrouai. The 17-year-old defeated Hamed Jaryani to win the Blue 75kg division.
It was the first gold for him since taking up the sport more than a year ago after practising MMA.
“It feels good to finally win,” he said. “It will always be a special moment for me and I’m still hungry for more.
“I have always been a big fan of MMA and I used to do that since I was 14 but after seeing my cousin – Yousef Al Awadi – compete in jiu-jitsu. That was where my interest in the sport started.
“MMA and jiu-jitsu is very similar in terms of movement so hopefully I can go on and achieve better things in the future. For sure, I want to win gold in the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championships. That attracts the best and it’s an event I’m dreaming of competing in.”
UAE’s Salem Al Suwaidi also reigned supreme in the Purple 75kg category after defeating his compatriot Ibrahim Al Hosani.
“This is a great achievement for me but still there’s a lot of work I need to do to improve,” said the 24-year-old. “It’s good preparation for the new season ahead.”
