Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour’s final leg begins in London

Sport360 staff 09:18 10/03/2019
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  • Paulo Miyao claimed gold in the adult 69kg final.

    The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour’s fifth and final leg began in London on Saturday at the Copper Box Arena, where some of the world’s best black belts’ entertained British fans with a display of the highest level of jiu-jitsu.

    In the much-anticipated match between Paulo Miyao and Isaac Doederlein in the adult 69kg finals, Miyao won via 4-2 points decision after a tough fight and Brazil’s Thamara Silva took the gold in the female adult 70kg against Samantha Cook.

    More than 2,000 fans attended day one at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, creating an energetic atmosphere in the venue to cheer on the superstar black belts and also the brown and purple belts.

    With a stacked line-up of some of the best black belts in the sport of jiu-jitsu featuring Mayssa Bastos, Silva, Cook, Gabrieli Pessanha, Hiago George, Joao Miyao, Paulo Miyao, Tiago Bravo, Doederlein, Lucas Barbosa, Adam Wardzinski, Ricardo Evangelista, Igor Silva and many more, the brackets produced some skillful performances.

    Commenting on his win at the 69kg male adult black belt category, Miyao said: “I am obviously delighted with the gold medal today, this rounds off a perfect season for me at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam.

    “I am now going to rest and recover for tomorrow’s King of Mats competition, which is a very tough competition to win.”

    Miyao, who is one the best jiu-jitsu black belts in the world, has been made the favorite to win the Abu Dhabi King of Mats title.

    “I have seen that the media has mentioned me as being the favorite, and the fans expect me to win the Abu Dhabi King of Mats title easily, but I don’t see it that way,” he added.

    “I don’t think it will be as easy as they think, because we do not have much time to rest between each match and the line-up is the best of the best.”

    Commenting on her win at the 70kg female adult brown/black belt category, Brazil’s Silva, who has also won gold in Tokyo, Los Angeles and Abu Dhabi this season, said “The 70kg category is one of the most skilled and toughest, so it’s great to win here in London.

    “A city where jiu-jitsu is growing and I have to say, a lot of that credit goes to UAEJJF for their continued support and investment in the sport. I am looking forward to compete next at the Abu Dhabi World Pro in April.”

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