Abu Dhabi: Reigning champions Marcus Almeida and Gabrielle Garcia of Brazil lived up to their reputation in the men and women’s categories, respectively, with comprehensive wins to clinch gold in the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship here at the IPIC Arena on Thursday.
Almeida defeated Alexandar Trans of Denmark 2-0 on points in the men’s +95kg black belt category while Garcia got the better of compatriot Vanessa Nascimento in the women’s +75kg black belt by advantage points 3-0. This was Almeida’s fourth title here while it was a staggering fifth crown in a row for Garcia. Igor Silva of Brazil won bronze, while Andresa Correa, also from Brazil, bagged bronze in the women’s category.
“It was really hard but happy to win my fourth gold. I had met him around six times and he has always been a tough opponent. I started the fight with two points and I kind of managed to go with it to the end of the fight,” said a beaming Almeida, who will also be trying to defend his title in the Open category.
“I didn’t get hurt so I will rest more tomorrow and try and defend the title. The open category will be very hard as everyone will give it everything. It will be good to watch and I’m sure fans will enjoy a lot. Six minutes is too fast and one mistake and you will pay a heavy prize,” added the California resident, who is also eyeing the World Championship next month in his own backyard Sao Paulo.
“I just want to keep working hard till the World Championship as nothing like clinching the title in front of the home fans. I want to finish from here with the open title as well and I will try my level best to do that again,” asserted Almeida, who will be taking part in an Open championship in LA next.
For the first time since 2009, UAE sensation Faisal Ketbi had to walk out of the capital’s prestigious tournament without a medal. Ketbi defeated Polish contestant Karol Piotr Migo in the opening bout of the 95kg black belt category and then went on beat Brazilian Eduardo Inojosa in the second. However, he couldn’t win the contest against another Brazilian — Jackson Santos, who won by 2-0 with a pull down.
In the women’s action, Garcia, who landed here late on Wednesday night, was delighted that she could get her act together despite the jet lag. “I was a bit nervous coming into the tournament as I had just got 10 hours’ rest as I got here late after my flight got cancelled. I was still feeling good out there and I’m extremely delighted,” said an ecstatic Garcia, who lost 50 kgs this year.
“I worked really hard and lost a lot of weight as I want to fight in the MMA. I will be fighting in Brazil on June 6 and it will be a dream to be there. I have not been able to do that because of my weight and now I can after all the hard work,” revealed Garcia.
Nascimento was inconsolable after the bout and was seen in tears. “It was the first time in the final and I really wanted to win. Last year, she (Garcia) was my second fight in the open class. This time I really trained so hard. When I come to tournaments, I come really prepared and I really wanted to win here but she proved too good for me and so I’m really disappointed,” said a dejected-looking Nascimento.
