Abu Dhabi: It was Brazilians’ day out in the Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Championship at the Mubadala Arena as a majority of them battled among themselves to make it to the main draw of the tournament.
As per World Pro regulations, only two participants per country can make it to main weight division. An automatic entry is only provided to the top-ranked competitor and hence some fierce battle were seen in the qualifying round for the main bracket.
In the Male GI Black Adult 110kg category, 2016 World Pro Champion Erberth Santos qualified by chocking his compatriot and 2018 IBJJF European Open Champion Ricardo Evangelista in just 24 seconds.
“I have seen many fights of Evangelista and also fought him before. I had studied his game well. It was difficult but to get that win quickly was special,” said a thrilled Santos adding that he was confident of going all the way and clinch the title having qualified authoritatively.
“I will be the champion for sure as the bracket that I fought today was much tougher than it will be in the main draw,” asserted Santos, who in his opening match defeated Raphael Souza 4-2 before getting the better of Mauricio Lima with a choke to make it to the final.
“I won here in 2016 and I want to repeat that. I lost in the semis against eventual champion Jose Junior in the 2017 and so I want to make this opportunity count,” added Santos.
Defending Champion of the Male GI Adult 85kg Claudio Calasans couldn’t make it to the main draw as he was shown the door by 22-year-old Gustavo Batista. It has to be recalled that Calasans had broken the hearts of UAE fans by beating their blue-eyed boy Faizal Al Ketbi in the finals last year.
However, Calasans’ hopes of scripting a repeat was short lived after Batista, a first-time entrant in the tournament, shocked him with a 2-0 victory on points.
“I’m very happy having beaten Calasans. Never been here before and to make it to the main draw is special. Hopefully, I can do well and end up on the podium,” said a jubilant Batista.
There was also disappointment in the women’s qualifiers as 2017 World Pro champion Beatriz Mesquita was knocked out of the Black Belt 62kg following their round robin league.
Mesquita, Bianca Basilio, Luiza Monteiro and Nadia Melo were battling for a place in the main draw. Melo lost her bouts to Basilio and Monteiro and was scheduled to take on Mesquita, who was tied with Basilio and Monteiro with one win each.
However, Melo’s no show deprived Mesquita improving her points tally because of the walkover. With that, Basilio made it to the main draw on better points.
“I can’t do anything about it as that’s the rule. It is unfortunate and you have to go by the book. I will be coming back next year to have another shot at the title,” said a dejected-looking Mesquita.
