Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour’s third leg will be held at the Carioca Arena in Rio on 10, 11 and 12 November. Last season’s Rio de Janeiro leg of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam was attended by over 11,000 spectators [over two days] and over 2000 players participated.
“Progress is improving the numbers consistently, and that is what we have achieved with the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. Brazil is the biggest jiu-jitsu market in the world and we are very pleased to be going back to Rio for the third time for the Grand Slam.
“Due to the very high demand from players and fans, we decided to execute the event in three days, as we are expecting about 2500 players this season in Rio, which will make it the highest number of players participating during a single event at the Grand Abu Dhabi Slam World Tour.” Said H.E. Abdulmunam Al Hashemi, Chairman of the UAE Jiu-jitsu Federation, President of Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union & Senior Vice President of Jiu-Jitsu International Federation via a press release
The Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio De Janeiro will be aired live on Abu Dhabi Sports in the MENA region, Combate, SporTV in Brazil, FloGrappling worldwide live stream, FOX Sports in Asia, Fight Network, Astro, Starhub, ABS-CBN Sports, Orange TV, SCTV, Singtel, SFR Sports, Super Sport, Azam Sports TV, Fight Sports and Dubai Sports, Sharjah Sports on delayed basis.
“I competed at the Tokyo Grand Slam, I won the 70kg black belt and now my focus is on the Rio event. I have been very committed to reach to the top of the podium in Rio. I am on an intense training regime – every week from Sunday to Thursday I do physical training in the morning, I do positioning drills and fight training in the afternoon and during the night I do my final training at the IPIC Arena in Abu Dhabi. And Fridays are recovery day.
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“The level of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam has gone up a notch, it is getting increasingly difficult to compete, as more top athletes are taking part. We players need more points so we can get into the World Pro. So I am really motivated to get the Gold again in Rio, which is the toughest place to compete due to the quality of the players” Said Priscilla Cardoso, 70kg Black Belt champion
UAEJJF
“Like every Grand Slam event, I take Rio very serious. I prepare for this one and couple more upcoming tournaments in my hometown in Poznań, Poland in my academy Checkmat Poznań with my students and some high level black belts.
“UAEJJF is doing a really good job to develop jiu-jitsu by bringing in high level tournaments around the world, putting some serious money prizes and opportunities for the athletes. I think it really helps athletes to be more professional, travel more and gain more experience. It’s a really big thing and every year UAEJJF offers more and more opportunities to athletes.
“There are already some big names signed for Grand Slam in Rio so I can’t wait to compete again with some of the best in the sport. For this year’s trip to Rio, will be my last one but right after new year there are Grand Slams in Abu Dhabi and London so I will stay busy competing also in some local International Pro events around the Europe.” Said 94kg Black Belt champion, Adam Wardzinski
UAEJJF
“This year there has been a focus to take our players in international competitions to improve their competition experience against different opponents with different styles and skills. Abu Dhabi Grand Slam is the perfect competition for our players. We had over 40 players at the Los Angeles event back in September and we are expecting to have about the same number of players in Rio. The players are really excited to compete against the Brazilians, as they are one of the best when it comes to skills.” Said Obaid Al Kaabi, Jiu-Jitsu Director, Al Jazira Club
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“Our decision to be more involved with the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam was to develop the youth players, so they are in contention to be selected for the UAE National team. Winning medals is a great achievement but our main focus is to develop our youth players, improve and measure their level against top international players. We really thank the UAEJJF for their efforts and we are looking to be in Rio. Said Mohammad Al Sayed, Jiu-Jitsu Director, Al Wahda Club
“Abu Dhabi Grand Slam is the highest level to be when it comes to Jiu-Jitsu, so it is a good experience for our youth players to be more professional, travel like a professional athlete and have that mentality and how to deal with the pressure of a competition like the grand slam. This will only improve their level. Our players showed in Los Angeles that they belong to the highest level, and we are really delighted to be joining the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in Rio, so we can further develop and gain quality experience.” Said Abdulla Al Shamsi, Jiu-Jitsu Director, Al-Ain Club
