The Abu Dhabi World Pro Jiu Jitsu Championship is the most prestigious yearly competition in the world of Jiu Jitsu. For the 14th year in a row, the Jiu Jitsu Arena in Abu Dhabi hosts the annual world championships, featuring the best female and male Jiu Jitsu athletes in the world.
Abu Dhabi World Jiu Jitsu Championship 2022
The Abu Dhabi Jiu Jitsu Championships is more than just a multi-day Brazilian Jiu Jitsu competition. Describing it as the “Abu Dhabi World Jiu Jitsu Festival” does it justice, as it is the only event of this kind in the world.
The main attraction of the tournament, understandable, is the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship, which has the best adult competitors of purple, brown and black belts facing each other for the prestigious ADWPJJC World Champion Title on November 17-19
Just preceding that event is the Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu Jitsu Championship, taking place November 15-16 and providing a platform for some of the best female and male Jiu Jitsu athletes in the world at blue, purple, brown, and black belts to showcase their skills.
After we took a look at the top female Jiu Jitsu athletes competing at the 14th edition of the ADWPJJC, we are now focusing on their male counterparts in this article.
The Top Male Jiu Jitsu Athletes Competing In ADWPJJC 14
Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2022
The 14th edition of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship features many exciting and talented athletes across all professional divisions, from purple to black belts.
In the -69 kg purple belt division, Brazilian Christian Lara is returning to the biggest stage after some notable wins in the 21/22 season.
Ranked number two in South America, Jefferson Alves Goteu is the man to watch in the -85 kg purple belt bracket, moving up a weight class from last year’s Worlds.
-94 kg purple belt bronze medalist at the ADWPJJC 13, submission artist Dennis Souza is back gunning for the gold this year.
In the brown belt professional divisions, Brazilian Giovanny Nascimento has medaled in almost every AJP tournament of the season in the -62 kg division and is ready to go for the crown.
In the -85 kg brown belt division, year-old Rui Neto ranked number one in Brazil and South America, will try to add number one in the world to the list.
Already holding an ADWPJJC World title at purple belt, Luccas Lira is looking to add to the count by repeating his 202 success, this time as a brown belt in the -94 kg division.
The professional black belt divisions are filled with extremely talented Jiu Jitsu athletes this year like never before. Still, some names stand out over others, whether by ranking, merit, or legacy.
In the -56 kg black belt professional division, Yuri Hendrex, ranked number two in Brazil and South America, is the number one seed and man to beat this year.
Last year’s Abu Dhabi World Pro champion and European champion Jonas Andrade is back to head the -62 kg division, looking to defend his title in one of the most stacked divisions at the ADWPJJC 14.
The -69 kg division promises to be as entertaining as ever, with number one-ranked American black belt Isaac Doederlein returning to the ADWPJJC after three years. Number one seed Kalel Santos from Brazil is just one of many tough opponents Doederlein will have to overcome for the world title this year.
Brown belt bronze medalist at the ADWPJJC 12, ranked number 1 in Brazil and South America, Lucas Protasio will be looking to add an Abu Dhabi Pro world title to his resume in the -77 kg black belt division.
Angolan Victor Dos Santos and Polish Krzysztof Suchorabski will be looking to challenge Protaiso’s number-one seed status.
Tommy Langaker. 2019 World Champion and 2020 ADWPJJC silver medalist is the most well-known grappler in the black belt -85 kg division.
Welcoming him and everyone else in the division is last year’s champion and number one seed Uanderson Ferreira, the man to beat in the -85 kg professional black belt division.
The man looking to throw a wrench in Langaker’s and Derreira’s plans is young Slovenian black belt Nejc Hodnik, who has been submitting his way up the rankings as of late.
The -94 kg black belt division hosts Catriel Fernandes, who heads a stacked and exciting 14-man division.
Among the big guys at -120 kg, Brazilian black belt Wallace Costa is the number one seed. Experienced Russian black belt competitor Anton Seleznev is probably his biggest threat in the division.
In Summary
The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu Jitsu Championship has quickly grown beyond the wildest dreams of everyone and is now the gold standard for all Jiu Jitsu athletes looking to establish themselves on the world stage. ADWPJJC 14 is the biggest competition of the kind to date, and we can only expect to see it grow in the years to come.
Ogi is a black belt that does Jiu Jitsu full time and is very passionate about anything grappling-related.
He is also the head coach of Enso Jiu Jitsu in Macedonia and an aspiring Globetrotter.