ABU DHABI: Over $800,000 in cash prizes will be awarded to the winners at the 14th edition of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship which gets underway at Zayed Sports City on Friday, the organizers have revealed.
The championship is being held under the patronage of Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, president of the UAE, and will feature competitions from Nov. 11 to 19 in a range of belt, age and weight categories. The UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation has organized the event.
The opening day will see the contests for children and the Para Jiu-Jitsu athletes. The weigh-ins took place on Thursday. There are 11 mats set up to allow for many athletes to compete simultaneously.
Abdel Moneim Al-Hashemi, chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, president of the Ju-Jitsu Asian Union, and senior vice president of the International Jiu-Jitsu Federation, praised the UAE’s leadership for supporting the sport.
“The patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, president of the UAE, for the championship, is a badge of honor for the athletes in the UAE and the rest of the world. The impressive performance of our athletes at world forums is a result of the support they received from His Highness,†he said.
Al-Hashemi welcomed the world’s professional grapplers to their “favorite competition.â€
Fahad Ali Al-Shamsi, general secretary of the UAEJJF, said the prize money demonstrates the UAE’s dedication to promoting the sport and helps to encourage athletes “to keep working hard to advance their skills.â€
Among the world champions who have arrived in Abu Dhabi is Mario “Cowboy†Edson, a 4th-degree black belt from Brazil, who is participating in the Master 3 (69 kg) and Adult (69 kg) divisions.
“Abu Dhabi has continuously hosted the best jiu-jitsu competitions. This is my sixth time competing in the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship. Every athlete wants to win in Abu Dhabi, so we have been practicing for months to win the title,†he said.
The schedule for this month is: Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Festival Nov. 11-12; Abu Dhabi World Youth Jiu-Jitsu Championship Nov. 13-14; Abu Dhabi World Masters Jiu-Jitsu Championship Nov. 15-16; Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship Nov. 17-19.
The Abu Dhabi World Jiu-Jitsu Awards will be held on Nov. 19.
