ABU DHABI // Rodrigo “Comprido” Medeiros, the Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend, has predicted a “bright future” for the Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship.
The eighth staging of the championship extended to 10 days this year and consisted of the Abu Dhabi Kids Festival over two days, the inaugural Abu Dhabi World Youth Cup also over two days and the main event for adults over five days.
It drew more than 6,500 competitors from around 47 countries to the Ipic Arena and concluded on Sunday night with a gala awards ceremony at the Fairmont Hotel.
Medeiros was among the six invitees for the inaugural “Legends” competition on the final day of the championship.
“It is a sensational tournament,” Medeiros said. “It is the efforts of many people to bump our sport up. If they invite me for sure I will be here. This is something I want to be part of.”
Medeiros is no stranger to Abu Dhabi. He visited the city in 2000 and 2001, and was returning for the third time after 15 years.
“That’s been a long time,” he said. “I see a lot of changes, particularly the way the country is developing in jiu-jitsu.
“There is jiu-jitsu at schools, hundreds of instructors at their disposal and thousands of local competitors. I can also see how much the city has physically grown since my last visit. I’m very impressed.
“Here I think they have the right atmosphere for the sport to grow. All these efforts to make jiu-jitsu a national sport and the support the kids receive at school I think Abu Dhabi will take the lead on the chart in the near future.”
More from Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship:
Saturday's round-up: Pena and Araujo absolute champions at Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship
Gallery: Day 1 of the Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship — in pictures
Interview: Marcus Almeida in Abu Dhabi healthy and ready to maintain his place in ever-evolving jiu-jitsu
Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, is the main patron of the sport after it was introduced in the country in the early 1990s by Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed.
“This is a vision of a man who really believes that he can do better for his people, and he uses jiu-jitsu to do that. We have to support him in everything he tries to do,” Medeiros said.
Abdulmunam Al Hashemi, chairman of the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation, was overwhelmed by the success of the championship.
“We hope that we have set a precedent for the sport around the world,” said Al Hashemi, who is also the president of the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union and vice president of the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation.
“We were exposed to some world-class action by future stars of the sport in the first four days and we were truly humbled by the masterclass action on the mat in the main championship.
“Those fans that attended will have lifelong memories of both the on- and off-the-mat action.”
Apart from the title contests, Mario Silva, the Brazilian amputee who travelled to Abu Dhabi with the goal of having an event included for the disabled, had his wish granted.
The organisers arranged a medal match between two Brazilian amputees — Mario Silva and Elcirley Silva — on the centre mat.
Medeiros, the two-time world champion in the absolute class, was also full of praise for the UAEJJF’s role in developing the sport worldwide by introducing the Grand Slam World Tour this season, which saw events staged in Tokyo, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro and London.
“It is a perfect idea to develop the local competitors and also to attract the foreigners to competing in the Grand Slam. On top of that they can also earn some cash prizes,” he said.
“It’s great event and I wish they have more such Grand Slams, and hope they have one in Chicago.”
Speaking about the chances of the sport being included in the Olympics, he said: “I think it’s a long shot. It’s really hard now. We had a chance with the Olympics in Rio but they chose not to nominate jiu-jitsu.
“But we still have to work hard for the nominations in future. Anyway this is a question the politicians can answer better, but if you ask me if jiu-jitsu to be in the Olympics, I’m 100 per cent for it.
“And if I need to do anything to achieve this, I will give everything within my capacity to help.”
Fahad Ali Al Shamsi, chief executive of the UAEJJF and general secretary of the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union, thinks they are heading on the right direction to eventually get the sport included in the Olympics.
“Of course there are many challenges but I believe we are going on the right path and doing the right things to achieve our objectives,” he said.
“Jiu-jitsu is in the Asian Beach Games, Asian Indoor Games, World Beach Games and the 2018 Asian Games.
“So we are on the right path. Our target would be the 2024 Olympics.”
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