Augusto Tanquinho on top against Rubens Cobrinha, in WPJJC final. Photo: Erin Herle/ GracieMag

Augusto Tanquinho won the featherweight category in WPJJC Abu Dhabi 2013 last Friday, and confirmed again that he is on the same level of top division superstars like Rafael Mendes and Rubens Cobrinha.

It was precisely against Cobrinha, who had won the last two times they have fought, that Tanquinho made the final of the 70kg division. A sweep gave the gold medal to the Soul Fighters professor from Rio.

In an interview with GracieMag, Augusto Tanquinho listed what he learned in the tournament, analyzed his fight and highlighted the main recipe for success:

GracieMag: You and Rubens Cobrinha have fought several times and know each other very well. How do you analyze the WPJJC 2013 final, in Abu Dhabi?

AUGUSTO TANQUINHO: It was a strategic fight, in my point of view. I went in with a strategy and followed it until the end to win. Cobrinha is very dangerous when he takes the cross sleeve and I knew I couldn’t let him make this grip at all. Thereafter I went for it, I just didn’t let him take the fight to his game; after all, a dangerous guy like Cobrinha with his main move would be deadly. I know his game well and I know the danger when he grips the cross sleeve.

What was your strategy in details?

In a 6 minute fight, the main thing is not to start losing. My strategy was to get ahead, sweeping or taking him down. And when I was on top, the tactic was to break his cross grip all the time and look for spaces to pass. In the end, it worked out (laughs). Cobrinha has a very good base and it is also always difficult to sweep him. People are used to seeing me fighting more on top and think I have no guard, but at the gym I train much more bottom than on top. So I could sweep and win.

And you lost to him earlier in IBJJF Pan.

I think my star shines in Abu Dhabi (laughs). I believe that both in European and Pan I lost by detail. In European, I lost by 2-0, and in the last minute I attacked standing up, I was on bottom and took the points. In the Pan, I lost by advantages, I thought I had to get two points when I attacked the foot and we left out of the fighting area, but the referee didn’t give me the points. Anyway, I’m not complaining about the referee, but this time the win came by detail too, I missed less and took up the opportunities more. That made a difference in this championship.

Did you have other memorable fights in WPJJC 2013?

I’ve had some pretty tough fights; I had four until the final. I was happy because I evolved during the championship. In the first fight, I submitted Felipe Cavalcante with a wristlock. In the second fight, I won by decision against Gilson “Neném” Nunes. He surprised me a lot, and showed a very complicated guard to pass. Since I attacked from start to the end, I guaranteed a place in the semifinal. In the semifinal, I fought with Michel Maia, a Brazilian who has taught in Abu Dhabi, and it was a great fight. I was losing by an advantage but I got a takedown and won by 2-0. Michel is very technical and strong in featherweight.

Besides the gold medal and the prize money, what knowledge have you brought home?

I learned that you should believe in yourself from beginning to the end in all fights. And to have enough confidence in your game is essential to train and train. That is the simple secret of success.

Michel Maia atop podium / Publicity photo

Abu Dhabi was treated to sensational submission action this weekend, at the Asian Open Cup, where Michel Maia took front and center as the big name of the event.

Coming off an MMA win and getting ready for the European Open, Michel kept up his winning ways by taking gold in two absolute divisions, one in the gi and the other without. The black belt’s efforts netted him 2,000 dollars.

In the No-Gi final, Michel submitted Eduardo Almeida. In the Gi, Zumbi Lara was Maia’s opponent in the final, as reported by our collaborator Marcos Oliveira.

Michel Maia no topo do pódio. Foto: Divulgação.

O fim de semana foi de muita disputaem Abu Dhabi, com o Asian Open Cup. E quem mandou bem foi Michel Maia, o grande destaque do evento.

Vindo de triunfo no MMA e já se preparando para o Europeu de Jiu-Jitsu, Michel segue os bons resultados com o ouro em dois absolutos, com e sem kimono. O feito valeu mais 2 mil dólares na conta do faixa-preta.

Na final sem kimono, Michel finalizou Eduardo Almeida. Já na decisão com pano, o oponente batido foi Zumbi Lara, como informou o colaborador Marcos Oliveira.

Not just soccer is driving Abu Dhabi wild this year's end. Photo: publicity.

On the same week the Fifa World Club Cup kicked off, the Asian Super Cup began nearby at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club, this time including No-Gi Jiu-Jitsu matches as there will be at the next World Pro, in April.

So soccer ended up sharing television time with the broadcast of a live Jiu-Jitsu tournament.

Besides the athletes from the capital Abu Dhabi, the cup featured fighters who train in Dubai, like those from the Emirates JJ Center academy led by black belt Rafael Haubert, and other countries around the region. Teams from Jordan, Morocco, Bahrain, Kuwait, Omman, and Saudi Arabia showcased their technique at the tourney and brought a balance of power to Jiu-Jitsu in the Middle East.

In the brown-and-black belt division, Emirates Team’s Brazilian reigned supreme, in the finals of every category. The standouts were Edmilson Conceição, Oscar Junior, Michel Maia, Samuel Herzog and Fernando Cosendey.

In the white-and-blue belt division, Wessam Mutie (Jordan) had twenty-six matches over the two days and took two gold and two silver medals. Another standout from Jordan was the young Abdullah Nabas, who impressed everyone with his grit in facing much bigger athletes in the absolute, as well as hometown boy Ali Salem, who displayed awesome takedown ability.

At purple, a round of applause for Abu Dhabi’s athletes Taileb Rumait, Mohammad Nasser, Faisal Fahad Al Qitbi, and to Palestine’s Gabriel Tayeh and Jordan’s Haider Hashem. Tayeh, my nephew, just had an MMA fight in Jordan and returned to doing well in Jiu-Jitsu.

Check out part of the Abu Dhabi Sport TV broadcast with the blue belt absolute final between Jordan’s Abdallah Nabas (68 kg) and Morocco’s Abdallah Alaooi (110 kg), a judo black belt and champion of Africa.

Não é só o futebol que levanta Abu Dhabi neste fim de ano. Foto: Divulgação.

Na mesma semana que começava o Mundial Interclubes da Fifa, realizou-se nas depedências do Abu Dhabi Combat Club mais uma edição do Asian Super Cup, desta vez tendo embates também sem kimono como previsto para o próximo World Pro em abril.

O futebol então acabou dividindo espaço na televisão com a transmissão ao vivo do torneio de Jiu-Jitsu.

Além dos atletas da capital Abu Dhabi, a copa contou com lutadores que treinam em Dubai, como da academia Emirates JJ Center comandada pelo faixa-preta Rafael Haubert, e de outros países da região. Equipes da Jordânia, Marrocos, Bahreim, Kuwait, Omã e Arábia Saudita mostraram sua técnica no torneio e trouxe equilibrio de forças para o Jiu-Jitsu no Oriente Médio.

Nas faixas marrom e preta, supremacia dos brasileiros do Emirates Team que decidiram em casa todas categorias. Destacando-se Edmilson Conceição, Oscar Junior, Michel Maia, Samuel Herzog e Fernando Cosendey.

Nas faixas branca e azul, Wessam Mutie (Jordânia) fez 26 lutas nos dois dias e faturou duas medalhas de ouro e duas de prata. Outro destaque da Jordânia foi o jovem Abdullah Nabas, que impressionou a todos pela raça ao enfrentar atletas bem maiores no absoluto, além do local Ali Salem, que exibiu ótimas quedas.

Na roxa, aplauosos para os atletas de Abu Dhabi Taileb Rumait, Mohamad Nasser, Faisal Fahad Al Qitbi, e para o palestino Gabriel Tayeh e o jordaniano Haider Hashem. Tayeh, meu sobrinho, acabara de lutar MMA na Jordânia e voltou a se dar bem.

Confira, abaixo, parte da transmissão da Abu Dhabi Sport TV com a luta final do absoluto azul entre o jordaniano Abdallah Nabas (68kg) e o marroquino Abdallah Alaooi (110kg), faixa-preta de judô e campeão africano.

Michel Maia (o da esquerda) venceu com um mata-leão. Foto: Regis Rodrigues.

Marcão Oliveira (Brasil) e Shamil Abdurahimov (Rússia) são os finalistas do GP do ADFC, evento de MMA em Abu Dhabi que vai pagar um milhão de dirhans para o grande vencedor. A grande final será no evento marcado para janeiro de 2011.

Nesta sexta-feira, Marcos garantiu sua vaga ao superar o inglês Neil Wain por decisão unânime dos jurados. Já Shamil ganhou moral ao despachar o ex-astro do UFC Rameau Sokoudjou no terceiro assalto.

Marcão, em foto de seu arquivo pessoal.

O evento provou que Abu Dhabi é a terra em que o incrível acontece. No ADFC 2, evento de MMA local, o francês Fernand Lopez, por exemplo, cantou em cima do ringue o popularíssimo (no Brasil) “Rap das armas”, após despachar o italiano Matteo Piran.

Confira os resultados a jato, aqui no GRACIEMAG.com

ADFC 2
Abu Dhabi, Emirados Árabes
22 de outubro de 2010

Ali Mohamad (EAU) venceu Luciano “Mutanthi ”Ferreira (Brasil) por decisão dividida dos jurados
Michel Maia (Brasil) finalizou Mohamad Mansouri (Irã) no mata-leão aos 4min35s do 1R
Fernand Lopez (França) venceu Matteo Piran (Itália) por interrupção do juiz no
Felipe Enomoto (Suécia) venceu Maiki Reiter (Brasil) por decisão dividida
Hassan el Humaiti (UAE) venceu Paolo Lamberto (Itália) por decisão unânime
Jake Short (EUA) finalizou Abdalla Hamdan (Líbano) no katagatami no 2R
Malik Omarov (Rússia) venceu Jules Willik (Reino Unido) por nocaute no 1R
Ed Smith (Reino Unido) finalizou Rafat Shawe (Iraque) na guilhotina no 2R
Vaughn Anderson (Canadá) venceu Bhupest Kamble (Índia) por desistência no 1R

GP absoluto:
Shamil Abdurahimov (Rússia) venceu Rameau Soukoudjou (Camarões) por interrupção do juiz no 3R
Marcos Oliveira (Brasil) venceu Neil Wain (Reino Unido) por decisão unânime

Michel Maia (left) won via rear-naked choke. Photo: Regis Rodrigues.

Marcão Oliveira (Brazil) and Shamil Abdurahimov (Russia) are the two who made it through to the final of the openweight final of the ADFC, an MMA event in Abu Dhabi paying out one million dirhams to the champion. The grand finale is set for January 2011.

This Friday, Marcos secured his spot in the decider after taking a unanimous-decision win over England’s Neil Wain. Now Shamil upped his stock by dispatching former UFC and Pride FC star Rameau Sokoudjou in the third round.

Marcão, in photo from personal archives.

The event provided further proof that Abu Dhabi is the land where the unbelievable comes true. At ADFC 2, a local MMA event, France’s Fernand Lopez, for example, in the ring sang the top-of-the-charts (in Brazil) rap “Rap das Armas,” after overcoming Italy’s Matteo Piran.

Check out the complete results, here on GRACIEMAG.com

ADFC 2
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
October 22, 2010

Ali Mohamad (UAE) defeated Luciano “Mutanthi ”Ferreira (Brazil) via split decision

Michel Maia (Brazil) submitted Mohamad Mansouri (Iran) via rear-naked choke at 4:35 min of R1

Fernand Lopez (France) defeated Matteo Piran (Italy) via referee intervention

Felipe Enomoto (Sweden) defeated Maiki Reiter (Brazil) via split decision

Hassan el Humaiti (UAE) defeated Paolo Lamberto (Italy) via unanimous decision

Jake Short (USA) submitted Abdalla Hamdan (Lebanon) via arm-and-neck choke in R2

Malik Omarov (Russia) defeated Jules Willik (United Kingdon) via knockout in R1

Ed Smith (United Kingdom) submitted Rafat Shawe (Iraq) via guillotine in R2

Vaughn Anderson (Canada) defeated Bhupest Kamble (India) via tapout in R1

Michel Maia encara o iraniano Mansouri. Fotos: Regis Rodrigues.

Uma bela apresentação num dos maiores shopping centers do mundo, o Mall of Emirates, em Dubai, fez a abertura dos trabalhos do Abu Dhabi Fight Champonship. A ISEE, empresa responsável pelo evento, resolveu investir muito na promoção do evento também no emirado de Dubai, devido à grande quantidade de turistas que visitam a cidade.

Os lutadores foram apresentados e pesados perante um grande público com a presença dos astros Mark Coleman e Fabricio Werdum.

Colecionador de medalhas no Jiu-Jitsu, o faixa-preta Michel Maia vai estrear profissionalmente no MMA. “É hora de botar à prova o treinamento árduo que tivemos. Uma coisa é certa, o público vai ter um show”, disse Maia.

Veja o card abaixo e algumas das imagens que antecedem o evento, nesta sexta-feira às 19h (horário de Abu Dhabi). Fique atento aos resultados em primeira mão pelo GRACIEMAG.com.

ADFC 2

Ali Mohamad (EAU) x Luciano “Mutanthi ”Ferreira (Brasil)

Mohamad Mansouri (Irã) x Michel Maia (Brasil)

Fernand Lopez ( França) x Matteo Piran (Itália)

Maiki Reiter (Brasil) x Felipe Enomoto (Suécia)

Hassan el Humaiti (UAE) x Paolo Lamberto (Itália)

Jake Short (EUA) x Abdalla Hamdan (Líbano)

Malik Omarov (Rússia) x Jules Willik (Reino Unido)

Ed Smith (Reino Unido) x Rafat Shawe (Iraque)

Vaughn Anderson (Canadá) x Bhupest Kamble (Índia)

GP absoluto:

Thierry Soukoudjou (Camarões) x Shamil Abdurahimov (Rússia)

Marcos Oliveira (Brasil) X Neil Wain (Reino Unido)

Michel Maia faces Iran's Mansouri. Photos: Regis Rodrigues.

A beautiful presentation in one of the biggest shopping centers in the world, Mall of Emirates, in Dubai, kicked off the effort to put together Abu Dhabi Fight Championship. ISEE, the company responsible for the event, decided to invest heavily in promoting the event in neighboring emirate Dubai, due to the large number of tourists that visit the city.

The fighters were introduced and weighed before a large crowd, with stars Mark Coleman and Fabricio Werdum present in the audience.

Jiu-Jitsu black belt medal collector Michel maia will made his professional MMA debut. “It’s time to put the grueling training we did to the test. One thing’s for sure, the crowd will have a show,” said Maia.

Check out the card below and some images in the lead-up to the event this Friday at 7 pm Abu Dhabi time. Stay tuned to GRACIEMAG.com for the results.

ADFC 2

Ali Mohamad (UAE) vs. Luciano “Mutanthi ”Ferreira (Brazil)

Mohamad Mansouri (Iran) vs. Michel Maia (Brazil)

Fernand Lopez (France) vs. Matteo Piran (Italy)

Maiki Reiter (Brazil) vs. Felipe Enomoto (Sweden)

Hassan el Humaiti (UAE) vs. Paolo Lamberto (Italy)

Jake Short (USA) vs. Abdalla Hamdan (Lebanon)

Malik Omarov (Russia) vs. Jules Willik (United Kingdon)

Ed Smith (United Kingdom) vs. Rafat Shawe (Iraq)

Vaughn Anderson (Canada) vs Bhupest Kamble (India)

Absolute GP:

Thierry Soukoudjou (Cameroon) vs. Shamil Abdurahimov (Russia)

Marcos Oliveira (Brazil) vs. Neil Wain (United Kingdom)

Marcão em foto de seu arquivo pessoal.

Depois de uma estreia de sucesso, a segunda edição do Abu Dhabi Fight Championship (ADFC) promete esquentar ainda mais a corrida pelo milhão de dirhams (U$$ 280 mil aproximadamente) na categoria absoluto.

Programado para o dia 22 de outubro no Abu Dhabi Exibition Center, na capital dos Emirados Árabes Unidos, o evento terá como lutas principais as semifinais entre Marcos Oliveira (Brasil) e Neil Wein (Inglaterra), e entre  Rameau Sokoudjou (Camarões/EUA) e  Shamil Abdurahimov (Rússia) do outro lado da chave.

Os vencedores de cada confronto vão fazer a grande final no início de 2011. E Marcos Oliveira, o Marcão, quer estar lá.

Carioca residente em Abu Dhabi, Marcão está totalmente concentrado no evento. “Tenho reforçado meu boxe aqui nos Emirados. Esta semana deve chegar o professor Cafuringa, que vem de Porto Alegre para afiar minhas mãos. Quero estar 100% no dia 22”, diz o wrestler e faixa-preta de Jiu-Jitsu, que aplicou o nocaute mais rápido da primeira edição do evento contra o lutador francês Johan Romming.

O evento, que deverá ser televisionado ao vivo, ainda terá no card  preliminar Michel Maia, Maiki Reiter e Hassan al Rumaithi, entre outros craques. Randall, promotor do evento, espera um público ainda maior que a primeira edição, visto a grande repercussão no evento na região.

Marcão in photo from personal archives

After a successful maiden event, the second installment of Abu Dhabi Fight Championship (ADFC) promises to heat up the race for the one million-dirham (approximately US$ 280 thousand) prize.

Set for October 22 in the Abu Dhabi Exhibition Center in the capital of the United Arab Emirates, the event is headlined by the GP semifinal fights between Marcos Oliveira (Brazil) and Neil Wein (England), and between Rameau Sikoudjou (Cameroon/USA) and Shamil Abdurahimov (Russia) at the other end of the bracket.

The winners of each bout will face off in the grand finale in early 2011. And Marcos “Marcão” Oliveira wants to be there.

A Rio native residing in Abu Dhabi, Marcão is totally focused on the event. “I’ve picked up my boxing here in Abu Dhabi. This week Professor Cafuringa is supposed to arrive from Porto Alegre to sharpen up my hands. I want to be 100% on the day of the 22^nd,” says the wrestler and Jiu-Jitsu black belt who came up with the quickest knockout of the first event, against France’s Johan Romming.

The event, which will be broadcast live on TV, boasts a preliminary card featuring Michel Maia, Maiki Reiter and Hassan al Rumaithi, among other aces. Randall, the event’s promoter, expects to draw an even bigger crowd than the first installment, given the repercussions from the maiden event.

For example: the ever-stronger Asian Jiu-Jitsu Championship, in September; the art being taught in the schools of Abu Dhabi; and the massive Gordo-Evolve academy in Singapore, among other signs. The latest evidence cropped up in China in one of the fastest-growing cities on the planet, cosmopolitan Shanghai.

On the 30^th and 31^st of August, the city hosted a major martial arts exhibition at the 2010 Shanghai Expo, one of the most visited exposition fairs in the world.

“The Expo receives between 350 and 400 thousand people per day. Around seventy million people are expected to pass through the Expo over the total six months,” comments CheckMat professor Chico Mendes, who attended the exhibition. “The event was broadcast live across China.” The presentation was held by the Wrestling Judo Association Jiu-Jitsu Community (WJAJC), and featured kung fu and Jiu-Jitsu demonstrations, with images of Grandmaster Carlos Gracie on the big screen.

The gentle art presentations were performed by fifteen teachers from Emirates Team and three CheckMat stalwart competitors, Leonardo Vieira, Chico Mendes and Marcelo Andreoli.

From the Arab Emirates, Michel Maia Marcelo “Guardinha” Motta, Oscar Junior, Maiky Reiter, Bruno Lopes, among others, were there.

Check out the photos taken by our GMA in Japan, Hashimoto Kinya:

[flickr set=72157624873224910]

“We spent four days at the event and it was great to see the interaction between the people from Brazil, China, the Middle East and Japan. I don’t know what to say about the Brazilians, they even started up playing pagode music on the bus after the Expo. Then the Middle Easterners joined the fun and sang, too,” recounts Chico Mendes. “There was one day where we went to a Brazilian barbecue house to show some of our culture to our new friends…”