After the Masters put on a show of their own, Professionals and Youths took over the tournament this Sunday, April 28th. With the Floridian shores as the background for the action, athletes from all over the world made their way to the Miami-Dade County Youth Fairgrounds for another day of hardcore competition.
But it’s impossible to talk about the North America Continental’s second day and not mention the Professional Black Belt category. Raising the stakes and taking the sport all the way to the next level as they show the world why they’re called “The Elite of Jiu-Jitsu”, the competitors fought with and without the gi to become champions in the AJP.
Check out below the highlights of the Professional Black Belt finals, and for the full results, click here!
AJP North America Continental Championship 2024
Men’s Black Belt Divisions
62kg: Yuri Hendrex vs Guilherme Lima
Representing PSLPB Cícero Costha, Yuri Hendrex reigned over the 62kg division. Facing Alliance’s Guilherme Lima in a best-of-three bracket, Yuri gave his opponent no chance to fight back, unleashing his game and closing the scoreboard at a whopping 19-0 to seize his first victory. The second bout, however, was much quicker, with Yuri locking a submission in the first few seconds of the duel and taking the gold medal.
69kg: Diego ‘Pato’ Oliveira vs Pedro Nakano
With three powerful contenders for its title, the 69kg division saw the rise of Jiu-Jitsu powerhouse Diego “Pato” Oliveira in the tournament. Fighting in a round robin, Diego began his journey by facing Pedro Nakano and, after the five minutes of regulated time, beat his opponent by an 8-0 score. In his second match, Diego went up against the Peruvian Jeremias Echevarria and locked a cross lapel choke submission at the last minute. In the bracket’s last match, Nakano even managed to beat Jeremias by 4-0, but Diego’s victories had already placed him at the top, landing another victory for the AOJ athlete.
77kg: Thiago Macedo vs Joao Rocha
The American Thiago Macedo went on a rocky road to conquer the gold in the North America Continental. Facing only Brazilian opponents in the 77kg bracket, Thiago first went up against Felipe Schiavon in a very challenging semifinal, taking the win by 1-0 in the extra minute after no points were scored during the regulated time. In the final, things did not go any easier, as Thiago fought João Rocha almost to a draw during the five minutes and the golden point, with neither side scoring. At the end of it all, Thiago’s performance was considered more effective, thus granting him the top spot on the podium.
85kg: Leonardo Guimarães vs Heitor Senra
Flying under the GF Team banner, Leonardo Guimarães conquered the 85kg division. His first came at the semifinal, in which he unleashed his game against Herminio Mora, locking the winning submission in the last seconds of the duel. The gold round saw Leonardo facing Heitor Senra in a challenging duel that took up the entirety of the regulated time and ended in a narrow 2-1 victory for Leonardo.
94kg: Enderson Almeida vs Thiago Gontijo
A best-of-three bracket was all that stood between Enderson Almeida and the 94kg division title. Facing Thiago Gontijo for the gold, Enderson had a tough first battle in the tournament, taking the win by a 4-0. When the second fight began, however, Enderson was already more comfortable and knew what to expect from Thiago, so he had no problem unleashing his game and becoming the champion by a 10-1 score.
77kg No-Gi: Gesias Cavalcante vs Bernardo Delibero
Fighting without the gi in the 77kg division, Fight Sports’ Gesias Cavalcante went through the bracket like a freight train. Locked in a round-robin, Gesias got his first victory by submitting Milton Bustamante. In the second round, facing his teammate Bernardo Delibero, Gesias pulled no punches and landed a second submission with a little over one minute on the clock. Bernardo went on to submit Milton Bustamante in the last fight, but Gesias remained the division champion.
120kg / Open Heavyweight No-Gi: Roberto Abreu vs Ty Freeman
Bringing his strength and experience to the North America Continental’s mats, ADXC 1 champion Roberto ‘Cyborg’ Abreu conquered the double gold this weekend, both times by facing the American Ty Freeman. First, in the 120kg No-Gi division, Cyborg and Freeman went at each other through the entirety of the regulated time and the extra minute but neither side managed to score, leaving it up to the referees, who decided in favor of Cyborg. A couple of minutes later, Cyborg and Freeman ran into one another again, this time for the Open Heavyweight No-Gi title. Once again, the match took up all five minutes of regulated time, but this time Cyborg managed to score a narrow 1-0 to conquer his second gold that day.
Open Lightweight: João Rocha vs Yuri Hendrex
Showing his technical prowess, Barbosa Jiu-Jitsu’s João Rocha entered the challenging Open Lightweight division and emerged as the champion. After scoring last to beat Felipe Schiavon in the semis, João went toe-to-toe with PSLPB Cícero Costha, who was the favorite for the title. But even faced with the odds, João did not falter and let his Jiu-Jitsu do the talking, not only putting up a fight but steadily overwhelming Yuri to close the scoreboard at a 7-4 to lead one of the biggest upsets of this year’s North America Continental.
Women’s Brown And Black Belt Divisions
62Kg: Julia Maciel vs Ruthe Caten
Representing the Athlas Training Team, Julia Maciel became the 62kg division champion. After scoring last to beat Alexa Yanes in the semis, the Brazilian athlete went on to face Ruthe Caten in the final. The fight started a bit slower, with both athletes too wary to expose themselves too much, but around the three-minute mark, Julia saw her chance to end the match earlier and didn’t even think twice, lunging for the submission and taking the title.
Open Lightweight: Julia Maciel vs Alexa Yanes
A couple of hours after conquering the 62kg division, Julia Maciel returned to the mats with her sights set on the Open Lightweight title. Despite a rocky start being submitted by Alexa Yanes, Julia steeled her resolve and submitted Ruthe Caten to advance to the final and get a rematch. With Alexa coming as the favorite for the gold, Julia entered the fight area very careful to not expose herself too much and risk suffering another submission. However, midway through the duel, Julia saw the chance to settle matters and, once again, didn’t falter, locking a submission and taking her second gold medal that day.
95kg: Leilani Bernales vs Barbara Cuevas
Weighing 70kg before the competition, the American Leilani Bernales had no opponents to fight in her weight, so she decided to go up to the 95kg division and still came out as the champion. Facing Barbara Cuevas in a best-of-three bracket, Leilani entered this almost-Open Weight experience with her head held high and won the first match by scoring last in a 1-1 tie. The second match was just as challenging, but Leilani once again rose to the challenge and, after five minutes of regulated time, a 2-1 score put Leilani atop the division’s podium.
70kg No-Gi: Leilani Bernales vs Jennifer Preciado
Back in her weight range to fight without the gi, Leilani Bernales once again got the gold. Facing her Fight Sports teammate Jennifer Preciado, Leilani had two battles in the best-of-three bracket before she reached the title, and she won the first one by a 3-0 score. The second and last match saw a more comfortable Leilani taking to the mats and just unleashing her game to end the match at 7-0, thus granting her second title in the North America Continental.
Closing with an honorable mention, the first day of the North America Continental saw an incredible performance from PSLB Cícero Costha’s João Miyao. Fighting at the Master 1 62kg division, João fought twice before becoming the champion, starting with his 11-1 victory over Jeison Mora in the semis. In the gold round, João simply unleashed his game and scored 15-0 before ultimately submitting to climb the podium.