Taking place last Saturday, March 30th, at the University of London Sports Dock, the AJP Tour London International Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2024 was a beacon that attracted colored and black belts from all over the world to test their skills as they sought the top spot on their respective podiums.
With gold medals and 600 ranking points on the line for the winners, the tournament saw the attending athletes push their Jiu-Jitsu to the next level and evolve as they faced increasingly tough opponents in the brackets.
This was especially true for the black belt disputes, which saw the elite of the sport doing their best tricks and moves to overcome their opponents in hopes of attaining the “champion” status in the AJP.
Check out below the highlights of the black belt finals and click here for the full results of the tournament!
Women’s GI / Brown / Black / Professional / 70KG: Vanessa English vs Raquel Santos
After submitting Emily Eyles in the first match of the three-man bracket, Vanessa went toe-to-toe against Raquel for the title. The UK athlete started by going up from the double pull, dangerously reaching the side, and attacking the arm to score 3-0. Raquel fought back and attacked the foot twice, putting the scoreboard at 3-2, but Vanessa found room to sweep and closed the score at 5-2 to take the gold.
Men’s GI / Black / Professional / 77KG: Washington De Lana vs Benjamin Robson
In a well-balanced fight, Benjamin got a headstart on the scoreboard by almost taking down and gaining a single point for his effort, but Washington responded with a successful seoi-nage, landing the scoreboard at 2-1.
Benjamin didn’t falter and attacked with a dangerous triangle to tie the match at 2-2, but Washington once again turned the tables on his Welsh opponent, strangling from the closed guard and, when the match restarted with both sides standing up, landing a second seoi-nage to land a 5-2 score and rise as the champion in London.
Men’s GI / Black / Master 1 / 85KG: Bryn Jenkins vs John Woodman
Matches in the Master category are famous for the displays of technique and experience shown by their competitors, and this time around it was no different.
Representing Twenty Four Jiu Jitsu, Bryn Jenkins was not afraid to take his time and spent the first few minutes of the match calmly analyzing his opponent John Woodman.
When the opportunity was presented, however, Bryn did not waste a single second, taking the collar from behind and going straight for the mount with the collar gripped tight, choking his opponent to take the gold.
Men’s NO-GI / Black / Professional / 69KG: Igor Terreco x John Woodman
Technical know-how and aggressiveness led Igor Terreco to victory in London.
After opening the match with a strong guillotine and anaconda choke combo, which paved the way for him to take his opponent’s back, Igor managed to land a sweep and put the scoreboard at 7-1 to take the 69kg no-gi division gold back with him to Brazil.
Men’s NO-GI / Black / Professional / 94KG: Benjamin Robson x Bruno Labella
Fighting without the gi, Benjamin Robson opened his bag of tricks in the 94kg final and took the gold while giving Bruno Labella no chance to fight back.
With his overwhelming technical know-how, Benjamin landed a takedown, two takedown counters, a guard pass, mount, and multiple submission attempts on the heel hook, katagatame, and kimura throughout the duel.
When the clock ran out, Benjamin had secured his trip to the top of the podium with a whopping 26-0 score.
