Alkass Digital
Seven Doha-based students from Vision BJJ, Qatar's renowned academy for the training of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, returned from Europe's largest and most prestigious tournament - the 2022 International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation Europeans - with a total of four Gold medal top prizes and three Silver second-place finishes.
Hosted in Rome this past week, thousands of grapplers competed in the tournament, drawing some of the biggest names in the sport globally.
Included in the making of competition history was the Championship upset by 23-year old newcomer and Qatari citizen Abdulaziz “Aziz” Mohannadi, who captured the Gold prize for winning all six of his matches in the White Belt category, 4 of which were purely by submission. Coach Fabricio Moreira, co-owner of Vision BJJ, stated "Qatari kid or not, in my 25 years of teaching in the US, Brazil and Qatar, I've not seen a White Belt (beginner level rank) come in and consistently train as hard as Aziz has. The kid is a natural and the proof is in the result. In a single year, Aziz went from being unrecognized in the sport and with no martial arts background to being ranked #1 in all of Europe!"
Sheikh Nasser bin Nawaf al-Thani, a partner of Vision and who himself recently became Qatar's first Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Black Belt, added, "We are thrilled by the performance of not just Abdulaziz but each of the 7 students we sent who fought with top distinction in this year's IBJJF Europeans." He continued, "They've turned a lot of heads within the sport, especially the performance by our female grapplers, who are each now rated among the top talent in the sport worldwide."
Sheikh Nasser added that the implications in the sport extend far beyond Rome to include neighboring GCC countries, where jiu jitsu has surged in popularity in the past decade. Sheikh Nasser, who began training the martial art almost 11 years ago, reflected on the advancements of the sport within Qatar, saying, "Brazilian jiu jitsu has been dominated locally by a handful of remarkable regional teams, mostly in Abu Dhabi, but even those ones would seldom win major competitions further afield." According to Sheikh Nasser, Abu Dhabi's monopoly in Brazilian jiu jitsu is no longer what it once was. "The sport is now starting to see a swing away from the domination enjoyed by the Emirates, as with hard work and persistence our Qatari club has gradually proved itself as an international contender. Our performance in Rome these past few days made that all very clear!"
The following Vision BJJ students in Doha returned with medals in hand:
Leonardo Vilela, 20, Silver Medal in Brown Belt, Feather Weight
Brigida Felipe, Age 26, Gold Medal in Purple Belt, Light Weight
Thalyta Silva, Age 22, Gold Medal in Black Belt, Middle Weight
Gabi Pereira, Age 22, Silver Medal in Black Belt, Feather Weight
Abdelaziz Mohannadi, 23, Gold Medal in White Belt//Open//Light Weight
Clayton Edward Swisher, 45, Gold Medal in Blue Belt/Masters 4/Heavy Weight