Click on the i at the top left of the gallery box for captions.
History begins in 2009. The first installment saw memmorable duels like this one where Robinho Moura faced Rafael Mendes, who had just reached the black belt rank
In 2009, Rubens Cobrinha was the ruler of the featherweight division. In Abu Dhabi, he welcomed Gui Mendes to the black belt rank with this choke from the back
The -65kg final between Rafael Mendes and Cobrinha was the second time they faced each other and the first time Rafa defeated his rival
Em 2009, Garcia captura o pescoço da fera Victor Estima, na divisão 75kg em Abu Dhabi.
Victor’s brother, Braulio, got the family’s revenge with a triangle in the open class semifinal
Still unknown in 2009, brown belt Rodolfo Vieira won the -95kg division and earned the nickname “black belt killer”. He himself got the black belt when he returned to Brazil
Fabio Gurgel decided to compete in 2009 and proved he still had it
One of the highlights of ’09 was the fight between Gurgel and Braulio in the -95kg division. One sweep gave Braulio the win
The open class final put Tarsis Humphreys and Braulio face to face
Humphreys became the first ever WPJJC black belt open class champion with a last second sweep
In 2010, Rafael Mendes tried his luck in the open class and worked succesfully his guard against Luiz Theodoro
In Abu Dhabi, there’s no such thing as a close-out. That’s why Rafael and Guilherme had to fight for the -65kg title in ’10
Claudio Calasans Jr resisted Braulio Estima’s presure for the open class title in ’10
Women made their first appearance at the WPJJC in 2010
Sheik Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the patron of the WPJJC and also a frequent presence in the venue
The Sheik particularly enjoys to watch the local talents fight
Augusto Tanquinho made his name in 2011, when he defeated both Gui (photo) and Rafa Mendes in the -65kg division
Aware of what he had done, Tanquinho celebrated with intensity
That same year of 2011, Celso Venicius and Gilbert Durinho put on a thrilling match in the -74kg division semifinal
Gabi Garcia ruled over the +65kg division in 2011
In one of the greatest performances of his career, Lucio Lagarto defeated Marcus Buchecha for the +92kg gold medal in 2011
He made sure to celebrate it the right way!
Rodolfo Vieira was living the greatest year of his career in 2011. This choke on Cobrinha gave him the second open class gold in Abu Dhabi that year. He also won the no-gi absolute, one week before with a ref decision victory over Rafael Mendes
A common thing in Abu Dhabi is for Sheik Tahnoon to call on the event’s standouts for a private session in the Palace
As this picture from 2012 shows, the WPJJC is one of the most important events in the UAE calendar
Kids are already a huge part of the program in the WPJJC. A natural occurrence, once Jiu-Jitsu is present in most of the Emirates’ schools.
Little by Little, the Jiu-Jitsu gi blends with the traditional thawb
A peculiar aspect of the WPJJC is that athletes often travel alone to Abu Dhabi. The lack of teammates forces competitors to train with each other. Just like Alliance’s Lucas Lepri and GB’s Roberto Alencar are doing in the picture
The pre-tournament training sessions are already a big tradition in Abu Dhabi. In no other place, adversaries are so close to each other before a major event like the WPJJC
In 2012, Roberto Satoshi caught everyone by surprise when he left Leandro Lo, Michael Langhi and Lucas Lepri behind for the -76kg gold medal
Xande Ribeiro was inpeccable in 2012. First he defeated Antonio Cara de Sapato with this armbar
Then he used this sweep for a last seconds win over Bernardo Faria to secure the -100kg gold medal
Michelle Nicolini went for Kyra Gracie’s foot for a quick win and gold medal in the -60kg division in 2012
Andre Galvão tried his best in 2012 to prevent Rodolfo Vieira’s second gi open class title
Unfortunatelly, his efforts were in vain and Rodolfo celebrated again
Victory in Abu Dhabi means glory, compensated effort, but also dollars in the pocket
Rodolfo Vieira arrived in Abu Dhabi in 2013 seeking his third gi open class title
Andre Galvão had a hard time accepting his defeat to Tarsis Humphreys in the open class quarterfinals in 2013
One of the most memorable moments of 2013 had the referee as main character
The brown belt open class division saw both finalists, Keenan Cornelius and Paulo Miyao DQed for lack of combativeness
Gabi Garcia reached her second open class title in 2013, when she defeated Beatriz Mesquita
Marcus Buchecha wrote his name in the list of balck belt open class champions with a 4-2 win over Rodolfo in 2013.
Marcus Buchecha ruled in 2013
As did Gabi Garcia
In 2014, Faisal Al Ketbi won the brown belt open class
Roberto Satoshi reached his third gold medal in WPJJC and celebrated like a true Japanese superhero
João Miyao had a great showing in 2014
Braulio Estima and Keenan Cornelius had two awesome encounters in 2014
Leandro Lo did what he could in the open class in Abu Dhabi, but could not avoid tapping to Rodolfo Vieira
Buchecha put pressure on Keenan for a spot in the open class final
Rodolfo squeezed Galvão’s neck for his spot
Gabi once again had no adversaries
Rodolfo started the open class final atrong in 2014
Despite all of Rodolfo’s pressure, Buchecha managed a last-second sweep to win his second gold medal in the absolute
The 2015 World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship is just around the corner.
Now a five-day event, this years edition is scheduled April 20-25.
Once again, the biggest names of Jiu-Jitsu will gather in Abu Dhabi to fight for medals and the money prizes offered by the event.
Even it’s impossible to know who’s going to be the standout in 2015, it’s pretty easy to know that we are going to witness epic battles and hair-raising thrills, just like in the five past editions.
GRACIEMAG was present in all five installments held since 2009 and we bring you some of the best images our photographers captured.
Relive the emotions and choose your favorite moments.
Pictures: Ivan Trindade, Luca Atalla, Dan Rod, Gustavo Aragão
