By Michael Sears 

Competition in the purple belt divisions wrapped up Tuesday at the 2018 Abu Dhabi World Professional Championship, with Brazil taking home the gold medal in all seven weight classes. The Cicero Costha team had the best performance with two golds, a silver, and two bronze medals.

Soares shines at 56kg

Thalison Soares continued his dominant run at purple belt, winning the World Pro for the second year in a row. Soares expectedly cruised through his weight, including getting the submission while leading 23-0 in the final. Probably the most dominant purple belt over the last two years, Soares hasn’t lost at this weight since 2016.

Gold: Thalison Soares (Brazil/Cicero Costha)

Silver: Jeison Mora (Colombia/Checkmat)

Bronze: Yuri Hendrex (Brazil/Cicero Costha)

Photo: Michael Sears

AOJ star wins 62kg

Art of Jiu-Jitu's Lucas Rodrigues had to run a gauntlet to reach the 62kg final, including close victories over top-ranked purple belts Jonas Andrade and 2017 world champion Diego Batista, both from Cicero Costha. 

Gold: Lucas Rodrigues (Brazil/Atos)

Silver: Shoya Ishiguro (Japan/Bonsai)

Bronze: Diego Batista (Brazil/Cicero Costha)

Photo: Michael Sears

Moura seals 69kg with submission 

Italo Moura was the second champion at purple belt from the Cicero Costha team at the 2018 World Pro. Moura won the 69kg final by submitting 2018 European silver medalist Blazhko with a rear-naked choke while up 14 points.

Gold: Italo Moura (Brazil/Cicero Costha)

Silver: Yaroslav Blazhko (Ukraine/ZR Team)

Bronze: Haidar Abbas (France/MK Team)

Photo: Michael Sears

Razor-thin battle decides 77kg 

Mathias Luna and Alex Munis both performed flawlessly on the way to their semifinal matchup, going unscored upon through three matches each. Munis looked to have the match sealed up against Luna as he led by two points with under a minute left. Then Luna came up for a single-leg sweep and the referee penalized Munis for fleeing the mat, giving Luna the win and advancing him to the final. Both athletes would go on to win their medal matches.

Gold: Mathias Luna (Brazil/Checkmat)

Silver: Ruslan Israilov (Kazakhstan/Kazakhstan National Team)

Bronze: Alex Munis (Brazil/Clube Feijao)

Photo: Michael Sears

Machado earns tough 85kg division gold 

Reigning Pans champion Pedro Machado needed five victories to reach the top of the podium in Abu Dhabi. Machado utilized a collar and sleeve omoplata all day, using the move to sweep in almost every match. Notable victories by Machado were a decision over Pete O’Neal in the quarterfinals and then beating bronze medalist Jimenez by advantages in the semi.

Gold: Pedro Machado (Brazil/Gordo)

Silver: Bilal Benmahammed (France/Cicero Costha)

Bronze: Roberto Jimenez (USA/Alliance)

Photo: Michael Sears

Brothers take two medals at 94kg

The 94kg division was all about the Munis brothers Erich and Anderson, who outscored their opponents by a combined 25-4 before meeting each other in the semifinal. Erich would go on to win the gold medal match 8-0, while Anderson took bronze with a 12-4 victory.

Gold: Erich Munis (Brazil/Clube Feijao)

Silver: Bartosz Zawadzki (Poland/Gracie Barra)

Bronze: Anderson Munis (Brazil/Clube Feijao)

Photo: Michael Sears

Souza scores heavyweight gold

Roosevelt Souza tapped two out of four opponents on the way to gold in Abu Dhabi, including a dominant victory over favorite Pedro Pimenta by submission after leading 11-0. Souza was matched with Kazakhstan’s Makhmakhanov in the final and used a 50/50 sweep to get the win.

Gold: Roosevelt Souza (Brazil/Halavanca)

Silver: Mansur Makhmakhanov (Kazakhstan/Nogueira)

Bronze: Pedro Pimenta (Brazil/GFT)

Notable facts:

• The USA took only one medal, with Roberto Jimenez of Alliance getting bronze at 85kg.
• Kazakhstan earned two medals, with silverware at 77kg and 110kg. Ruslan Israilov of the Kazakhstan national team earned 77kg silver, and Mansur Makhmakhanov of Team Nogueira placed at 110kg. 
• Lucas Rodrigues' win over Shoya Ishiguro in the 69kg final was stopped due to a cut, with the Japanese grappler unable to continue.
• The Munis brothers Erich, Anderson, and Alex all earned medals, with Alex taking 77kg bronze and Erich and Anderson taking gold and bronze at 94kg, respectively.