The UAEJJF crowned its first “King of Mats” champions in three weight classes on Tuesday in Abu Dhabi. 

Three different divisions composed of former World Pro and Grand Slam champions battled it out at lightweight (69kg), middleweight (85kg), and heavyweight (110kg). 

The competitors first met in two round-robin groups and then finally in a four-person single elimination bracket. The winner took home $30,000, second place won $10,000, and third place earned $5,000, with extra bonus money to be awarded for the best match and best submission. 

Saggioro toughs out 69kg division with perfect run

GROUP A: Samuel Canqueirino (UAEJJ), Jose Lima (GFTeam), Isaque Paiva (Saikoo), Hiago George (Cicero Costha), Leonardo Saggioro (BTT)

The 2014 World Pro champion Saggioro went undefeated in Group A to finish in the top spot heading into the final bracket. Paiva defeated George, Lima, and Canquerino but lost to Saggioro, finishing second and advancing.

GROUP B: Celso Vinicius ( X Coach), Gianni Grippo (Alliance), Wanki Chae (John Frankl), Tiago Bravo (UAEJJ), Thiago Marques (Commando Group)

Three out of five athletes in this group finished with a 3-1 record, which resulted in Grippo taking first while Vinicius finished third with a win over Grippo. The deciding factor between Marques and Celso would be Marques' referee decision victory over Celso in their final match of the group.

SEMIFINALS

Gianni Grippo vs. Isaque Paiva: In a back-and-forth sweep battle between the two, Grippo scored last to take an 8-6 victory and advance to the final.

Thiago Marques vs. Leonardo Saggioro: Marques scored first in this semi, but Saggioro swept back to win 2-2 with one advantage.

FINAL

Gianni Grippo vs. Leonardo Saggioro: Grippo pulled guard but wasn’t able to get much going. Saggioro spent the later part of the match pressuring with a double-under pass to take the unanimous decision and the $30,000 prize.

Negromonte grinds opposition at 85kg 

GROUP A: Andre Galvao (Atos), Jaime Canuto (GFTeam), Charles Negromonte (Roger Gracie)

All three athletes in Group A went 1-1, with Canuto taking the top spot with a points win opposed to wins by advantage by Galvao and Negromonte. After beating Canuto 0-0 on advantages, Galvao went down the same way to Negromonte shortly after. Canuto won 2-0 with a foot sweep off a guard pull to take the group, and Negromonte advanced in the second spot.

GROUP B: Renato Canuto (Zenith), Roberto Satoshi (Bonsai), Tarsis Humphreys (Alliance), Clark Gracie (Clark Gracie BJJ)

Renato Canuto went 2-0 with a forfeit by an injured Tarsis Humphreys to take the group, Along the way, he defeated Satoshi on points and hit a beautiful armlock on Clark Gracie. Satoshi hit a triangle on Tarsis for the submission and defeated Clark to finish second. A last-second omoplata advantage gave Clark the victory over Tarsis.

SEMIFINALS

Jaime Canuto vs. Roberto Satoshi: Canuto was all over Satoshi with guard passing chains to come away with a 6-0 victory, passing to side control twice. Satoshi did have a deep triangle locked in at the end, but it was too late and Canuto advanced to the finals.

Renato Canuto vs. Charles Negromonte: Negromonte got Renato into his closed guard and controlled the match from there, eventually taking a referee decision victory, setting up a rematch with Canuto in the final.

FINAL

Jaime Canuto vs. Charles Negromonte: Canuto looked to be in control for much of the match, but Negromonte got a late advantage for a near pass to take the 0-0 win at the buzzer. Canuto was spinning under for a leg lock when he ended up in a bad 50/50 with Negromonte's leg on the wrong side. However, Negromonte smashed his way through to force the turtle and become King of Mats.

Trans emerges top dog at 110kg 

GROUP A: Tanner Rice (Soul Fighters), Alexander Trans (GFTeam), Helton Jose Junior (Cicero Costha)

Trans went 2-0 and Rice finished 1-1 to both advance from Group A. Jose lost both of his matches 0-0 on an advantage, while Trans beat Rice 2-0.

GROUP B: Lucio Rodrigues (Gracie Barra), Roberto Abreu (Fight Sports), Alexandre Souza (AS Team), Andre Campos (UAEJJ Team)

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu expectedly ran away with this group, winning all three matches to advance. Souza and Campos both went 2-1, with Souza winning the head-to-head matchup and getting the tiebreaker.

SEMIFINALS

Alexander Trans vs. Alexandre Souza: Souza suffered a rib injury early on in the match and had to forfeit, allowing Trans to advance to the final. 

Roberto Abreu vs. Tanner Rice: Neither athlete was able to get much going in this close battle until Abreu nearly earned points for a throw at the end, which most likely gave him the ref decision.

FINAL

Alexander Trans vs. Roberto Abreu: Trans looked like a man on a mission in the final and took Cyborg's back before finishing a collar choke to become the first heavyweight King of Mats.