IBJJF 2018 super-heavyweight champion Mahamed Aly had the performance of a lifetime on Sunday, and he took out two of the biggest names in the sport. 

The Team Lloyd Irvin black belt defeated Leandro Lo and Nicholas Meregali to claim gold, his first World Championship title as a black belt. Even though it’s always been his dream to win gold, it’s something he says he’s still getting used to. 

“The penny still hasn’t dropped. I had some great matches. If I had to single out anything it was my will to win, my willpower,” said the 24-year-old Brazilian. 

2018 World Champion Mahamed Aly. Photo: Michael Sears

Aly needed every ounce of determination to make it into the second day of the event. As is customary for the 222lb / 100.5kg grappler, he entered the absolute division on Saturday. His first match was a typical Aly encounter with Yuri Simoes, which saw plenty of dynamic wrestling exchanges and back and forth action. 

His second match on Saturday was where things took a turn for the worst. Aly faced off with Fellipe Andrew of Zenith BJJ, a renowned finisher with one of the nastiest footlocks in the game. It was no surprise when Aly found himself fighting his way out of one of Fellipe’s trademark attacks 

“I was like, “ah just tap here and focus on the next match in my weight division”. But at the same time I was like, there is no next match. If I had lost it would have been as if everything was over for me, and I’d have to do it all over again, have to wait another year – so I saw it as if every match was my last match.” 

Aly gritted his teeth and fought on but lost on points. He limped off the mat and back to the bullpen to await his next match a couple of hours later, which would be another war with long-time rival Jared Dopp. Aly won 6-2, but his injured foot was rapidly swelling up. 

“I don’t have this thing of saving myself for the next match, I fight every match like it’s the last one in my life. I need to give everything I’ve got every time so there are no regrets after.”

Aly spent the entire night with his foot elevated and iced up in an effort to reduce the swelling. A stroke of luck meant that his quarterfinal opponent had been DQ’d and taken out of the event, meaning he advanced into the semifinal against Nicholas Meregali. 

“Nicholas is super good, he always used to beat me bad. And I didn’t want to fight him like this, I wanted to fight him 100%.” 

Aly put one of the best performances of his career by taking out the highly-rated Meregali 5-0. That put him in the final with Lo, who most had picked to face Meregali in a rematch of the 2017 World final showdown.  

Aly vs Lo. Photo: Michael Sears

Matched up with Lo, widely considered one of the best pound-for-pound black belts in the sport (and no.2 on our list), Aly came out guns blazing against the five-time World champ. It was during one of Aly’s characteristic blitz attacks that Lo injured his shoulder, an inferior dislocation that the medics managed to put back in place. Amazingly, Lo continued only for the shoulder to get hurt once again during a sweep attempt. 

"Lo was of course better than me, looking at the numbers – speaking about titles, history, everything. Nobody would bet against Lo. I had to believe in myself one thousand times more to make it possible. I think most people who step on the mat with him are kind of already defeated. 

"Unfortunately he got hurt, I can't be upset at that. I've thought about it a lot, when it happened I was winning on points. But Lo is Lo. But I was feeling good, I was focused, very strong. I believe that if he hadn't gotten hurt it would have been one of the best matches of the event. I hope he gets better soon."

With his coach Lloyd Irvin. Photo: Michael Sears

Regardless of how it transpired, Aly’s hand was the one that was raised and his name will go down in the annals of jiu-jitsu history as 2018 World Champion. 

And he managed all this while balancing his responsibilities as a new father to a 6-month-old baby girl. 

Displaying an incredibly humble attitude, Aly believes that this is just the beginning and the work is far from over. 

“Right now I feeling motivated to keep working, I’ve got a lot to improve still – a lot. The level of jiu-jitsu is really high, and the guys who want to keep winning have got to have a thirst to evolve, to improve. 

I’m more excited than ever to keep competing in events, to keep living this dream, to continue being the guy that people like to watch. 

I’m very happy, but I’m not satisfied. I’m hungry for more victories.” 

Watch: 

Mahamed Aly vs Nicholas Meregali 

Mahamed Aly vs Leandro Lo