The 2018-2019 UAEJJF season kicks off on Sunday, July 29 with the first of five Abu Dhabi Grand Slam event taking place in Tokyo. 

After Japan, athletes will also have a chance to accumulate ranking points at the Grand Slams in Los Angeles, Rio, Abu Dhabi and London on the way to the end of season World Pro in Abu Dhabi. The Tokyo Grand Slam will see more than $120,000 in prize money distributed among the athletes and several of the sport’s biggest names are signed up to compete.

Women compete in combined brown-black belt divisions at UAEJJF events, leading to some interesting matchups and the occasional shocking upset of a brown belt taking down a big name black belt. 

Claudia Do Val (De La Riva, Brazil) has won IBJJF Worlds the last two years and is registered at -70kg, a five-athlete deep division with Samantha Cook (Checkmat, UK), Priscilla Cerqueira (Brazil) and more. 

Amal Amjahid

Amal Amjahid (CENS, Belgium) finished seventh last season and tapped her way through the World Pro, including a submission victory over 2018 black belt World champ Amanda Monteiro while still a brown belt. She’s registered at 55kg, along with World Pro silver medalist Livia Gluchowska (Absolute MMA, Australia) among others. 

Mayssa Bastos

Mayssa Bastos (GF Team, Brazil) only received her black belt a few weeks ago but has dominated the 49 kg division at brown-black for the last two years, winning the World Pro twice and finishing second overall in the rankings last season. She will compete in a three-woman round robin against Japanese opponents Aya Mastumoto and Iori Echigo. 

Gabrieli Pessanha (Infight, Brazil) dominated at purple belt this year winning the IBJJF double grand slam by winning her weight and the open class at Worlds, Pans, Europeans and the Brazilian Nationals. Now Pessanha will make the big leap from competing against purple belts to fighting black belts in the UAEJJF after getting her brown belt. Registered at -90kg, the 17-year-old will face the experienced Jessica Andrade da Silva (GF Team, Brazil) and Shantelle Thompson (Absolute MMA, Australia). 

Watch the 2018 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Tokyo

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