The 2019 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Abu Dhabi is nearly upon us, and while the talent present among all divisions is daunting, three black belt groups truly rise above all others in terms of talent and the challenges they present.

Watch the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jan. 10-12 on FloGrappling

77kg: Young Guns

The inclusion of Roberto Satoshi and Diego Ramalho, two of the athletes competing in the separate King of Mats event going down on Saturday, should be a clear indication that the 77kg division is as competitive as can be, but what really spices thing up is the arrival of Tommy Langaker from Norway and Levi Jones-Leary from Australia, two of the fastest rising stars in jiu-jitsu today. 

Tommy Langaker takes home an arm.  

Langaker wasted no time last year when he arrived at his first major black belt competition and submitted Erberth Santos with a triangle in the absolute division. The "Viking" from Norway went on to have an incredible World Championship run in 2018, defeating past champion Gabriel Arges and submitting Marcos Tinoco before ultimately taking a silver medal, the first Norwegian to ever do so. 

We predict that Langaker takes his success even further in 2019, and the 77kg division is a great place to test this theory. 

Meanwhile, Levi Jones-Leary's 2018 brown belt campaign was a thing a beauty: gold at the European Championships, gold at Pans, silver at World Pro and gold at Worlds. The Unity competitor proved without a shadow of a doubt that he was ready for the next division and was promoted by Murilo Santa to black belt shortly after winning Worlds. 

Can the Australian wunderkind reach the same level of success at the highest level of competition? We'll find out Friday. 

Levi Jones-Leary sinks in the choke.

85kg: King of Mats – A Prologue 

The 85kg division is a special beast. 

It’s the same upper weight division as the King of Mats, and it seems that most competitors are chomping at the bit to get a crack at each other one day early. 

Ribamar, Rudson, Hulk, Arges, DJ Jackson -- all in KOM -– are also competing at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam here. Their accolades, strengths and reasons to watch are more or less readily apparent via reputation but feel free to jump into the KOM deep dive analysis for a review of all their merits. 

But they are not alone, and a bold performance from one of the remaining names in the division would surely be a huge story for the 2018-19 ADWJJT.  

Joining the cast of the KOM is Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu legend Faisal Al Ketbi, a former World Pro Champion (brown belt) and black belt silver medalist, Faisal is a pioneer of jiu-jitsu in the region. 

Faisal training.

We’ll also see the formidable Bradley Hill of Gracie Barra, the 2018 ADGS Tokyo silver medalist and UAEJJF No. 1-ranked black belt in the UK. Hill’s crafty guard and unique ability to win the scramble will be pivotal should he hope to topple the established elite present in the 85kg division this weekend.  

Bradley Hill battles DJ Jackson.

110kg: Small But Mighty

Perhaps we're taking some liberties with the word "small" here, but it is true that the 110kg division is one of the smaller divisions at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam this year, but it certainly isn't the among the weakest. We've got Erberth Santos, terror of the heavyweights, set to compete, where he'll potentially rematch with the legend Ricard Evangelista.

Analysis of Erberth's Takedown over Evangelista

Also in the mix among the heavyweights is Muslim Patsarigov of Norway, perhaps not as widely known as the two aforementioned athletes, but an absolute killer on the mats and not one to be taken lightly.  Keep an eye on his fierce wrestling and takedown abilities.