How The UAEJJ Team Is Working To Become A Global Jiu-Jitsu Superpower

Everybody in the jiu-jitsu world knows about the work that the United Arab Emirates is doing to develop jiu-jitsu on a global scale. 

From the United Arab Emirates Jiu-Jitsu Federation (UAEJJF) Abu Dhabi World Pro and Grand Slam series of jiu-jitsu events to the introduction of compulsory jiu-jitsu training for all schoolchildren in the country, the UAE is looking to further the sport both at home and across the world. 

The small Middle Eastern country has made great strides in a relatively short period of time, but we are starting to witness the progress of one long-term project: the UAE jiu-jitsu national team. 

With head coaches Roberto "Gordo" Correa and Ramon Lemos leading the way, the UAEJJ team has competed more often and displayed better results. And the work has only just begun, according to Correa. 

They asked me when I arrived there, they said what do we need? I said ‘time,'" Correa said. "They are new players. Of course they hired a lot of good coaches, the government supports it a lot, but still. You need time.

“This generation – 15, 16, 17 years old – are going to be good, and the next generation are going to be much better.

"They have great talents: the juvenile team who came [to Rio] were very good, and we're sure that next year the results are going to be much better."