ABU DHABI // The third staging of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu Jitsu World Tour will begin in Japan in July after organisers revealed the 2017/18 schedule.
After the opening Grand Slam Tokyo, which will be hosted at the Messe Convention Center on July 15, the World Tour will move on to the LA Convention Center in Los Angeles on September 23-24.
The third Grand Slam will be held in Rio de Janeiro at the Carioca Arena on November 10-12, before heading to the capital for Grand Slam Abu Dhabi at the Ipic Arena on January 12-13. The World Tour concludes at the Grand Slam London on March 10-11 at the Copper Box Arena.
The five Grand Slam events are open to all competitors and include world ranking points as well as a total prize fund of more than US$800,000 (Dh2.94 million).
The top three academies will also receive cash prizes in each host city and top-ranked fighters will earn cash rewards at the end of the season according to the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation World Ranking.
“We are very pleased to announce Season 3 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam,” said Abdulmunam Al Hashmi, chairman of the UAEJJF.
“It has been an incredible journey so far in a very short space of time. Last season the Grand Slam was broadcasted to 400 million homes in 85 countries through our 14 TV network partners around the world.
“We are really proud of the work we have done so far in developing the sport not just in the UAE and regionally, but globally.”
According to Al Hashmi, who is also the president of the Jiu-Jitsu Asian Union and senior vice president of the International Jiu-Jitsu Federation, a new category of “super fights” between the legends of the martial art will be included in this season’s Grand Slam events.
Faisal Al Ketbi, the Emirati black belt, said he was looking forward to another busy season for himself and his teammates.
“It’s really is amazing to see how this sport has grown in the past few years around the world,” he said.
“The Grand Slam is getting bigger and bigger, I see some of the cities have doubled the competition days, which means the numbers are growing continually. It is a real good sign for the sport.”
Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Jiu-Jitsu World Tour Calendar 2017-18
July 15: Grand Slam Tokyo, Messe Convention Center
September 23-24: Grand Slam Los Angeles, LA Convention Center
November 10-12: Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro, Carioca Arena
January 12-13, 2018: Grand Slam Abu Dhabi, Ipic Arena
March 10-11: Grand Slam London, Copper Box Arena
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