Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship set for swift return

The 12th staging of the world's pre-eminent jiu-jitsu tournament took place in April

Brazilian Igor Silva (in white) won the Abu Dhabi World Masters-1 black belt 120kg heavyweight final from Canadian Bruno Munduruca at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena at the 12th staging of the World Pro on April Show more

The Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship makes a quick return in November, the UAE Jiu-Jitsu Federation announced.

The last staging of the world's biggest jiu-jitsu tournament in April drew more than 2,000 fighters from 80 countries vying for a slice of the Dh2.7million prize money.

Mohammed Salem Al Dhaheri, vice president of UAEJJF, confirmed the federation has assigned a committee to organise the 13th edition of the tournament most commonly known as the World Pro in the last quarter of this year without specifying dates.

“We want to provide the world’s best an opportunity to shine in the most prestigious event on the calendar, especially those who were not able to participate in the 12th edition due to travel restrictions,” he said.

“The level of participation in the 12th edition underlines its importance to jiu-jitsu athletes around the world. The appetite is as strong as ever and we owe it to the athletes to give them a safe and secure platform on which to compete in the sport they love.

“With the gradual easing of travel restrictions in the coming months, we are optimistic about returning to normal life and welcoming the maximum possible participation in the 13th edition of largest and most prestigious event on the global jiu-jitsu calendar.”

April's World Pro attracted thousands of global spectators despite the event being held behind closed doors, with fans tuning in to the action via the UAEJJF's digital channels.

The federation said the 12th staging of the World Pro attracted almost 400,000 views and 67,000 hours of watch time. The next edition of the championship will be live streamed on the UAEJJF's YouTube channel and will also be broadcast on Abu Dhabi Sports TV.

Meanwhile, Abdulmunam Al Hashemi, president of the UAEJJF, says it plans to hold the biggest training session of the martial art on record at Expo 2020 Dubai on November 15.

The UAE holds the Guinness World Record for the world’s largest jiu-jitsu lesson set at the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre in 2015.

Held on the occasion of the National Sports Day, the UAE had 2,481 jiu-jitsu athletes participating in a lesson at a single venue, smashed an earlier record of 2,212.

“We have put forward some initiatives to support the success of Expo 2020 in Dubai, which we are confident will be the largest and most important in the world,” Brazilian ambassador to the UAE Fernando Luis Lemos said.

“The UAE holds the Guinness Book of Records for the largest jiu-jitsu training and we were keen to organise another larger training session to enter the Guinness Book and lead the UAE to break the previous record it had set.

“We want to use the Expo 2020 Dubai as a background for this important event, as we have a large pavilion.”