2018 Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship

A List of The World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Award Winners, And How Much They Got Paid

A List of The World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Award Winners, And How Much They Got Paid

Major prizes were awarded at the lavish World Jiu-Jitsu Awards ceremony at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi, here's who won.

Apr 29, 2018 by FloGrappling
A List of The World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Award Winners, And How Much They Got Paid

Major prizes were awarded at the lavish World Jiu-Jitsu Awards ceremony at the Emirates Palace in Abu Dhabi on Sunday.

The biggest prize of the year was, of course, the award given to the No. 1-ranked black belt of the 2017-18 season. That honor went to Brazil's Igor Silva, who finished 340 points ahead of second place Adam Wardzinski of Poland. 

Best Male Adult Black Belt of 2017-2018, Global Ranking: 

  1. Igor Silva (BRA), 2,280 points ($25,000)
  2. Adam Wardzinski (POL), 1,940 points ($10,000)
  3. Jose Carlos Lima (BRA), 1,660 points ($5,000)

In addition to the payouts for the global ranking, there were additional continental awards of $5,000 for the top-ranked athletes from each region. Silva and Wardzinski picked up extra bonuses as top-ranked athletes in their regions. 

Africa: Adolfo Correia, 380 points 

Asia: Joao Carlos Kuraoka, 840 points 

Europe: Adam Wardzinski, 1,940 points (No. 2 in the world)

North/Central America: Matthew Leighton, 680 points 

Oceania: Lachlan Giles, 540 points 

South America: Igor Silva, 2,280 points 

The No. 1 female brown-black belt of the year went to UAE-based Brazilian athlete Larissa Paes, a familiar face on the UAEJJF tournament circuit. Second place Mayssa Bastos was 580 points behind, even having now three Grand Slams and the 2018 World Pro. All top three women were Brazilian. 

Best Female Adult Brown-Black Belt of 2017-2018 

  1. Larissa Paes, 1,920 points ($10,000)
  2. Mayssa Bastos, 1,340 points ($5,000)
  3. Thamara Silva, 1,300 points ($3,000)

In addition to payouts for adults, there were awards for the top-ranked Rookie (brown belts) and Masters 1 black belts. 

Best Rookie of 2017-2018

  1. Matheus Felipe Da Silva Xavier (BRA), 2,700 points ($10,000)
  2. Gabriel Sousa (BRA), 1,890 points ($5,000)
  3. Adrian Kozicz (POL), 1,430 points ($3,000) 

Further awards were given to the best black belt athletes to compete in the +30 age division. 

Best Master Black Belt of 2017-2018

  1. Mauricio Antunes (BRA), 1,880 points ($10,000)
  2. Thiago Marques (BRA), 1,740 points ($5,000)
  3. Claudio Cardoso (BRA), 1,520 points ($3,000) 

Finally, the teams were recognized with cash prizes of their own. 

Best International Academy 

  1. GF Team, 66,543 points ($10,000)
  2. Checkmat, 54,894 points ($5,000)
  3. Alliance, 46,871 points ($2,000)

Click to watch every match from the 2018 Abu Dhabi World Pro