2018 was a good year for international jiu-jitsu as a broad variety of countries claimed medals at the World Pro. 

But just when you thought that Brazil’s dominance of the sport was to be challenged, 2019 was the year they reminded us that they are still unequivocally the best country in the world. 

Back in 2018 three divisions were won by non-Brazilians, with Espen Matheisen (NOR), Amal Amjahid (BEL) and American citizen Angelica Galvao (USA) taking gold. The last one may be a technicality, but it stands– Galvao has an American passport and chose to represent the States at World Pro. 

This year Norway’s Tommy Langaker was the only non-Brazilian to stand on top of the podium, winning the 77kg division. It was the only weight division final where neither competitor hailed from Brazil. 

With 11 out of 12 gold medals, Brazil reaffirmed their position as the dominant country. 

The rules at the Abu Dhabi World Pro limit the number of competitors from the same country to two and they must compete no later than the semifinals, ensuring that no final can contain two competitors from the same country. 

This year three "finals" were an all-Brazil affair, but this due to the divisions being run in the round-robin format and even though they decided the winners they were not technically final matches– simply the last match of the round-robin. 

Even with the limitations in place, Brazilian competitors rose to the top– and some of them even had to fight their way into the main bracket. 

With the limit of two competitors per country in each weight category, the number one seed for that nation goes to the highest-ranked athlete.

That meant Kaynan Duarte, Beatriz Mesquita and Joao Gabriel Rocha, for example, all had to compete against all of the other registered Brazilians for the second seed spot in qualifying brackets held on the opening day of the tournament. 

The efforts paid off though, as each gold medal winner at the Abu Dhabi World Pro went home $10,000 richer. For somebody like Langaker who had four matches, that equates to a nice $2,500 per match won. 

2018 Abu Dhabi World Pro results

2019 Abu Dhabi World Pro Men's Results

2019 Abu Dhabi World Pro Women's Results

Catch up on all of the matches from the 2019 Abu Dhabi World Pro here.