The Shanghai Grand Slam ended with Brazil at the top of the elite podium. Held October 17-18 in China, the stop on the AJP Grand Slam circuit awarded 12 titles in the professional division, seven for men and five for women, and 11 of them went to Brazilian-born athletes. Among the highlights, Jefferson Goteu confirmed his No. 1 ranking by winning welterweight, up to 77kg, less than a month before the World Pro.
The Chinese stop drew around 1,300 athletes from about 50 nationalities, with 150 black belts registered. The first day featured youth and amateur divisions, and the second was dedicated to the professional division, which on the women’s side combines brown and black belts in the same bracket. The only elite title that got away from the Brazilians went to Russia’s Vladimir Blium, the light heavyweight champion, up to 94kg, in a final against Clemer Canário.
RANKED NO. 1 AT 77KG, JEFFERSON GOTEU LIVES UP TO THE BILLING AND TAKES WELTERWEIGHT GOLD AT THE SHANGHAI GRAND SLAM
Jefferson Goteu arrived in Shanghai as the AJP’s No. 1-ranked welterweight and left China with gold around his neck. In the final, the Rio Grande do Norte native beat Bruno de Souza de Araújo, while Thiago Marques, the champion’s training partner, completed the podium with bronze. A black belt since November 2023, Goteu already had major elite titles on his résumé, such as the Rio de Janeiro Grand Slam and the IBJJF Asian Championship, both won in 2024.
Born in Natal in December 2001, Goteu started training at 13 and was already competing on the AJP circuit as a teenager. The gold in Shanghai, won less than a month before the World Pro, puts him among the names to beat in the 77kg division in Abu Dhabi. The plan now is to turn his strong form into a world title at the competition that brings together the season’s top-ranked athletes.
DIANA TEIXEIRA ADDS TO HER GRAND SLAM COLLECTION, AND LEONARDO NEVES FINALLY WINS AT THE ELITE LEVEL AT 23
On the women’s side, Diana Teixeira kept up her habit of winning gold on the AJP circuit by taking bantamweight, up to 49kg. The Amazonas native beat Grasielle Brandão in the final and added to an already impressive collection: in 2024 alone, she won five Grand Slam titles, in Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Rio de Janeiro, Moscow and Dallas. A black belt since May 2022, Diana relies on her outside guard pass as her main weapon and arrives in Abu Dhabi looking to improve on her 2024 World Pro bronze.
Leonardo Neves was the new face at the top of the men’s podium. At 23, the Rio native raised in Saquarema, who represents Portugal at AJP events, took lightweight gold, up to 69kg, by beating Russia’s Iaroslav Rymashevkii in the final. A black belt since July 2024, he came agonizingly close at the 2025 Istanbul Grand Slam, when he lost the final to João Mendes. In China, the title finally came, and with it confidence for the home stretch of the season.
FROM MARIA LUISA DELAHAYE TO PATRÍCIA DA ROCHA: THE CHAMPIONS WHO COMPLETED BRAZIL’S DOMINANCE IN CHINA
In addition to Diana, four other Brazilian women reached the top of the podium. Gabriela Pereira won featherweight, up to 55kg, and Maria Luisa Delahaye took lightweight gold, up to 62kg, with Kamilla Souza taking silver, a result that gives the 2024 World Pro champion momentum to chase a second title in Abu Dhabi. At heavyweight, up to 95kg, Patrícia da Rocha beat Mongolia’s Sugar Myagmar in the final.
At middleweight, up to 70kg, Sabatha Santos came out on top in one of the toughest finals of the day, against Hungary’s Tamara Toros, owner of a historic World Games gold and a regular presence in the circuit’s finals. On the men’s side, four more golds completed Brazil’s run: Welison Fernandes won bantamweight, up to 56kg, against China’s Tianle Zhang, and Felipe Fernandes took featherweight, up to 62kg, by beating Bruno Borges.
In the heavier divisions, the Russians reached three finals but won only one. At middleweight, up to 85kg, Lucas Protásio beat Iurii Kuznetsov in the final. At heavyweight, up to 120kg, Guilherme Gomes took gold in a final against Umar Gaisumov, with Felipe Bezerra taking bronze. The exception was light heavyweight, up to 94kg, where Vladimir Blium beat Clemer Canário and kept the elite from having Brazilian champions in every division.
NEXT STOP, ABU DHABI: SHANGHAI CHAMPIONS ARRIVE ON A ROLL AT THE WORLD PRO, WHICH CLOSES THE AJP SEASON
For many of the Shanghai champions, the next commitment is the most important of the year. The World Pro, the AJP’s professional world championship, takes place November 9-21 at Mubadala Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. As shown in The Mat Nation’s preview of the 18th edition of the championship, which is expected to draw around 12,000 athletes of different countries, ages and belts, the professional division comes at the end, November 19-21.
In the overall standings for the Chinese stop, China topped the country rankings, ahead of Russia and Kazakhstan. In the elite division, however, the message was clear: a month out from the World Pro, Brazilians remain the main force in the professional division of the AJP circuit. Goteu, Diana, Neves, Delahaye and the other Shanghai champions head to the Emirates with fresh gold in their luggage and the goal of turning good form into a world title.
SHANGHAI GRAND SLAM 2026 PROFESSIONAL DIVISION CHAMPIONS:
MEN’S BLACK BELT
56 KG: Welison Fernandes (BRA)
62 KG: Felipe Fernandes (BRA)
69 KG: Leonardo Neves (POR)
77 KG: Jefferson Goteu (BRA)
85 KG: Lucas Protásio (BRA)
94 KG: Vladimir Blium (RUS)
120 KG: Guilherme Gomes (BRA)
WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL (BROWN AND BLACK)
49 KG: Diana Teixeira (BRA)
55 KG: Gabriela Pereira (BRA)
62 KG: Maria Luisa Delahaye (BRA)
70 KG: Sabatha Santos (BRA)
95 KG: Patrícia da Rocha (BRA)
This article was originally published in Portuguese: read the original version.
