The past weekend saw the first ever ADCC Open held in Jeffreys Bay, as a part of the J-Bay Surf Festival. The submission fighting scene has grown significantly in South Africa over the past years and the ADCC Open J-Bay marks a milestone in the sport’s growth, acting as the last preparation event before the ADCC Open Africa.
Athletes travelled from as far as Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban to take part in the event at Mentor’s Country Estate, Jeffreys Bay, which attracted over 200 participants from around the country. With several kids divisions on offer, the event attracted many youngsters making it a fun day for the family.
The highlight of the event was the Pro divisions, which demonstrated an international level of grappling.
In the Ladies Pro division, Jeffreys Bay’s Cara Du Plessis was crowned champion, despite being outweighed by 15kg.
In the prestigious Professional Absolute category, Jason Du Randt from Gqeberha took an impressive win, claiming the R10 000 prize purse. The young athlete has been practising Jiu-Jitsu for 7 years and has just turned pro in 2023. Says Du Randt: “Having just turned pro this year, this is a huge result for me. The cash prize will go a long way in getting me to the ADCC World Championship Trials in Poland where I’ll be going up against the best Jiu-Jitsu athletes in the world.” Du Randt is also a recreational surfer, making the win at this J-Bay Surf Festival event especially momentous for him.
Other standout performances in the event included those by Deslie Faithful and Cameron Pritchard of Cape Town, who as seasoned fighters both won their respective Professional weight categories. The legendary Chris Bright showed that he still very much has what it takes, claiming the win in the Professional Masters Division.
It is expected that the ADCC Open in J-Bay was the first event of many in a longstanding relationship with the J-Bay Surf Festival. “Having just signed a contract with UFC Fight Pass, a first in Africa, we’re planning to have this event live streamed to millions of households around the world next year and are hoping to grow it year-on-year.” comments ADCC Africa Federation President, Kurdt George.
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