Meyran Alves claims King of Mats title on Day 2 of Abu Dhabi Grand Slam finale

Meyran Alves came through undefeated to clinch the King of Mats title on Day 2 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour finals at the Jiu-Jitsu Arena at Zayed Sports City on Saturday.

The Brazilian, competing under the Al Wahda Club banner, was completing a double for his country after compatriot Yara Nascimento was crowned the Queen of Mats.

Alves, 21, edged out American Isaac Doederlein in the final 2-1 on points for the lightweight title.

“It was a very hard bracket with the best in the weight category and I’m glad I came through all the fights in my first time in this prestigious competition,” Alves told The National.

“I had to go through four fights without any break in-between. It was the same format for everyone but that makes it very tough in combat sports. Nevertheless, I’m super happy for the night’s work.”

Doederlein also reached the final without dropping a game but couldn’t match Alves on the night.

“I watched Isaac’s fights and knew his strong points when he reached the final. It was a very close final and I just managed to get the better of him,” Alves said.

Wahda coach Gabriel Figueiro was instrumental in getting both Alves and Nascimento to compete under the Abu Dhabi club.

“I coached Meyran back in Brazil and got them down for the King and Queen of Mats,” said Figueiro, who took charge of Wahda’s jiu-jitsu team two months ago.

Omar Al Fadhli failed to progress on his debut at the King of Mats, narrowly going down to Brazilian Lucas Pinheiro 1-0 in the opening fight and losing to Doederlein by submission after taking a 2-0 lead in the next.

Meanwhile, the Brazilian men once again dominated the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Masters 1 black belt division, winning six of the seven golds on offer.

Igor Silva retained