At a packed IPIC Arena at Zayed Sports City, Brazilian Pena put his disappointment of losing his 94kg final behind him, to win his first gold in the Black Belt title in Abu Dhabi defeating compatriot and UAE-based Jose Junior.
Pena, who picked up a winning cheque of $30,000, said: “I’m very happy to win the Absolute class it makes up for the disappointment of losing in the weight class. Against Jose it was very tough fight but it was good to overpower him for title.”
For 30-year-old Junior, he did clinch his first ever medal in this class but was left frustrated that he could not go one step further.
“I was waiting until he made a mistake, but he capitalised on getting a two point lead,” he said.
“I tried to get those points back but it didn’t happen. I did my best and obviously I am disappointed. As a fighter, you always want to win.”
It was a day that Araujo will not want to forget anytime soon. The Brazilian had earlier claimed the +70kg women’s crown and made it a double by beating Beatriz Mesquita on points in the Brown/Black Open event.
“I don’t know what to say, I’m speechless,” said Araujo. “The match was tough but I have been following her for some time now and I knew she was winning a lot of medals.” Their performances capped a memorable day for Brazil with 13 gold, 13 silver and eight bronze medals.
There was something to cheer for the hosts as Yahya Mansour claimed the Brown Masters Belt +94kg title. The Emirati, backed by strong support, showed no signs of nerves and dominated his encounter against Christopher Hernandez to win on advantage points.
“I’m very happy to win gold especially in front of my home fans,” beamed Mansour, 38. “It’s an honour to represent my country on the world stage. It was my toughest tournament because brown belt is never easy. But I stuck to my strengths and did well.”
The long wait for a world gold for Ricardo Evangelista ended with a +94kg Black Belt win. Against compatriot Victor Silva, Evangelista was struggling but he made his move in the last minute to win 6-0.
It was a result that meant a lot to the 30-year-old. “We are good friends and I know him for a while. The fight was tough as there was some strong fights in the Open and Weight categories – eight fights in total,” he said.
“This is the first gold in this pro event and my previous best was three silvers. It took me five years to get my hands on the gold so I’m really happy.”
Also, despite losing her Open crown, American Mackenzie Dern retained her 55kg gold by defeating Brazilian Marina Ribeiro.
“For me, it was so good to come back and be able to win my division,” said the 23-year-old. “I fought good and I am happy to keep hold of my title.”