The Grand Slam will be held in five international host cities around the world; Los Angeles, Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Abu Dhabi and London.

This year’s competition is open to all nationalities, with medallists listed in the jiu-jitsu world rankings and cash prizes awarded to top athletes of each division.

“With the incredible success of the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam globally last year, we have received a lot of requests from various federations and countries from around the world, to stage the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam in their country. This shows that we are on the right track,” said H.E. Abdulmunam Al Hashemi, chairman of the UAEJJF.

“However we have decided to add a fifth hosting city to the Grand Slam this year, which will be in Abu Dhabi, UAE. Our strategic plans for 2017-2018 are in process too and we aim to build a sustainable global sport championship product, not just events.”

This year will also see the event broadcast live by in the USA & North America, Brazil, Colombia, Europe, Middle East & North Africa, China, Japan and Asia.

“I am very happy to have competed in Abu Dhabi Grand Slam last year,” said Erberth Santos, Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt and Abu Dhabi Grand Slam champion.

“I was in Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, London and Tokyo, all four of them. I won in my division in all four events as well. This gave me a boost in the ranks and I liked fighting most in the first edition, because it really felt like the World Pro in Abu Dhabi.”

ABU DHABI GRAND SLAM WORLD TOUR CALENDAR 2016-17

3rd & 4th September, 2016 – Los Angeles, USA [LA Conventional Center]

23rd October, 2016 – Tokyo, Japan [Big Turtle Fukaya]

12th & 13th November, 2016 – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil [HSBC Arena]

13th & 14th January, 2017 – Abu Dhabi, UAE [IPIC Arena]

18th March, 2017 – London, UK [Excel London]