Staff Reporter
WINDHOEK – The 50th Battle of Atlanta was held at the Renaissance Waverly Hotel & Cobb Centre in Atlanta, Georgia – USA, last month.
Namibian athlete, Sensei Lesley !Hoaeb was selected in the Friday Night Title fights, fighting against German opponent Taekwondo Champion, Johannes Gottwald.
The Namibian lost this world title by points but the closely contested bout was extraordinary, with a rematch already set for next year.
Ushidoshi Delano Müller (52kg) won his world title fight in the RCFAI division against Oscar Solache (63kg), both Black Belt fighters in the open division.
Master Daniel Gimenez held the first ever Sport Jiu-Jitsu competition at the Battle of Atlanta, whereby Sensei !Hoaeb and Delano Müller both won gold medals in this particular division.
The two champions had the honour to meet renowned Martial artist Gary-Lee, who autographed a special message to them.
Master Gary-lee is a well-known actor in the film sidekicks, and is also known in the TV show – Black Belt tv. He boasts several movie rolls under the belt and holds a 9th degree black belt in Karate.
The Azambuja International was staged in Escola de Jiu-Jitsu, Porto Alegre, Brazil. The two Namibians won their divisions and received trophies for AZ Behring International.
The Gladiator Jiu-Jitsu International Championship was held at LTC Sports Complex in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
!Hoaeb claimed a bronze medal in the final against Gabriel Delgado and added another bronze in the Absolute Champion against Vinicius Chaves Pereira, while Müller won a silver medal against a Uruguayan opponent.
The Namibian pair was part of the Behring International team, which won a trophy for 1 Lugar, Equipe. Master Sylvio Behring, oversaw proceedings during the championship.
Müller was invited at this championship to attend the Abu-Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour in 2019. He will be partly sponsored for this event, as it will be a huge honour for Namibia whilst opening doors to the International Arena for Jiu-Jitsu.
Overall, the gathering proved to a historic event for Namibia, which has never competed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu or any other continent before. The pair’s astonishing achievement made a huge impact, having done exceptionally well in the Jiu-Jitsu Mekka.
Upcoming events are listed hereunder:
Kickboxing:
The Desert Storm competition (our National qualifier and title fights) will take place on Sept 28 and 29, in Namibia. The Sub-Sahara title will defend again and there are two contenders from Zambia and Zimbabwe, out to challenge Müller for the Sub-Sahara title.
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu:
August 12, 2018 ADCC Cabo Tormentosa NOGI – Cape Town
December 2, 2018 South African International PRO (UAEJJF) – Johannesburg