Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament |01 June 2016

Jean-Paul Labonté gets a win

Seychellois Jean-Paul Labonté achieved a win for Seychelles after submitting his opponent, Mauritian Moussa Dilmahamod, in the first regional Brazilian Jiu Jitsu tournament named Ultimate Submission Tournament. Labonte fought in the 85kg weight class white belt category.

As for Tesarina Gomme she was unable to achieve a win for Seychelles but gave a formidable performance against Mauritian champion Sharonne Maulette and submitted to a choke after 7 minutes of the contest.

Maulette previously won a bronze medal in the London IBJJF Open Tournament in 2015.

The competition took place last week outside the AL Fatah Stadium in Medine Camp de Masque, home of the Mauritius Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation. Over 800 spectators were present to support the athletes from Mauritius, Madagascar, Reunion and Seychelles who competed across various weight classes and belt categories.

The fights were 12 minutes long for white belts, 15 minutes for blue belts and 18 minutes for purple belts and the rules were based on those of the International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation (IBJJF) with the exception that wins would be determined by submission only. Fights which ended without a submission were determined a draw.

Seychelles Mixed Martial Arts Federation chairman Adrian Nanty said “the event was definitely a success for us and for the country.”

He added that “it gave us a chance to see where we stand in the region and also allowed us to network and build some strong relationships with federations in the region”.

The chairman noted that everyone was impressed with the performances of our athletes given that we are still very new to the sport.

“Jean-Paul and Tesarina are both very promising athletes and we will continue to do everything we can to ensure they are able to train and compete. We are very grateful to everyone who has helped them train and who has made this trip possible including Air Seychelles and the National Sports Council.”