It's the final day of the 2019 Abu Dhabi World Pro, and that means we will find out who becomes champion! Join me for updates of the black belt finals.

The finals were all set yesterday – read the recap of the best of the day's action here. 

Join us for the black belt finals at the #adwpjjc19 pic.twitter.com/xrXXIYuLKx

— FloGrappling (@FloGrappling) April 26, 2019

49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) vs Thamires Aquino (BRA) 

The women kick things off with a rematch– Mayssa competed against Thamires yesterday in the group stage of the round-robin, choking her from the back. A chance for revenge for Aquino. 

They get penalized and stood up for a double guard pull, and it looks like they're going to get a second but Bastos comes up and starts working a pass. She looks close to hitting her trademark leg drag but Aquino hooks the leg and prevents her from finishing the sequence and moving to top or the back. They remain locked like this for a lengthy period and the fight ends 0-0, 1-0 advantage for Bastos. Aquino defended well and if she'd let go she would have undoubtedly ended up in a terrible position. Bastos tried to free her leg and advance position and it;s not often we see her forward momentum killed like that. 

Result: Mayssa Bastos def Thamires Aquino 0-0, 1-0 adv – watch video

56kg: Hiago George (BRA) vs Carlos Alberto Silva (BRA)

Lots of leg fighting in this 56kg match. George and "Bebeto" are event at 2-2, but an ankle lock on the edge of bounds gets George an advantage with only 22 seconds remaining. Bebeto shoots in for a takedown but George locks him up in closed guard. 

Result: Hiago George def Carlos Alberto Silva 2-2, 2-0 adv – watch video

55kg: Amal Amjahid (BEL) vs Bianca Basilio (BRA) 

Scrap time! Basilio and Amjahid are two of the feistiest competitors in the game, and they start off strong. Amjahid almost runs around to the back but Basilio just manages to shuck her off. Now Basilio runs around and is threatening the back! All in the first 90 seconds. 

Basilio gets two somewhere in the up-and-down, not from a sweep. Amjahid on top now and working to pass but Basilio using single leg X to control her – she gets under the hips and knocks her off balance and looks for the belly-down ankle lock. Nothing doing but she comes up and gets another two. 4-0 for Basilio. She's got the ankle wrapped which is smart. She can spam ankle lock attempts and control Amjahid's movement. 

Amal comes up with 1.45 left for 2 but her leg is wrapped still. Basilio moves into 50-50 with 1 min left. She rides out the position to become the 2019 55kg champion! Last year she won at 62kg, making her a two-time black belt World Pro champion. 

Result: Bianca Basilio def Amal Amjahid 4-2 – watch video

62kg: Joao Gabriel Sousa (BRA) vs Joao Miyao (BRA)

The last time we saw Gabriel Sousa and Joao Miyao face off was at the ADGS London where Sousa won in a razor-thin match. We can expect the same this time around. 

As expected, they're battling for every tiny grip and control here. Lots of the leg fighting we come to expect from the lighter weight athletes. 

It's 2-2 and Miyao is running 2 penalties. He's going to need to be careful and press the action if he wants to avoid getting DQ'd, but Sousa is keeping his workrate high. He comes up on a reversal attempt as time runs out – Sousa wins on advantages. 

Result: Gabriel Sousa def Joao Miyao 2-2, 2-0 adv – watch video 

62kg: Beatriz Mesquita (BRA) vs Ffion Davies (GBR) 

Davies spoke about how much she respects Bia– she called her the "Lady GOAT"– but also described how a shift in her mentality has helped her face off with such experienced opponents. Mesquita is aiming for her fifth World Pro title as a black belt so Davies will need to come out hard in order to win. 

Mesquita works from top and threatens a pass– it looks close to being complete but Davies recovers and manages to put Mesquita down– 2-0 Davies. 

We all know how dangerous Mesquita's closed guard is and she reminds us with a series of attacks that racks up a huge 10 points– Davies was lucky to scrape Mesquita off her back, but there was no way to come back off a points deficit like that. 

Mesquita gets a huge cheer from the crowd– they really love her here– and is champion once again! 

Result: Beatriz Mesquita def Ffion Davies 10-2 – watch video

69kg: Isaac Doederlein (USA) vs Paulo Miyao (BRA)

Tough call in this match– Doederlein fights like hell to get two points and is up. With about a minute or so remaining Miyao comes up chasing Isaac's back, who bails as as hard as he can and ends up going out of bounds. For this he gets penalized two points– although it was the only direction he really had to go, so in this reporter's eyes seems a harsh call. 

The 2-2 score had Miyao ahead via an advantage.

Result: Paulo Miyao def Isaac Doederlein via points – watch video

Update, Miyao had some writing on his face again. We discovered that it is the bible verse Colossians 3:17: "And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

70kg: Thamara Silva (BRA) vs Alessandra Moss (AUS)

Silva starts strong with a nice de la riva sweep and comes up chasing the rear body lock but they go out of bounds. 

Boom! Quick finish in this match for the Brazilian. She shoots up a triangle from open guard and finishes with an armlock to win with 3.28 remaining. 

Result: Thamara Silva def Alessandra Moss via armbar – watch video

77kg: Tommy Langaker (NOR) vs Oliver Lovell (GBR)

Oliver Lovell scored the upset of the year with his submission over Levi Jones-Leary. If he can take out Tommy too, it might just blow our minds. 

Langaker pulls and works his trademark collar and sleeve control from open guard. The threat of the omoplata forces Lovell to roll to bottom. Tommy dives and uses a sneaky crab ride to the back and a secures the choke! 

Tommy Langaker becomes the second ever Norwegian to win the Abu Dhabi World Pro following his teammate Espen Mathiesen in 2018. 

Result: Tommy Langaker def Oliver Lovell via choke – watch video

85kg: Rudson Mateus (BRA) vs Faisal Al Ketbi (UAE)

Rudson has a monster closed guard, but Faisal is super tough from top so it’s strange to see him let the Emirati work on top. 

The  Brazilian almost knocks Faisal over with a sweep and looks close to getting his arm straight– the sweep attempt is worth an advantage, which puts him ahead – that is, until Faisal calls for a TV replay. The referee seems pretty quick to oblige and Rudson’s advantage gets taken away. They’re going to go to a decision. 

All three judges score it to Rudson, who looks incredibly relieved. You can’t blame him, he allowed it to closer than it should have. Risking it going to a decision against the local hero is never smart, but he goes home $10,000 richer. 

Result: Rudson Mateus def Faisal Al Ketbi via decision – watch video

90kg: Gabrieli Pessanha (BRA) vs Claire-France Thevenon (FRA)

Gabi has been unstoppable this past year! Pound for pound she’s got to be one of the best female grapplers in the world, regardless of the fact she is a brown belt. 

Pessanha pull and immediately starts attacking Claire France-Thevenon. It doesn’t take her long to get a triangle. The French black belt rolls but can’t get out– it’s an armbar win for the Brazilian! 

Result: Gabrieli Pessanha def Claire-France Thevenon via armbar – watch video

94kg: Kaynan Duarte (BRA) vs Adam Wardzinski (POL)

Adam and Kaynan have fought twice since the beginning of March, so it’ll be interesting to see what kind of strategy the Polish grappler tries this time. 

Kaynan pulls and starts looking to wrap up a leg– he’s really good from the 50-50 and using the legs to knock his opponents off base. 

No need! Out of nowhere Kaynan catches a kneebar– it looked like Adam made a mistake by trying to turn out of the 50-50, which allowed Kaynan to lock the leg out straight. A huge technical error by Wardzinski, and a quick submission for Duarte. 

Result: Kaynan Duarte def Adam Wardzinski via kneebar – watch video

110kg: Joao Gabriel Rocha (BRA) vs Yahia Al Hammadi (UAE)

The size difference in this match is notable! Al Hammadi usually competes in the Masters divisions so credit to him for making it into the final here against Joao. 

Rocha uses his physical advantage to take Al Hammadi down to the mat. He runs around to the back and secures a collar choke for the win. The audience are silent. Tough crowd! 

Result: Joao Gabriel Rocha def Yahia Al Hammadi via choke – watch video