GUYANA’S Phoenix Jiu-Jitsu and MMA Academy brought home the bacon from an International Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Tournament held in neighbouring Suriname.
Guyana collected 21 medals -10 gold, 10 silver, and 1 bronze – to take the overall title.
Leading coach Bruce Fraser says the team achieved its goal of making Guyana proud and giving budding athletes a platform to showcase their skills.
“Honestly, it has been bittersweet; we have tried for 8 years, and we have finally taken the team title, so I’m really proud of the guys and what they were able to accomplish. We had an extended camp this time; it was 8 weeks. It was a bit gruelling for some, but everything paid off.”
He says this performance is in line with their mission to be the best in the region.
“Our goal is to become the strongest within the English-speaking Caribbean, and we have to take this one step at a time, and if we plan to continue to work with Suriname with regard to having the best tournament in the Caribbean, it’s important we continue to build from strength to strength. We have been working closely with Suriname over the last decade with regard to making the Guianas tournament the top tournament within the Caribbean that would be logistically best for us.”
The club, after competing for 8 years at the competition delivered the Invictus Open Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu 2026 title over the weekend.
The competition fielded 158 athletes divided into 7 teams from Brazil, Suriname, and Guyana.
The top athletes were Solomon Khan (2 Gold), Joshua McLoud (2 Gold), Cassidy Burnett (2 Gold), Sue Hines (1 Gold, 1 Silver), Tiffany West (1 Gold, 1 Silver), Rone Mazol (1 Gold), and Melech Barton (1 Gold).
Also collecting silver medals were Samuel Tyrel, Masimba Charles, Daniel Persaud, Kenneth Gaskin, Nathan Fraser, Kel Joseph, and Ronaldo Persaud.
Jahmar Crandon was the lone bronze medal winner; other notable performances came from 16-year-old Humza Khan, Samuel Tyrell, and Cassidy Burnett.
Tiffany West and Kenneth Gaskin, two extraordinary athletes that showed true strength after competing injured, securing a gold and 2 silver medals.
The clubs say the next thing on the agenda for them is the Caribbean-Brazilian championship in November.
