More titleholders will come from DEFTAC in years to come after producing five new champions in the just-concluded 2024 World Festival Jiu-Jitsu Championship, according to founder and president Alvin Aguilar.

Aguilar, the president of Wrestling Association of the Philippines (WAP), expressed his gratitude to the young athletes composed of Princess Akeisha Reuma, Ma. Althea Louise Brion, her daughter Aielle Aguilar, Marcus Sebastian Dela Cruz and Yani Alexii Lopez for winning the gold. 

He also thanked Ella Rosario Daza Olaso for winning a silver medal in the teen yellow 48 kgs class.

“It has been 26 years since the first time we competed abroad, and we are happy that through those years we have been able to produce countless world champions. Now, we have five,” Aguilar, also Universal Reality Combat Championship (URCC) founder and president, said.

“This year the WAP Junior Grappling team made up of homegrown talents from DEFTAC has already produced 21 world champions this year in different tournaments,” he added.

Aguilar was also grateful to the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) headed by President Abraham Tolentino, Tingog Party List, and the WAP for supporting their young athletes who represented the Philippines in the 2024 World Festival Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Reuma won the gold in the junior white 48 kgs by beating all her counterparts — Kazakhstan’s Safina Akmetshina, UAE’s Noora Ali Aljaheri, Russian Vasilisa Rakova, and Kazakhstan’s Aisha Zamalbek — via different submission maneuvers like Americana, armlock, armbar and kimura. 

Brion bagged the infant white 40 kgs gold medal after defeating UAE’s Alyazia Saad Alhadhrami, Maha Abdula, and Reem Almansoori all by rear naked choke submission, Nigerian Valerie Umunna by points, 14-0, and Kazakhstan’s Rayana Seitova by points, 1-0.

The seven-year-old Aguilar also bested two opponents for the gold to become a three-time world champion in a new weight class kids 2 gray -22 kgs event. 

Dela Cruz claimed the kid 3 white -24kgs gold medal after submitting UAE’s Mohamed Ali Almazrouei within 20 seconds via rear naked choke and Jordan’s Yousef Hayari also via same submission maneuver within 34 seconds.

Lopez took home the women’s junior grey 40 kgs gold by beating Brazilian Gabriella Yamaguchi by points, Syrian Sirmin Salim via America submission in one minute and 45 seconds, Kazakhstan’s Darina Dauletbaeva by points, 3-1, and UAE’s Mahra Badr via points, 9-0.

“We have many world champions despite sending only a few young athletes, who are WAP junior grappling team. We have five world champions all trained exclusively in DEFTAC, the first ever Southeast Asian Jiu-Jitsu and mixed martial arts team,” Aguilar said.

“It has produced the most national, Asian and world Champions in Asia for MMA and Jiu-Jitsu combined,” Aguilar, the 2016 Asian champion in IBJJF in Japan, said.