“Smile, I’M in California.” With this personal message, next to his name on MSN Messenger, Roberto “Tussa” Alencar leaves no doubt his excitement is based on the upcoming Jiu-Jitsu World Championship.
One of the latest revelations at black belt, Tussa doesn't hide his fan side, when speaking to GRACIEMAG.com about his hopes for the Worlds in June: "I’m full of expectations, I’d like to see Roger [Gracie] against [Fernando] Margarida again. And Flavio Cachorrinho with Margarida too, those would be great fights, not to mention the middleweight and heavyweight fights, the toughest categories that will provide a lot to talk about,” says the Gracie Barra instructor, who for the last two years has been teaching in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
But it’s not just from the bandstand that Tussa will witness the excitement. GRACIEMAG.com spoke with him about what he hopes of both his and his opponents' performances.
In 2007 you entered as a man to beat and were only stopped by Xande Ribeiro in the heavyweight final. This year everyone already knows you. Is this good or bad?
I see this World Championship as nothing more than a new challenge. Every year a good guy shows up to make things uncomfortable, and I am prepared for whatever is to come. But I see no advantage nor disadvantage in that. Now, the pressure really is greater. But I like it that way.
Who will be fighting for the gold in your weight group?
Xande, for sure. And I’ve heard Margarida will be around fighting among heavyweights. But I believe a lot in my team, Gracie Barra, with Cachorrinho and Carcara. And underdog Tussa is on all those guys’ coat tails as well (laughs).
Do you plan to fight in the absolute?
I always make myself available for the absolute, because I love fighting. But there are more experienced people on the team than me. I’ll be there if they need me.
Are you coming into this Worlds with a loss still caught in your throat?
If I think about it, I’m choking on every fight I’ve ever lost. But in the end it’s in the past, I think about what I did wrong and try to fix it. I fixed some finer details in my triangle and takedowns, I hope to have a good championship. As we don’t know who we’ll come up against, I don’t think about it till I get there. It’s just one fight at a time.
What has your training been like during this final stretch?
My training is based on my students, there are around 160 students in my academy in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have two brown belts and Rafael Barata, at black, in the super featherweight category. He’s technical and tests my stamina. Not to mention some purple belts and good wrestlers who give me a lot of work. But I arrived in California today to train at Gracie Barra America with Marcinho, Kayron and co., and this week the rest of the folks will show up. The academy will go off, even Rominho is coming to give support, even though he won’t be fighting. Now is the time to fine tune strategies and finer points, and go to war.
NOTE FROM THE NEWSROOM
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