It was 6:10 pm on the past 19th, in Amman, Jordan when a tough Tiago Pereira went to his knees, in the warm-up room, to stretch his muscles out. With the short yellowish mat full (on one side, Braulio Estima warms up standing with Leonardo Leite; stuck together, Gabriel Vella and Tarsis Humphreys warm up with Rubens Cobrinha’s help), the black belt from Brasilia kneels with his head to the ground. However, unknowingly, he has his back turned to Mecca.
Minutes later, the absolute bracket matches in Capital Challenge were drawn, and Tiago land Braulio “Carcara” Estima, the eventual champion, right off the bat. His loss comes after a sweep and tight katagatami (arm-and-neck choke), at the end of the fight: “I could never get comfortable in his guard,” remarked Tiago. “He pulled on my collar from behind the neck, when I’d fight to get free, he grabbed my arm by the sleeve. And that’s how it went.”
It was in such domineering fashion the Gracie Barra teacher living in Birmingham would win four more matches until being consecrated the big name of the event for the first time held in Jordan, winning the absolute and under 88kg category of the championship organized by Brazilians Zaid Mirza and Pedro Galiza. But it was no easy task, as the Ze Radiola student (and soon-to-be father) relates in the interview to come, exclusively to GRACIEMAG.com.
What was the hardest part of your march to two gold medals in Amman?
The series of bouts in the absolute, on Friday, certainly made me aware of my limits, of the conditions we were in. The capital Amman is 1,200 meters above sea level, with dry and heavy desert air and I only encountered tough opposition. Tiago Pereira right off the bat, a rested Charles Cachoeira, and Gabriel Vella right after that. After the quarterfinal with Cachoeira I thought about giving up, it was Otavio Souza who put me straight and got me to concentrate, which was when I realized I could go beyond what I thought were my limits. That sequence of fights made me evolve a lot mentally, I managed to put my Jiu-Jitsu on automatic pilot!
And what about the final against Leonardo Leite, on Saturday?
I’m very familiar with Leo’s game, he has excellent, world-class judo, so I knew I couldn’t take him down, of course. I pulled guard, attacked the whole fight while he defended well, and I ended up winning by two points, from a penalty Leo incurred, and at the very end I caught his arm, when time ran out. I’m thankful for the effort of Lucio “Lagarto” Rodrigues, and Otavio Souza, who I could not have done without as a coach in the absolute.
It was a redeeming end to 2008, after the injuries, wasn’t it?
Right, I had a tumultuous, but hopeful, year. I had an operation on my knee at the end of January for a serious injury that kept me out of the 2007 Worlds. The doctors told me it would be six months before I could train normally, but I’d made up my mind I would fight at the 2008 Worlds, and after two months on crutches, I had two months to build my muscles and stability back up and train for the world championship. It was rough, I had my doubts about fighting up until the last week, but I opted to fight and I think I made the right choice. To make it to the final of the Worlds under those conditions was a victory (Andre Galvao became champion). I came back from the Worlds and turned my attention to recovery and preparations for my wedding. I confess the stress of the wedding was greater than that of the competition. I was married in Poland in July, went on my honeymoon, and returned to training in August. I achieved great results at the No-Gi Pan, I won my category and the absolute but still felt off, and I even injured my back. I did a lot of physiotherapy and three weeks before Capital Challenge I improved my movement and decided to fight. I had canceled the flight once, since I thought I wouldn’t make it, but everything went well and I kept my promise to my father, of dedicating the title to him on his birthday, the 19th of December.
And now you are preparing for the arrival of your first born, at the end of April. What would a baby Carcara (vulture in Northeastern Brazil) be?
Well, by breeding with a Polish princess you get a turbo-charged carcara! The thing now is to choose a name common to Brazilians and Polish people, perhaps Gabriel.
But until then it’s all about intense training, I’m go to train throughout January in Recife, for the European championship. At Pan time, in April, I’ll have my mind on the baby and won’t be getting much sleep, but Beatka understands the importance of the sport to our family and has always supported me. After the baby’s born it will be no different.
Capital Challenge also marked the consecration of your partner Otavio Souza, who impressed in his wins over Tiago Alves and Tarsis Humphreys, the latter being one of the best fights of the event. Has Master Ze Radiola prepared a new crop?
Gracie Barra-PE has been a breeding ground for champions for a long time, the style of training, always overseen by Ze, pushes us to the maximum. We’re a family, and Ze is like our father – he is always present. And we have several promising your fighters from yellow belt, like Guilherme Rocha, who is 10, two-time Brazilian champion, up to Lucas Rocha, and 18-year-old purple belt and two time world champion. At brown we have Bruno Almeida, who shut out the middleweight category with Kayron this year and, at black, Max Carvalho, my brother Victor Estima, Otavio and others.
What went on behind the scenes in Jordan was reminiscent of the complicity and good cheer of the first ADCCs, in the Emirates, with all the perks, and everyone intermingling. But the atmosphere seemed molder – there were even some electrifying rolls, like yours with Cobrinha, for example…
There are always opportunities to swap ideas about positions and what not, I think it just amplifies our understanding of things. A position here, a little detail there, we end up rolling a bit to warm up. I think our generation has a lot of respect for each other and the rivalry stays on the mat. I don’t judge anyone according to team, but by their personality. And over there it was a great group, it was one of my best trips, I always wanted to go to the Middle East, and I can’t wait to see the gang again and remember the good times. Look, Tiago Alves and Sergio Moraes are really bad at telling jokes, we would just laugh to not rain on their parade (laughs).
I remember a good one: while we warmed up, we touched on the subject of Sergio dressed as Spiderman in GRACIEMAG. We started up a conversation about who everyone’s favorite super hero during childhood was, and we laughed a lot about what was revealed. There was Wolverine, Captain America, we even discovered who the only fan of Robin is (I won’t say who)! Shoot, there are so many super heroes out there and he chose Robin…
What’s cooking for 2009?
I’m proud to say I’ve done my duty, and I’ll give a 90% to the 2008 season. Next year will be full of challenges. It starts with my kid, and will go on to my debut in MMA. It will be in 2009 for sure. There will also be the ADCC in May and the ones I already mentioned, the European, Pan-American and Worlds, where I’ll be in my best technical shape, since I’m really anxious for that one. I would like to finish by thanking all my friends and coaches, Ze Radiola, my brother Victor, my wife, I’m a lucky guy for having so many special people around me. In August, I trained a lot with Roger Gracie too and my physical trainer Stevie B., and I had also a great influence in Rominho Barral, who was with me in England. My physical conditioning improved a lot with his pointers.
What does the resounding success of Jiu-Jitsu in the Middle East mean to you, in your point of view as an athlete and teacher?
I think the work of Carlao Santos in Abu Dhabi and Zaid Mirza and Pedro Galiza in Jordan is really important to the future of the art, the guys are giving their blood to spread Jiu-Jitsu as a fundamental sport for self-defense, and for MMA. Or in other words, the area of acceptance is vast. Previously, winning over America was a great step for BJJ, I think, with the move of the Worlds to the USA, Jiu-Jitsu took off quickly around the world, and now we have proof of that in the Middle East. And I feel that in the seminars I do around the world, like the three-week tour I did in the States, in Colorado, California and Hawaii. Can I send one last message? I want to say thanks to Renee, Rexie and the gang at GB Hawaii, and to Argirys and the team at GB Cyprus, who helped me a great deal!
