Buchecha vs. Galvão, the match of the 2013 Pan
First of all, know that you have only until March 3rd to register for the 2014 Pan.
After that, let’s remember one of the greatest moments in the history of the event.
Last year, the black belt open class final put Marcus Almeida “Buchecha” and Andre Galvão face to face for the gold.
It was a thrilling match indeed.
We have talked to Buchecha and Andre to know what they remember of that match.
Buchecha opens the comments with a praise to Galvão: “Andre is an exceptional competitor and I knew that it was going to be one of the hardest fights of all. Fortunately, I was able to put my game plan in action.”
The game plan was to take Galvão down in the beginning and work the pass, then mount and finish?
“Well, I always fight for the submission. He has such an accurate technique that he was able to defend well, but I got to a foot lock and an omoplata.”
Galvão joins the conversation with also a praise to Buchecha: “I had some black coffee before the match to be on my toes but it did not help at all. His explosive strength in the beginning was impressive. I would say he didn’t take me down, but came over me like a horse in a rodeo show.”
After the inicial two points scored, Galvão worked his guard to prevent a pass from Buchecha. He did his job well and Buchecha was unable to get the pass. “I trained it a lot before the championship,” says Galvão.
The fight went on and near the end, behind 2-0 in points and in advantages, Galvão made his attempt to even the score.
A judo takedown tied the score in points for a brief period.
Buchecha talks about the takedown: “I don’t care about being on top or on the bottom. I think you have to be ready for all situations. Even with the takedown, I knew I was ahead in advantages and my strong game is when I’m on the bottom. I had complete confidence in my sweeps.”
Soon enough, Buchecha worked a beautiful omoplata sweep to settle the final score of 4-2.
Asked what he would do differently if another opportunity arises to compete against Buchecha, Galvão kept his sense of humor: “I would pay more attention in the beginning of the match”.
Now you’re ready to watch the match.
Enjoy!
