Cássio has his hand raised after his semifinal win.

Held last weekend, the IBJJF’s Rio Fall Open had the stands shaking at Tijuca Tennis Club.

In one ultra-heavyweight semifinal, for example, Cássio Francis (Gracie Barra) faced two-time world champion and UFC fighter Antônio Braga Neto (Babalu’s Iron Gym). Cássio wasted no time before pulling guard, and Braga worked on top with pressure to try to pass. With some fine technique, Braga Neto managed to pose problems to Cássio, who found himself on all fours with Braga Neto behind him trying to choke or place the hooks to score the four points.

But with a sneaky move, Cássio left the disadvantageous position and spun under Braga, unexpectedly attacking the unattended leg. The leg lock was sunk with precision, and victory went to Cássio.

Later Cássio lost the final to Antonio Assef (GFTeam). In the open division, Victor Bonfim and Marcus Junior closed it out for GFTeam.

Below, check out Cássio’s complete semifinal match.

Light feather

Feather

Light

Middle

Medium heavy

Heavy

Super-heavy

Ultra-heavy

Absolute

Braga Neto em ação no UFC. Foto: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Depois de longo período de inatividade, após uma série lesões, o campeão mundial de Jiu-Jitsu Antônio braga Neto está pronto para voltar ao octógono. A fera entra em ação no UFC Fresno, neste sábado, dia 9 de dezembro, contra Trevis Giles, na divisão de médios.

Para analisar o retorno de Braga, conversamos com o seu professor no Jiu-Jitsu e MMA, Roberto Gordo, nosso GMI da Start BJJ Academy e respeitado instrutor que tem sob sua tutela grandes nomes do tatame e das luvas.

“Começou quando ele se recuperou 100% das lesões”, disse Gordo. “Ele voltou para o Rio logo após, mais ou menos em junho. Estava com muita vontade de treinar e competir, mas sem pressa de voltar ao ápice. Estava meio acima do peso e tal. Foi daí que o empresário marcou a luta no UFC, e ele acelerou o processo, com treinos na Tropa Thay com o Eduardo Pachu, inclusive.

“Depois, Braga veio para os EUA e continuou o camp com o Babalu na Kings MMA, ele já havia auxiliado um camp do Werdum e conheceu o Rafael Cordeiro junto de sua equipe. Nesse meio tempo eu terminei meu contrato de professor em Abu Dhabi e consegui acompanhar a reta final da preparação.

“Ele está ótimo apesar dos 3 anos de inatividade. Ele está com muita vontade, parece até uma nova estreia no UFC.”

E você, amigo leitor, como acha que será o retorno de Braga Neto após o longo hiato? Será que vem finalização por aí? Comente conosco!

UFC Fight Night: Swanson x Ortega
Fresno, EUA
9 de dezembro de 2017

Cub Swanson x Brian Ortega
Jason Knight x Gabriel Benítez
Marlon Moraes x Aljamain Sterling
Scott Holtzman x Darrell Horcher
Eryk Anders x Markus Maluko
Albert Morales x Benito Lopez

Card preliminar

Alexis Davis x Liz Carmouche
Luke Sanders x Andre Soukhamthath
Carls John de Tomas x Alex Perez
Frankie Saenz x Merab Dvalishvili
Alejandro Perez x Iuri Majaró
Chris Gruetzemacher x Davi Ramos
Antônio Braga Neto x Trevin Giles

Braga Neto finalizou com um justo leglock em estreia no UFC. Foto: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

Campeão mundial de Jiu-Jitsu em 2008 e 2011, e atleta do UFC desde 2013, Antônio Braga Neto está pronto para retornar ao octógono mais famoso do planeta.

Após passar longo período longe do MMA, com duas cirurgias no caminho, o faixa-preta da equipe Gordo Jiu-Jitsu já tem data, local e adversário definidos para seu retorno à divisão de pesos médios.

Braga Neto volta no UFC Fresno, no dia 9 de dezembro, em duelo contra o americano Trevin”The Problem” Giles. Braga (9v-2d) vem de derrota por decisão dividida para Clint Hester em sua última aparição no Ultimate, em junho de 2014. Trevin, por sua vez, é invicto no MMA com dez vitórias, cinco delas por finalização. Em seu duelo mais recente, nocauteou James Bochnovic, no UFC 213, em julho deste ano.

A organização ainda não definiu a luta principal ou coprincipal do evento em Fresno. E para você, amigo leitor, Braga Neto está pronto para voltar ao Ultimate contra um adversário invicto após seu longo período sem atuar nos cages? Comente conosco!

Isaque após a vitória na semifinal do absoluto, que lhe rendeu vaga na final mais importante do domingo. Foto: Carlos Arthur Jr.

Os cariocas prestigiaram em peso o primeiro do Gracie Pro de Jiu-Jitsu, realizado na Arena Carioca 1, palco de inúmeras provas nos Jogos Olímpicos do Rio. A estrutura do evento fez jus ao tamanho do ginásio, e as 12 áreas de luta receberam grandes duelos na arte suave.

Entre os destaques na faixa-preta adulto, temos Isaque Paiva, da equipe Saikoo. A fera, que garantiu a vaga na final peso-pena para este domingo, dia 23, ao finalizar com um triângulo o atleta Douglas Ramos(Junior Guimba), chegou também a finalíssima do absoluto, ao vencer Marcos Junior (GFTeam) na semifinal.

No feminino, Tayane Porfírio (Alliance) garantiu o título no pesadíssimo sem adversárias, e no absoluto terá pela frente a atleta faixa-marrom Jessica Constance Swanson (Soul Fighters), em final mista.

Outros destaques na faixa-preta ficam para os campeões mundiais Celsinho Venícius (Ryan Gracie), que faz a final peso leve contra Lucas Araújo (Alliance), e Antônio Braga Neto, finalista no pesadíssimo que encara Antônio Assef (GFTeam), que acabou por tropeçar na semifinal do absoluto, deixando a vaga na finalíssima do aberto para Gustavo Saraiva (Gustavo Saraiva).

Ainda no evento, tivemos as atuações de Jéssica Bate-Estaca, ex-desafiante ao título peso-palha do UFC, que estreou na faixa-marrom ao bater uma faixa-preta e garantir a vaga na final mista de peso leve, e do feroz Rayron Gracie, filho de Ryan Gracie, que garantiu prata no pesadíssimo e no absoluto faixa-azul juvenil, em dois duelos duros contra Enzo Batista (Muzio/Soul Fighters)

As finais de faixa-marrom e faixa-preta será exibidas ao vivo pelo Combate neste domingo, dia 23, a partir das 13h (horário de Brasília), juntamente com o esperado duelo entre Roger Gracie e Marcus Buchecha na luta principal do evento.

Fique ligado no GRACIEMAG para a cobertura completa do evento!

Uma delas se chama Antônio Braga Neto. Hoje atleta do UFC, o casca-grossa campeão mundial encarou Buchecha na final da seletiva de San Diego para o WPJJC, em Abu Dhabi.

Nos pontos, Braga conseguiu superar Buchecha para garantir a vaga no torneio. Relembre no vídeo abaixo como foi esse duelo de gigantes!

From Jiu-Jitsu champion to UFC fighter. This path traced by the beasts of the gentle art to the largest MMA organization in the world is becoming common place. But fleeing from labels, Antonio Braga Neto didn’t put his black belt aside to join the UFC, but prefers to distance his image from the group of Jiu-Jitsu champions already there.

Chatting with GRACIEMAG.com, during a break at Circuit Team Nogueira 3 on Friday, May 24, Braga Neto talked about his expectations of the world’s most famous octagon, commented on the debut against Anthony Smith and said he doesn’t like to be compared with Demian, Roger and Jacare, MMA superstars who came from Jiu-Jitsu.

“People compare me to them. But I don’t like it. They are on another level, and I’ll still get there. I want to go after my space and thus be able to stand next to them,” said the humble Braga.

Check out the best parts of the conversation of Antonio Braga Neto with GRACIEMAG:

GRACIEMAG.com: World champion of Jiu-Jitsu twice and now signed to the UFC. How is it to be part of the group of great names of Jiu-Jitsu in MMA?

I am very happy to have signed with the UFC and be able to show my work in MMA, but I don’t like to be compared with Demian Maia, Roger Gracie and Ronaldo Jacare. They are very good, and I hope one day I reach the level they are. I just arrived, I want to work hard, do my best and get there.

How about your UFC debut? How is your mental aspect?

I am eager and happy. I hesitated a bit about the opponent. When you sign with the UFC, you don’t know who you will fight. We’ve had rookies fighting experienced guys in the organization. The fact of fighting against another UFC newcomer takes away this feeling, but still acknowledging the danger of my opponent.

Speaking of opponents, what do you already know about Anthony Smith? Were you already able to analyze and strategize?

Anthony Smith is a wrestler, who despite debuting in the UFC is very experienced and comes from Strikeforce. He didn’t let any of his fights go to decision, and I think that’s good. I imagine the pace of the fight will be cool to do a good job and get the victory.

How about the training? Are you improving your striking or sharpening your Jiu-Jitsu to submit?

I’m training everything. I trained a lot of boxing and also worked on muay thai. I have also trained Jiu-Jitsu a lot. I’m paying attention to all parts of the game, there’s no way to know where the fight will go. I’m ready for whatever comes.

TUF Brazil 2 Finale
Ginasio Paulo Sarasate, Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil
June 8, 2013

Rodrigo Minotauro vs Fabricio Werdum
“The Ultimate Fighter Brasil 2″ Final
Thiago Silva vs Rafael Feijao
Daniel Sarafian vs Eddie Mendez
Erick Silva vs Jason High
Rony Jason vs Mike Wilkinson

Preliminary Card

Raphael Assunçao vs Vaughan Lee
Ronny Markes vs Derek Brunson
Godofredo Pepey vs Felipe Arantes
Ildemar Marajo vs Leandro Buscape
Rodrigo Damm vs Mizuto Hirota
Caio Magalhães vs Karlos Vemola
Antônio Braga Neto vs Anthony Smith

Neto at the Amazon event, in Manaus. Photo: Arthur Castro

Another Jiu-Jitsu world champion signed with the biggest MMA organization on the planet, the UFC. The Brazilian Antonio Braga Neto, 25, two-time black belt world champion, in 2008 and 2011, now enters the Octagon in the middleweight division. He signed for four fights.

Neto makes his debut on June 8 in Fortaleza, in the event that will decide the champion of “TUF Brazil 2.” Neto is only awaiting the official announcement. His opponent, according to information received by GracieMag.com, is an American fighter.

The black belt under Roberto Gordo joins other gold medalists in Worlds, like Roger Gracie, Ronaldo Jacaré, Fabricio Werdum, Rodrigo Minotauro and other aces.

Neto (8-1-1) has six wins by submission. Last year, he tried to get a spot in the first edition of “TUF Brazil,” but was not chosen.

Now the fighter waits to be allowed for the WPJJC in Abu Dhabi, which will be on April 13 and 14.

“It was my Jiu-Jitsu that led me to the UFC, the guys there liked my fights,” Neto said. “That’s why I still want to fight in Abu Dhabi. Ben Henderson was allowed without any problems, one month from the fight. I’ve got the ticket to the Emirates.”

Neto is the 15th Jiu-Jitsu black belt world champion to join the UFC. The others are Ronaldo Jacaré, Roger Gracie, Amaury Bitetti, Fabio Gurgel, Roberto Traven, João Roque, Marcio Pé de Pano, Murilo Bustamante, Frédson Paixão, Gabriel Napão, B.J. Penn, Fabricio Werdum, Sergio Moraes and Delson Pé de Chumbo.

His opponent should be announced soon by the UFC. See Braga Neto’s style with the gloves on:

Antonio Braga Neto was the big name in Gamado Photo: Carlos Ozório/Archives.

He was simply the best. After flying from Manaus to Porto Alegre, crossing Brazil, and fighting on the same day, ace Antonio Braga Neto (Gordo Jiu-Jitsu) won the absolute and over 92kg category in the Gramado Trials held last weekend .

It even included a flying triangle and all, in the absolute semifinal against Agnaldo Silveira (Gracie Barra).

The fighter, who had won the ticket to Abu Dhabi in the Rio Trials, arrived in Gramado right before the competition with a mission: get confidence for the main competition in Abu Dhabi this April.

In an interview with GracieMag.com, Braga Neto commented his victory over Tarsis Humphreys (Alliance) in the absolute final, the tie with Rodrigo Cavaca (CheckMat) and many other thrilling subjects. Check it out!

GracieMag: Was the experience of fighting exhausted worth it?

BRAGA NETO: In the end it was quite rewarding, but it’s always like that. I’ve done several of these trips, for me the greatest pleasure is fighting Jiu-Jitsu. This time, the trip was very tiring, I left Manaus early and arrived in Gramado at 6 p.m. It was a rush, but I only had that opportunity thanks to a friend who knows my will to fight and sponsored me. And it all worked out.

After winning the weight category and the absolute, do you see yourself on one of the best stages in your career?  Is the double world black belt champion more mature?

I feel I am rediscovering my Jiu-Jitsu, but still far from my best. But I’m looking for it. I was seven months without training due to injury, and that left me unsure of how well would I return. Thanks to all the support staff of Cia do Movimento in Porto Velho, where I did my rehab, I got back well. I’ve been training hard for some time, my will to win and submit was what made the difference. Fernando Pessoa’s organization is excellent, so it encourages us to put on a show for the audience. The result is only a result of our work.

What do you think was lacking in the tied fight against Rodrigo Cavaca in the weight category?

Yes, the fight with Cavaca was tough. He is very good and strong, and managed to neutralize my game. I should’ve attacked more, get loose. After this fight, I saw that I lack a lot to be fine. Anyway, he is one of the best in the super heavyweight and fighting him was excellent.

Before ensuring the absolute, you had to beat Tarsis in the final. How was the fight on Sunday?

Another tough combat. I highlight two moments of it: first, when I applied the clock choke, a strong position that I had been training a lot and managed to submit. And another one: I was a little frustrated about missing my omoplata and not being able to submit. But I kept my focus and I won. I learned that the confidence we gain in training and during the competition is nothing but a preparation to become a winner.

Any details on how to apply the clock choke well?

The main thing is to use the right hand precisely on the neck, it can’t be too far out nor inside. You must take in the exact position of the jugular and tighten!

Aren’t you competing in IBJJF Pan, in March?

Not this time because I prefer to fight now, thinking about the six minutes in Abu Dhabi. I don’t want to get confused. But next time I’ll be there, I liked the drug testing measure.

Antonio Braga Neto was the big name in Gamado Photo: Carlos Ozório/Archives.

Sunday was the third day of the selective for WPJJC in Gramado, Brazil, and the black and brown belts who almost did it on Saturday during the weights dispute had a chance to win a ticket to go to the United Arab Emirates to fight at a professional event in April. Even with the second chance, they weren’t happy. Antonio Braga Neto and Vinicius Marinho are the ones to blame, who won again in heavy and light absolute (up to and over 74kg).

Sunday was thrilling from the semifinals.

In the light absolute, up to 74kg, judoka Moacir Mendes (Alliance) eliminated the tough Claudio Caloquinha (GB) by 2 to 0 and went to the final.

Across the draw, the brown belt Victor Silverio (GFTeam) had been showing a pretty game, after beating the always dangerous submitter Isaac Paiva (Saikoo) to ensure the semifinal.

But there was a companion in the competition. It was the lightweight championship Vinicius Marinho (GFTeam), who took Abraão Amorim’s back (Evolution) to get to the semifinal, making his partner Silvério give way to the victory.

In the final, Vinicius Marinho and Moacir Mendes began exchanging grips. The GFTeam fighter tried to pull for his guard and go for the x-sweep. Moacir, however, avoided the sweep with good posture. In the end, Vinicius got an advantage from the sweep, which earned him the victory and the check worth a plane ticket to Abu Dhabi.

In the heavy absolute, Antonio Braga Neto (Gordo Jiu-Jitsu) showed to be the strongest. Neto submitted all in his absolute fights with his complete Jiu-Jitsu. In the semifinal, the most memorable Sunday moment, Neto beat Agnaldo Silveira (Gracie Barra) with a flying triangle.

Across the draw, Tarsis Humphreys (Alliance) exchanged sweeps with Alexandro Ceconi, 2 x 2, and won by 2 x 1 with the advantages.

Clock choke in the final

In the grand final, Neto pulled Tarsis for the guard, but the Alliance beast fell in middle. Before straightening up, Neto started working the grips and applied an omoplata, being able to sweep. Tarsis kept on his guard, but couldn’t deal well with Neto’s pressure, and he passed the guard and used a clock choke to win another gold. Neto had already won the over 92kg category when he gave his ticket to Ricardo Evangelista, who was the second.

Find out who were the 13 classified in the selective:

Ladies first: in the purple, brown and black belts, the winners were Marina Ribeiro and Michelle Nicolini.

Marina made a perfect championship and also won the light absolute. In the absolute final up to 61kg, she almost sweeped Luanna Alzuguir with an omoplata and secured the title by two advantages to none. Michelle Nicolini won with a score of 6 to 4 against Talita Treta. One detail: the CheckMat star was recovering from a serious muscular injury on her thigh.

In the male competition between beasts and revelations, almost all were saved after a sparkling Saturday. The champs were Thiago Barreto (up to 65kg), Vinicius Marinho (up to 74kg), Gustavo Campos (up to 83kg), Luiz Panza (up to 92kg) and Ricardo Evangelista (over 92kg). On Sunday, at 4 p.m., two more champions guaranteed their package to Abu Dhabi, the absolute lightweight and black belt heavyweight.

In the lightest category, up to 65kg, Thiago Barreto da Brasa was the big name after the elimination of several favorites, like Isaque Paiva and Pablo Silva. In the end, Thiago Barreto beat Paulo Roberto (Gracie Humaitá) in the score and won the great final against the revelation, Pedro Valença, from Cícero Costha. Thiago applied an americana on Valença’s feet.

In the up to 74kg division, Vinicius Marinho beat Antonio Carlos, his GFTeam partner, after winning the seminal against Kim Terra in the advantages (guard passing).  Marinho got the ticket and is a strong name for Abu Dhabi, since he has already won several championships in this category in Brazil.

In the up to 83kg, a war of giants, Guto Campos needed to defeat Thiago Porto (Alliance), who beat Tarsis Humphreys on Friday, while Rodrigo Pimpolho fought with Eduardo Português. In the final, Guto submitted Rodrigo with style using an omoplata.

And up to 92kg, one of the pleasant surprises of the competition, Luiz Panza (Barbosa) beat Pedro Henrique (CheckMat) and then fought with Nivaldo Oliveira (Brazilian absolute champion) in the final. Panza swept, was swept, but in the end, with a score of 4 to 4, he defeated Nivaldo with two advantages for attacking more.

The biggest turnaround was in the above 92kg category. First, Braga Neto won against Rodrigo Cavaca by decision. On the other side of the semifinals, Léo Nogueira fell ill with an intestinal infection, and let Ricardo Evangelista advance. And because Braga Neto already had a ticket do the UAE due to his victory in Rio selectives, he gave the ticket to Ricardo (GFTeam).

In purple and blue belts, five representatives of the new generation have done well.

In purple heavy, the winner was Victor Honório (GFTeam), who beat Fernando Andrade (Alliance). In the purple light absolute, one of the biggest submitters of the event: Wellington Luís (Cícero Costha) took Lucas Nogueira’s back (BTT) and will try to shine in Abu Dhabi.

In the female blue absolute, the noble blood of Ana Carolina Vieira prevailed. Rodolfo Vieira’s sister, the two-time heavyweight world champion from GFTeam, won after applying some beautiful armbars and will face some of the best in the world in Abu Dhabi.

In the male blue belt, Fellipe Trovo (Nova União) won the heavy absolute and Nicholas Menegali (Alliance) got the gold in the light.

The 13th spot went to the white belt absolute champion, Eder Negão, from Nova União.

Photos by Mike Calimbas

Manny’s road to Dubai has been an interesting one thus far. He was a golf professional before he began training in Jiu-Jitsu. He was trying to become a playing professional, but ended up a teaching professional. “I played golf eight to 10 hours a day for years,” he says, “I dropped it just like that for Jiu-Jitsu. I have barely played golf in three years.”

Manny started training in 2009 at Sandro Batata BJJ. He claimed gold at the Pan and received his blue belt on the podium. He’d only been a white belt for three months. As a blue belt, Manny attended the 2009 Abu Dhabi Pro Trials in Santa Cruz. “I was two matches away from going to Dubai when I lost by an advantage point,” he says, “I knew then that getting to the Abu Dhabi World Pro Cup was one of my main goals in Jiu-Jitsu.”

Manny took silver at the 2009 US Open, the 2010 American Cup, and the 2010 Worlds. He then took seven months off from training Jiu-Jitsu to pursue MMA and his standup, but he still competed at Jiu-Jitsu tournaments, winning the 2010 American Nationals and claiming double gold at the US Open, taking both his medium heavyweight division and the open; he was promoted to purple belt on the podium. Manny then had one MMA fight, which he won.

He attempted competing at the 2011 Abu Dhabi World Pro trials in San Diego, but lost to a referee’s decision in his first match. “I was unprepared,” Manny says, “It was my first purple belt competition, and I’d only trained for about a week.” Then Manny came back, competed at the Pan, and took silver. “I felt like I really shined there,” he says, “I surprised a lot of people. No one really knew who I was.”

by Mike Calimbas

His success at the Pan motivated him to continue training hard, but his plans to open his own Jiu-Jitsu school got in the way. He signed up for the Worlds but didn’t realize how much work it would be getting his school ready. “I just had no time to train,” he says, “I ended up having to go up a weight class because I hadn’t been watching my weight. I was so tired from working. I just wasn’t mentally or physically prepared.” At the 2011 Worlds, Manny lost his first match by two points.

Watsonville Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu opened the following weekend and Manny made his academy his main focus. He still wanted to compete, but he had a hard time balancing his priorities. “My training time was cut in half,” he says, “I was trying to train twice on Sundays to make up for it.”

Then over the summer, Manny began driving to San Francisco to train with Antonio Braga Neto until A.B.N. had to leave for Brazil. “It meant a lot to me to be able to train with him,” Manny says, “I hadn’t been exposed to that level of training before. I had never been smashed like that ever. He walked through me. He demolished me! He opened my mind and made me see possibilities I hadn’t seen before. It propelled me forward.”

Manny attended the Las Vegas Open in August and won double gold in his weight and the open. “You can’t beat having a world champion kick your butt,” he says, “A.B.N. made me feel like a white belt. It got me going, gave me my confidence back. After training with him, everyone else felt like air to me. The pressure I felt going against my opponents was nowhere near what he did to me.”

Manny attended the 2011 US Open. He’d won it the past two years in a row and he wanted to win it as a purple belt, which he did. Manny was a double gold winner, taking both his weight and the open class. “I feel like my game has grown to a point where I don’t have to worry about my opposition,” he says, “I can focus on what I’m going to do to them, not what they’re going to do to me.” Manny started training with Caio Terra at the Institute of Martial Arts and says that Caio and his team really helped him refine his game. “They offer me really great support, which has been the most important thing to me,” he says.

In November, Manny flew out to compete in the 202 lbs. category at the San Antonio Trials. He had three matches in his weight. He won the first on points, the second via armbar, and his final with a loop choke to take gold. In the absolute he had four matches and caught three of his opponents in armbars, finishing one of them in just 15 seconds. He won his semifinals match by a referee’s decision, but unfortunately, his foot snapped during the contest. “Everyone heard it and thought I broke my leg,” he says, “I thought I broke my ankle, but I kept attacking anyway. I almost caught him in a couple armbars, but he kept getting out of them.” Manny persevered and won the match to move on to the absolute final.

by Mike Calimbas

In his last and most important match of the day, Manny says he tried to pretend nothing was wrong, but everything was wrong. “I couldn’t put any pressure on my foot,” he says, “I pulled guard right away. I worked sweeps… I could hear Samir [Chantre] coaching me to do other things, but I couldn’t do them because of my foot.” Manny started playing spider-guard and ended up tapping his opponent out with an armbar, giving him double gold for the day and a ticket to Dubai in 2012.

“It was very emotional for me,” Manny says of his big win, “I can’t describe it. It still hasn’t set in. I felt like these last three years went into that moment. Seeing all the people who get to go to Dubai… only the best. I told myself if I had a goal in Jiu-Jitsu, other than winning the Pan and the Worlds, this is it. I want to go and be amongst the best. I’ve always wanted to see how I would stand with them.”

Now, Manny is going to heal his foot before his big trip in the spring and prepare himself for his 2012 goals that lay ahead of him. “I want to win the Abu Dhabi World Pro Cup, the Pan and then the Worlds,” he says, “I’m going to continue to move forward and do my best.”

The media has labeled ONE Fighting Championship as the UFC of Asia because of our size. At 500 million homes, we have the biggest media reach in Asian history for MMA. We also have the biggest and highest quality of Asian fighters. So already, we are 10x bigger than Pride FC ever was in terms of these metrics. My short term goal is to put on exciting fights that fans want to see. In the long run, ONE Fighting Championship will take our current leadership position in Asia and introduce the sport of MMA to the 3.9 billion people that live in Asia.

2) Antonio Braga Neto, Gregor Gracie and Phil Baroni are some of the big draws for the next event. What led you to pick them?

At ONE Fighting Championship, we want to put on the most exciting fights in Asia with world-class talent. Our goal is to put on explosive and exciting fights that the fans want to see. Our primary focus is on Asian fighters. However, we will bring fighters that have a strong Asian fan base already. For example, Braga Neto is a young rising star who has an Asian fan base already because he used to work at Evolve MMA in Singapore and he also fought for the Art of War in China. Gregor Gracie is a superb fighter who also has a strong Asian fan base. And Phil Baroni has had some of the most exciting fights at Pride FC in the past.

3) How have you been going about adding athletes to your roster?

The majority (90%+) of fighters have multi-fight contracts at ONE Fighting Championship. We are also in confidential discussions with many fighters in Asia at the moment.

4) Do you practice Jiu-Jitsu and MMA? What brought you to investing in the sport?

I have a black belt in Taekwondo and I used to box recreationally as a kid. That being said, I think that the most effective martial arts for MMA are Muay Thai for striking, Wrestling for takedowns/takedown defense, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu for the ground game. Of course, there are many other martial arts that can succeed and we certainly encourage all martial arts. In Asia, we have Karate from Japan, Kung Fu in China, Muay Thai in Thailand, Silat in Indonesia, and so forth. As a result, Asian MMA is going to be a very unique product. It’s going to be just as exciting as the UFC, but you will see a variety of different styles at work. I’ve been in the sports media industry for the last 15 years and MMA is the only sport that can transcends all geographic, economic, societal, gender, and any other barriers. It’s truly a global sport..and less than 1% of the 3.9 billion people in Asia have ever seen MMA. The market opportunity is enormous. And I just feel fortunate to be in the leadership position that ONE Fighting Championship has.

One FC
Singapore Indoor Stadium, Singapore
Saturday, September 3, 2011

Eduard Folayang vs A Sol Kwon
Phil Baroni vs Yoshiyuki Yoshida
Mitch Chilson vs Eric Kelly
Gregor Gracie vs Seok Mo Kim
Zorobabel Moreira vs Andy Wang

Undercard

Radeem Rahman vs Susovan Ghosh
Leandro Issa vs Soo Chul Kim
Vuyisile Colossa vs Ma Xing Yu
Daniel Mashamaite vs Yodsanan Sityodtong
Eddie NG vs Yuan Chun Bo