Kron vs. Marcus Bochecha was one of the great moments of last year’s Pan

The 2013 Pan American Championship on March 20-24 is looming in on us and with that, the registration date is nearing. Don’t miss out on the most prominent, largest tournament of Jiu-Jitsu by forgetting to register on time!

Registration ends March 12 at 11:59 p.m. PT. Go to this link here to register now.

Be sure to have your membership confirmed if needed, check the pre-schedule for an idea of when you will be competing and prepare your travel arrangements!

The Brenn Event Center at UC Irvine is located at 100 Bren Event Center Irvine, California 92617.

Let us remind you of some of the great matches that have unfolded at previous Pan Ams between the top athletes in our community.

To start, we have Marcus “Bochecha” Almeida against Kron Gracie at the 2012 Pans in the black belt open weight semifinals.

From the very beginning the exchange of takedowns sets the pace that continues throughout the match with footlocks, closed guard, 50/50, back-take attempts, torrendo passes, flying triangles and more — but we don’t want to spoil it for you.

Watch it for yourself:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDfjZOJ4UPQ

World champion Rodolfo Vieira is in Australia for a series of seminars in the company of GF Team leader, professor Julio Cesar. Across the world, the heavyweight knew about another tough fight he will face.

Humorous, Rodolfo talked about the Copa Podio duel against Ricardo Abreu, Demente, on May 1st, at Hebraica, in Rio de Janeiro:

“I think Jeferson [Maycá, Copa Podio creator and organizer] screwed me up with this fight (laughs)! The only advantage I have over Demente is that I’ve been fighting with the gi more than him. Lately, he was more focused on MMA”.

After the joke, Rodolfo analyzed the opponent: “He is a great athlete and a great person, my friend. I’m sure we’ll make a great fight for Copa Podio audience.”

Besides Copa Podio, where he also faces Leo Nogueira in the triple GFTeam vs. Alliance challenge, Rodolfo is getting ready for the major IBJJF championships.

He did not confirm his presence in Pan at the end of the month, but he will be in the world championship in the last days of May and early June. The double heavyweight world champion did not omit his opinion about drug testing:

“It’s a great IBJJF initiative, although we still have doubts if it will really happen. But if it does, I know I’ll be one of the first to be tested. I’m clean and I will prove it to everybody. They can test me whenever they want, before, during or after the World Championship, which is the most important tournament of the year.”

To finish, he had to ask about the other great name of Jiu-Jitsu today, Marcus Almeida, Bochecha. Rodolfo is eager to meet his rival (and friend) once again. He commented on the duel between Bochecha and Roger Gracie from late 2012, and told us what he expects in a new meeting with the absolute world champion:

“Yes, I saw the fight, and what a fight! I think that better than that one with Roger, only our fight in the quarterfinals of the absolute in the 2012 World Championship. Our fights will always be like that, great to watch, because he is a guy who plays forward, without fears, and he has a great heart. And I’m the same! I hope this time we do a fight equal or better than the last one. And preferably I will be the champion”.

And you, reader? Are you ready for another Rodolfo vs Bochecha episode, in the World Championship or even before in Abu Dhabi this Apil? And what about Copa Podio? Will Demente stop the champ?

Rodolfo Vieira comemora o título do Mundial 2011. Foto: Jonh Cooper.

O campeão mundial Rodolfo Vieira está na Austrália, para uma série de seminários em companha do líder da GF Team, o professor Júlio Cesar. Do outro lado do mundo, o peso pesado ficou sabendo de mais uma pedreira que terá pela frente.

Bem humorado, Rodolfo comentou o duelo na Copa Pódio contra Ricardo Abreu, o Demente, no dia 1^o de maio, no clube Hebraica, no Rio de Janeiro:

“Acho que o Jeferson [Maycá, criador e organizador da Copa Pódio] me ferrou com essa luta! (Risos) A única vantagem que eu tenho sobre o Demente é que eu venho competindo mais do que ele de kimono. Nos últimos tempos, ele estava mais focado no MMA”.

Depois da brincadeira, Rodolfo analisou o adversário: “Ele é um grande atleta e uma ótima pessoa, meu amigo. Tenho certeza de que vamos fazer uma grande luta para o público da Copa Pódio”.

Além da Copa Pódio, em que também enfrenta Léo Nogueira no desafio triplo GFTeam vs Alliance, Rodolfo está se preparando para os grandes campeonatos da IBJJF.

Ele não confirmou presença no Pan, no fim do mês, mas é certeza no Mundial, nos últimos dias de maio e no início de junho. O bicampeão mundial peso pesado não fugiu da raia quando o assunto foi o exame antidoping:

“É uma ótima iniciativa da IBJJF, apesar de ainda termos dúvidas se vai rolar mesmo. Agora, se rolar, sei que vou ser um dos primeiros a ser testado. Estou limpo e vou provar isso para todo mundo. Podem fazer quando quiserem comigo, antes, durante ou depois do Mundial, que é o campeonato mais importante do ano”.

Para terminar, não poderia faltar uma pergunta sobre o outro maior nome do Jiu-Jitsu de competição no momento, Marcus Almeida, o Bochecha. Rodolfo está ansioso para reencontrar o rival (e amigo). Ele comentou o duelo entre Bochecha e Roger Gracie, no fim de 2012, e disse o que espera de um novo encontro com o atual campeão mundial absoluto:

“Vi a luta sim, e que luta! Acho que melhor que aquela com o Roger só a nossa nas quartas de final do absoluto, no Mundial 2012. Nossas lutas serão sempre assim, ótimas de se ver porque ele é um cara que joga pra frente, sem medo, e tem um coração enorme. E eu sou igual! Espero que desta vez a gente faça uma luta igual ou melhor do que a última. E que de preferência eu saia campeão”.

E aí, leitor? Está pronto para mais um episódio Rodolfo vs Bochecha, no Mundial ou mesmo antes, em Abu Dhabi, em abril? E a Copa Pódio, será que Demente freia o campeão?

Bochecha in a joyous outpour

The grand black belt champion, Marcus Almeida etched his name into the pantheon of Jiu-Jitsu greats this Sunday.

In an electrifying final, Bochecha rallied back on the scorecards in the last 10 seconds to win a decision over Leonardo Nogueira.

Watch the end of the match and an exclusive interview with the main star of the 2012 Worlds.

Yuri and DJ Jackson / Photos by Deb Blyth

Yuri had three matches in his heavyweight division and won all three by submission. “I hurt my foot in my second fight,” Yuri says. Days later he would say that he actually broke his foot in that match, which makes his wins even more extraordinary. “My foot popped during a foot lock, but I got out of it. I promised myself I would win the absolute so I continued to fight.” Yuri hobbled into the heavyweight final match and got a quick foot lock against Matheau Smith of Easton BJJ for the gold.

Yuri knew going into the absolute that he had to do everything in his power to avoid letting anyone touch his foot. “I knew I wasn’t 100%, so I had to be smart,” he says. Yuri had four matches in the open class. “I won my first match by an advantage, but I popped the same foot,” he grimaces, “Then I fought DJ Jackson from Lloyd Irvin and he was the toughest guy I fought.” Yuri ended up beating DJ the powerhouse by a sweep and then pulling guard.

Yuri won his third match by points and then had to face off in the final against Lloyd Irvin’s ultra heavy big guy Willie Leonard. “I tried to go under and pull guard, but I couldn’t take him down,” Yuri recounts, “I protected my foot. He got an advantage for getting a foot lock on my other foot. Then I almost swept him again.” Yuri ultimately won the match two advantage points to one advantage point, making Yuri the big double gold medal winner for the day.

Yuri admits that if he’d had another match after Willie, he would not have been able to endure it, but he did what he had to do to reach a dream. “I’m so happy,” Yuri gushes, “I’ve never won the No-Gi Worlds before. I came to the US to train with Lucas Leite and Sharpei. I dedicated myself 100%. I expected to win today. This is the first time in my life I did nothing but eat, sleep, and train.”

Yuri Simões with mother and sister

In 2009 Yuri closed out the Worlds with teammate Marcus “Bochecha” Almeida, and they both got their brown belts on the podium. Bochecha has since received his black belt and made his mark on the competition circuit. Yuri is looking forward to doing the same. “I really want to fight as a black belt,” Yuri says, “I’ve been training since I was nine years old. I’ve been training for my dream – to be a world champion black belt.”

Yuri is now back in Brazil, but will be back in the States for the Gi season. “I will do all the big tournaments in 2012,” he says. Yuri wants to thank Lucas Leite, Sharpei, and “my parents and family,” he says, “They are everything to me. I also want to thank God because there would be no other way for me to win and be here today if it wasn’t for Him.”

The Long Beach pyramid was nearly empty that Saturday night of the 2010 World Championship. Even so, there was still quite a ruckus coming from the crowd cheering for the two finalists. The match didn’t happen, just the arm of the victor being raised after the athletes from team CheckMat in the brown belt absolute closed out the final. The arm raised was that of Vinícius “Bochecha” Almeida.

Later on, at the podium, the same cheering section chimed in with a chant that promised major emotions for the very venue one year later. “Hey, Roger Gracie, wait and see, your time will come!” they roared. At the top of the podium, Bochecha, who had just turned 20, was all smiles. His black belt soon followed and Bochecha kept up the solid results – the main one coming at the 2011 Pan, where he won the superheavyweight division.

With the Worlds approaching, all signs pointed to the showdown foreshadowed in the song happening, but Roger’s absence poured a bucket of ice water on those expectations. Less than a week before kick off at the contest in Long Beach, Bochecha spoke with the GRACIEMAG at the Worlds Blog about what he expects from his performance, lamented the Gracie’s no show, pointed out his strengths and defects, and revealed the less-than-modest dreams he has for his career.

A pirâmide de Long Beach já estava quase vazia naquela noite de sábado, no Mundial 2010. Mesmo assim, a gritaria ainda era grande, vinda da torcida dos dois finalistas. Não houve luta, mas apenas o levantar de braço daquele declarado vencedor após o fechamento do absoluto faixa-marrom entre dois atletas da Check Mat. O braço levantado foi de Marcus Vinícius Almeida, o Bochecha.

Mais tarde, no pódio, a mesma torcida provocadora entoou o canto que prometia grandes emoções para aquele mesmo local, um ano a frente. “Ei, Roger Gracie, pode esperar, a sua hora vai chegar!”, gritavam. No alto do pódio, Bochecha, com 20 anos recém completados, apenas sorriu. A faixa-preta veio em seguida e Bochecha manteve os bons resultados, o principal deles no Pan 2011, quando venceu o superpesado.

Com o Mundial se aproximando, tudo indicava que o confronto antecipado no canto aconteceria, mas a ausência de Roger jogou água fria nas expectativas. Menos de uma semana antes do início das lutas em Long Beach, Bochecha falou com o Blog GRACIEMAG no Mundial sobre o que espera do seu desempenho, lamentou a ausência do Gracie, apontou seus próprios defeitos e qualidades e revelou sonhos nada modestos para a carreira.

Bochecha on the back of Ferrari. Photo: Carlos Ozório

Marcus “Bochecha” Almeida was the only brown belt to guarantee himself a place in the main event at the World Pro Tryouts in Rio de Janeiro, repeating the feat of Rodolfo Vieira in 2009. Now, as with said Rodolfo, Bochecha wants to return home to Brazil with the title and the thousands of dollars in prize money offered the winners in the UAE. However, before that can happen, the CheckMat representative has another commitment.

“I was scheduled to compete at the Pan-American. Now I’m going to California and then to Abu Dhabi,” he tells GRACIEMAG.com.

To beat beasts lik Augusto Ferrari, his opponent in the final, the fighter had to overcome odds.

“I always expect to win, but there’s also that doubt. My hand was injured, with four stitches. I don’t even know if they busted, but it was worthwhile. ”

In the decider his win came from taking the back. Bochecha commented about the position.

“That one I pulled out of nowhere! I can’t even believe it. I practice a lot of those back positions. I worked hard to sweep, the judge didn’t give the points, so I ventured to his back. I had nothing to lose, I was losing, but I managed to get the hooks in and secure the points. It was great!” he says jubilantly.

Now the goal is to win everything. And the Pan and World Pro are coming up.

“My prep work has been done and now I just need to keep up the pace. It’s all about trying to achieve things and be champion again. “