Gracie Barra Costa Rica hosted Brandon Mullins for a charity seminar on Nov. 16. Photo: Arturo Wesson

Brandon Mullins of GMA Gracie Barra Texas traveled to San Juan, Costa Rica for a seminar on Nov. 16 that raised funds for Typhoon Hainan relief efforts in the Philippines. A black belt under Vinicius Draculino Magalhaes, Brandon is an active competitor and instructor who helped GMA Gracie Barra San Juan, Costa Rica raise the funds for charity.

The seminar was last minute but they were able to raise $400 from the participants, $600 from those who wanted to help but couldn’t attend and $400 that was matched by the academy to make a total of $1400! The proceeds went to the American Red Cross.

Learn more about Gracie Barra San Juan by clicking here.

André Galvão e Pablo Popovitch usando o armdrag, no ADCC 2011. Foto: Daren Bartlett/GRACIEMAG

Para ser um atleta imprevisível no Jiu-Jitsu, um dos primeiros passos é saber lutar bem em pé, para poder escolher se puxa para a guarda ou derruba, abrindo assim já 2 a 0 no placar.

Uma das manobras úteis para você evoluir nesse aspecto é o popular armdrag, técnica do wrestling que o Jiu-Jitsu abraçou com carinho, nas últimas décadas.

O princípio é simples. Ao trocar pegadas com o adversário, com ou sem kimono, procure dominar o pulso dele, e com a outra mão agarrar o cotovelo para abrir caminho rumo às costas e começar a tortura.

O problema da técnica é que muita gente já está ligada, e o oponente procura matar na raiz esta ida para as costas. O que fazer? O campeão de Jiu-Jitsu Brandon Mullins estudou o problema e oferece uma alternativa.

Para o popular “Wolverine”, uma boa armadilha é ajoelhar e passar a perna para derrubar, como ele ensina no vídeo a seguir.

A 1min02s, o professor da GB mostra como estourar a pegada da lapela para preparar o armdrag e derrubar o oponente. Note como ele faz a pegada bem firme no pulso.

A 1min17s, ele ensina você a se posicionar para catar o cotovelo do adversário. Repare na base aberta que o professor da GB faz.

A 1min30s, ele demostra a entrada de queda para derrubar de vez o oponente. Brandon chama atenção para você posicionar a perna direita por trás da esquerda. Ao jogar o peso do peito no joelho do adversário, você causa enfim o desequílibrio.

Com o adversário caído, Brandon Mullins pesa o quadril para que o adversário não reponha a guarda. Repare que o braço esquerdo dele continua por baixo da axila evitando que o adversário entre na meia-guarda.

Uma última dica: sempre lembre-se de colar a cabeça no chão para evitar qualquer tentativa de finalização.

Curtiu a posição? Comente com a gente!

Bernardo Faria comemora a vitória na categoria super pesado. Foto: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG

O domingo da décima edição do Europeu de Jiu-Jitsu da IBJJF foi uma explosão de técnica e emoções distintas, em Lisboa.

No ginásio do Casal Vistoso, a torcida vibrou e se emocionou com o retorno de Fernando Tererê, vencido por Calasans na final do peso médio. Para chegar até a final, Tererê passou pelo aluno Alan Finfou, que deu a vaga para o professor da Alliance e ainda entregou sua faixa-preta, gesto que emocionou a galera. “Tererê me ensinou tudo desde a faixa-branca, eu disse que assim que ele estivesse de volta e limpo, faria isso de entregar minha faixa a ele”, disse Finfou.

No absoluto, Bernardo Faria e Léo Nogueira fecharam a final no sábado, mas hoje tiveram trajetórias distintas. Bê Faria raspou Lagarto e foi campeão superpesado, mas Nogueira acabou superado pelo dinamarquês Alexander Trans no pesadíssimo, e ficou com o bronze.

O absoluto feminino terminou num anticlímax, já que Michelle Nicolini machucou-se e não lutou com Luanna. Os dois ouros principais em Lisboa ficaram assim com a Alliance, que também venceu o campeonato por equipes.

Rubens Cobrinha venceu Augusto Tanquinho com uma raspagem. Foto: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG

No peso-pena, Rubens Cobrinha venceu Augusto Tanquinho bonito na final, enquanto os professores da GB Romulo Barral e Rodrigo “Pimpolho” Fajardo não quiseram saber de fechar o meio-pesado. Rominho montou e finalizou Pimpolho com um estrangulamento estiloso.

Keenan Cornelius bateu os irmãos Miyao no absoluto. Foto: Ivan Trindade\GRACIEMAG

Brandon Mullins on top / Photos: Dan Rod

The match against Joseph was a repeat of last year: the two ended with the same amount of points from the same moves, a takedown and a guard pass, and luckily for Brandon, it resulted in the same ending: a gold medal for him. “Joseph is always an incredibly tough opponent,” Brandon graciously says, “His game was a lot different from last year. It was a hard fight and he had me in some bad positions.” Brandon says he came into the No-Gi Worlds healthy, but after his one super fight, he’s leaving with a twisted neck and foot.

Brandon, who turns 32 in December is a first-degree black belt and has been training for 12 years. He says he feels like he’s in his prime and, although he may look young, he doesn’t fight like he’s young. He competes all the time, and the No-Gi Worlds is his 15th tournament this year. “I try to do two a month,” he says, “I hit all the local Houston tournaments, NAGA, Grappler’s Quest… I like to meet new people. I find it easier to make improvements to my game when I compete against people I’ve never met before. I can try out new aspects to my game and create new strategies that they’re not expecting.”

At the No-Gi Worlds Brandon says he changed it up this year and used a different takedown and opened his guard from the opposite side that Joseph is used to seeing. He doesn’t have a favorite Jiu-Jitsu move, he just takes whatever’s given to him, so he has worked on his defense a lot lately. “Joseph is a great competitor,” he says, “He studies an incredible amount of tape. So, I refined and tightened up my game. I improved my defense.”

Brandon says his greatest strength is his willingness to work hard and never miss training. “I love to train,” he says, “A lot of people don’t, but I do. This makes it easy for me to improve. I have a really great time with Professor Draculino and Pablo Silva. I really love training with them.”

As for his great performance at the No-Gi Worlds, Brandon says, “I look forward to the opportunity to prove that I’m the best again.” Brandon would like to thank Professor Draculino, everyone at GB Texas and Campbell’s Compounding.

Bochecha, campeão superpesado e absoluto. Foto: John Cooper/Divulgação.

O Mundial Sem Kimono pegou fogo no sábado na Califórnia, onde mais de 900 atletas brigaram, mas somente um saiu com o trono principal. Marcus Vinicius “Bochecha”, da CheckMat, foi o grande campeão absoluto faixa-preta e tornou-se rei de Long Beach pela primeira vez, ao fechar com João Assis, companheiro de equipe que ficou com a vice-colocação após acordo entre os dois.

O Mundial teve outros destaques no adulto faixa-preta, como você confere a seguir. No absoluto feminino, Michelle Nicolini tirou onda ao finalizar Beatriz Mesquita na final, com uma chave de pé ao estilo de Rodrigo Cavaca, seu treinador. No resultado geral, deu CheckMat, com Gracie Barra em segundo. No master, Fabiano Pega-Leve foi o campeão absoluto.

Para os resultados completos, cheque IBJJF.org.

Lovato venceu Popovitch na final dos meio-pesados. Foto: John Cooper.

Galo: Brandon Mullins venceu Joseph Capizzi por 5 a 0

Pluma: Caio Terra venceu Laércio por 3 vantagens (4 a 4 no placar)

Pena:  Rubens Cobrinha finalizou Justin Rader (estrangulamento pelas costas a 12 segundos para o fim)

Leve: Lucas Lepri venceu Augusto Tanquinho por 1 vantagem (0 a 0)

Médio: Victor Estima venceu Thiago Aragão na chave de pé

Meio-pesado: Rafael Lovato venceu Pablo Popovitch por 4 a 0 (punição e raspagem)

Pesado: Lucas Leite venceu Roberto Tussa por 1 vantagem

Superpesado: Marcus Bochecha finalizou Antonio Peinado com um triângulo de mão

Pesadíssimo: Roberto Cyborg finalizou Ricardo Feliciano no triângulo

Feminino:

Absoluto: Michelle Nicolini finalizou Bia Mesquita na chave de pé

Pena: Michelle Nicolini finalizou Nyjah Easton com uma chave de braço após montar e pegar as costas

Leve: Bia Mesquita derrubou Tracey Goodell e venceu por pontos

Médio: Rachel Leigh finalizou Emily Kwok na chave de joelho

Pesado: Emily Wetzel venceu Katrina no mata-leão

Mullins na final contra Joseph Capizzi. Foto: John Lamonica.

Entre os americanos que foram bem na faixa-preta do Mundial Sem kimono, no último sábado, na Califórnia, Brandon Mullins, atleta da Gracie Barra Texas, foi o melhor no peso galo. Tendo apenas uma luta, contra Joseph Capizzi (Renzo Gracie), o lutador encarou o desafio de forma diferente. 

“Foi como uma superluta”, diz à repórter Deb Blyth, do GRACIEMAG.com. 

Acostumado a lutar no peso pluma, o aluno de Draculino teve de sofrer para lutar no peso galo. Mas valeu a pena.

“Tive que perder bastante peso, levei cinco semanas para isso. Treinei Jiu-Jitsu três vezes por dia, seis dias por semana, e montei na minha bicicleta por dez a quinze milhas por dia, seis dias por semana. Estava treinando o tempo todo”, comenta. 

Foto: John Lamonica.

Com o título mundial, agora o lutador espera emplacar de vez contra os grandes nomes da categoria.

“Isso só vai aumentar a minha confiança. Sou o melhor hoje, e posso ser o melhor de novo. Vários grandes campeões antes venceram no galo e, em seguida, nas outras categorias. Espero que aconteça comigo também”, comenta a fera, que admite que pode voltar entre os galos, mas no Mundial com kimono.  

“Por último, mas definitivamente não menos importante, gostaria de agradecer ao meu professor Draculino, e todos na Gracie Barra Texas”, encerra a promessa americana.

Brandon Mullins in photo by John Cooper

Mullins says he’s fought Capizzi before and watched him fight many times. He’s studied his game and had a strategy in place for their fight. However, when they began their match, Capizzi confused him. “He put his right leg forward instead of his left leg,” Mullins says, “I had a specific takedown planned for him, but when he did that, it threw me off and I had to switch my strategy.”

Mullins says he fell back on one of his tried and true takedowns. “I pulled out a nice takedown I use all the time,” he says, “I set up the brabo choke and had him in it for a minute or two.” Mullins says Capizzi is tough. “He told me later he just didn’t want to tap.”

Mullins says that Capizzi was playing a different game than he’d ever seen before. “He was inverting from the half-guard. He surprised me. I’d never seen him do that before. He played it well. I was able to move into standard half-guard and got in that brabo choke, but he got loose. I passed his guard at the end and hung on for the win.”

Mullins wanted the submission badly, but it wasn’t meant to be. “Capizzi’s tough,” Mullins laughs, “I always tell him he has the meanest snarl in the business. He told me it’s from being in a death metal band for the past fifteen years!”

Mullins normally fights at light feather, but decided to cut weight for the Worlds and compete at roosterweight. “I had to lose 20 lbs,” the lanky 5’10” Mullins says, “It took me five weeks. I trained Jiu-Jitsu three times a day, six days a week, and rode my bike ten to fifteen miles a day, six days a week. I also did kettle bells three to five times a week. I was training all the time.”

The training obviously paid off, as Mullins claimed world-champion status in the roosterweight division. “This is going to give me a boost in my confidence,” he says, “I was the best today, and I can be the best again. All the great champions before me seem to have won at roosterweight and then at light feather. I hope it works for me as well.” Mullins says he may even fight at roosterweight one more time, at the 2011 Gi Worlds.

Mullins wants to thank Campbell’s Compounding in Houston, Texas, for their support and motivation and for helping him get to the Worlds. He also wants to thank James “Kickit” Ticket and Klay Pitman, who gave him his black belt, and Westside MMA. “Last, but definitely not least, I would like to thank my professor, Draculino, and everyone at Gracie Barra Texas.”

Roosterweight:

Brandon Mullins from Gracie Barra defeated Joseph Capizzi from Renzo Gracie in the final on points, 5-0. Mullins closed the deal with a takedown and a guard pass.

Light featherweight:

Caio Terra versus training partner Samir Chantre. Photo: John Lamonica.

Caio Terra once again triumphed in his match, but this time it was against his roommate and training partner, Samir Chantre. Terra had a couple of impressive reversal takedowns that allowed him to beat his friend on points.

Featherweight:

Justin Rader of Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu conquered Carlos Holanda in a nail-biter of a fight. Tied at the end, one advantage point to one advantage point, the referee’s decision put Rader over the top, making him world champion for the first time since receiving his black belt this year, alongside his professor, Rafael Lovato, Jr., who also won his division.

Lightweight:

Lucas Lepri from Alliance beat Augusto Mendes from Soul Fighters with a rear-naked choke. Mendes was winning the match up until that point, but when Lepri took Mendes’ back, it was all over.

Middleweight:

Gilbert “Durinho” Burns overcame Tiago Alves in an exciting, nonstop, all-action Jiu-Jitsu fight. Pushing the pace from the beginning, the two went at it, but in the end, it was Durinho who emerged the victor after taking Alves’ back and finishing the fight with a guillotine.

Medium heavyweight:

Pablo “Weapon X” Popovitch, of the newly-formed and very successful Avengers team, defeated Daniel Moraes of Relson Gracie on points, 6-0. Popovitch finessed and muscled his way to a big win to become 2010’s medium heavyweight no-gi world champion.

Heavyweight:

Lovato vs. Tussa. Photo: John Lamonica.

Rafael Lovato Jr., from Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu, beat Roberto “Tussa” Alencar in the final, after a referee’s decision went Lovato’s way. The match was tied one advantage point to one advantage point, but was given to Lovato for his constant activity and forward movement during the match. Lovato won alongside his student and first black belt, Justin Rader.

Super heavyweight:

João Assis, from Check Mat, won his No-Gi Worlds title against Marcus “Bochecha” Almeida through a gentleman’s agreement. Coming off his recent Grappler’s Quest win against Saulo Ribeiro, Assis submitted Gustavo Pires of Gracie Barra in his semifinals match with a foot lock that left Pires writhing in pain on the mats.

Ultraheavyweight:

Cyborg. Photo: John Lamonica.

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu of the Avengers easily submitted David Hertzog of Hertzog BJJ with a unique choke that had everyone in the crowd wondering what had just happened. When asked to explain what it was, he said it was a new “knee on the neck” choke that he enjoyed using on his opponents.

Absolute:

Roberto “Cyborg” Abreu took the absolute through gentleman’s agreement, closing out the bracket with teammates Pablo Popovitch and Marcus “Bochecha.” It was Abreu’s first No-Gi Worlds win and he was overwhelmed with emotion, “I can’t describe how I feel right now,” he said, “This is the best day of my life.”

Female Division:

In the female division, there was a lot of excitement, and history was made on the mats as well. For the first time in IBJJF history, a female refereed a final match – the female absolute finals. That woman? None other than Hillary Williams herself made the trip to the No-Gi Worlds not to compete, but to watch the matches of her fellow teammates, friends, and competitors. When she got there, she was asked to referee the female matches and she obliged.

Of her experience, Williams said, “It was nerve wracking, but I appreciate that they gave me the chance to referee the match. I had no idea they were going to do that!” Although Williams is grateful for the chance to make history, she wanted to make it clear that it was other women who paved the way for the women in Jiu-Jitsu, before her. She says, “There’s a lot of ladies in Jiu-Jitsu who worked harder to get women where they are today – women who paved the way in the beginning.”

Female Brown/Belt Division:

Light featherweight:

Leticia Ribeiro of Gracie Rio de Janeiro defeated Sofia Amarante of The Avengers in their final match.

Lightweight:

Beatriz Mesquita of Gracie Rio de Janeiro submitted Michelle Nicolini of Checkmat BJJ in the finals with an armbar.

Middleweight:

Emily Kwok of Alliance defeated Ana Michelle Tavares Dantas of Gracie Rio de Janeiro.

Medium heavyweight:

In her first year as a brown belt, Luiza Monteiro of Checkmat BJJ overcame Penny Thomas of Gracie Rio de Janeiro in a close match, winning two advantage points to one.

Absolute:

Black Belt Michelle Nicolini of Checkmat BJJ came back from her divisional loss against Beatriz Mesquita of Gracie Rio de Janeiro to submit her with a foot lock in the absolute finals. Of her big win, an overjoyed Nocolini says, “This was really important to me. I trained really hard for this tournament.”

Entretanto, como o GRACIEMAG.com já noticiou (leia aqui), muitos foram os destaques. Além de Antonio Braga Neto e Marcel Fortuna, vencedores do absoluto faixa-preta, Augusto Tanquinho, Theodoro Canal, Brandon Mullins e Mackenzie Dern, entre tantos outros, fizeram bonito nos dojôs. 

Nosso colaborador no evento, Daniel Carettoni, enviou as melhores fotos e informações. Confira:

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However, as GRACIEMAG.com previously reported (here), there were a number of standouts. Besides absolute black belt winners Antonio Braga Neto and Marcel Fortuna, Augusto Tanquinho, Theodoro Canal, Brandon Mullins, Mackenzie Dern, and others all put in great performances on the mat.

Complete coverage of the event coming up in issue 165, coming in December. Click here to secure your copy.

Our collaborator Daniel Carettoni sent in photos and information on the event. Check it out:

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