Photo: IBJJF/Facebook

Nivaldo Oliveira, also known as Nil, has lots of history in BJJ. A black-belt since 2007, when he was promoted by Leo Vieira, Nil has won important titles like the absolute in the CBJJ’s Brazilian Nationals, and the IBJJF’s European Championship – two of the toughest competitions on the calendar.

With wins over Rômulo Barral and Murilo Santa, in a recent interview Nivaldo remembered his important triumph from 2012, a landmark in his career as an athlete.

“The title of Brazilian champion in my weight and in the absolute was incredible to me,” he said. “The Brazilian Nationals are the biggest championship in Brazil, and I was able to write my name in the history of the sport. It was a title I had been seeking for some time, and I got it. I was coming off good results in previous years, reaching consecutive finals in 2010, 2011 and 2012, the year I became champion. I gained confidence upon beating tough athletes and world champions; that’s how I knew I was on the right path.”

Now, at 38, Nil resides in Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, where he helps propagate the benefits of BJJ, the sport that changed his life from the moment he first stepped on a mat at the age of 16.

“Fortunately, today, I can say that I make a living 100% off Jiu-Jitsu,” said Nil. “I have a comfortable life and a very good quality of life. Yes, I feel fulfilled, but I still have other goals that I want to reach. I want to have my own gym. Here, in Abu Dhabi, it’s incredible how the sport and the professionals are valued. We have big competitions with prize money.” He added: “I’m always training and studying.”

An avid follower of the competitive scene, Nil is keeping an eye on BJJ Stars, the Brazilian organization, in particular. “I always watch these superfight events. It’s super-important for the growth of the sport, especially now, because of the pandemic that struck and we were left without frequent championships. Since I’m already a master, it would be cool to fight again in this event. I hope to have an opportunity to fight again.”

Photo: Personal Archive

Women’s jiu-jitsu has been growing fast, and one effect of this is noticeable in IBJJF events. From the blue belt up to the brown – where Thamires Monteiro competes – women are more professional and standing out more.

A few weeks ago, Thamires shone at the 2021 Pan, held in Orlando, Florida. The young Checkmat star defeated three opponents to bag the gold medal in the lightweight division. In the final, she scored ten points on Joanna Christine (Tac Team BJJ).

“I did three fights in the division; no points or advantages were scored against me in the course of the competition,” Thamires said in a recent interview. “I was able to put my whole game into action. I was one step ahead of the other girls.”

She trains at Checkmat La Habra, in California, alongside her husband, the black-belt Jackson Douglas. The 23-year-old Thamires dreams of becoming a strong black-belt. She trains under Lucas Leite, who is charged with shaping her way of fighting. At the Pan, for example, her way of conducting matches was quite clear – always scoring as much as possible until reaching a submission.

“The training is fully focused on competition: specific training and brawling,” she said with a laugh. “I love guard-passing; it’s my favorite game! But it’s been a while since I started challenging myself on the bottom, and it’s going well… I confess I even like it!”

Thamires then shared some thoughts on the growth of women’s BJJ: “I believe we’re on the right path to gaining our due recognition, but changes take time. Each passing year, the quantity of girls in competitions goes up, which really helps bring visibility to women’s BJJ. Big events like Fight to Win, BJJ Stars, BJJ Bet are including girls in their events. Of course it’s still one or two women’s fights to a card with five men’s fights, but it’s getting better. The more women we have in the competitive jiu-jitsu scene, the more visibility we’ll have and, consequently, the more opportunities. I hope.”

In the course of her career, Thamires has won gold medals in the American Nationals (weight and absolute), Brazilians Nationals and Pan.

Marcelo’s joy with the success of his son and the participants in his project. Photo: Reproduction

Seeking to expand the frontiers of Jiu-Jitsu and open doors to a new generation within the competitive scenario, black belt Marcelo Ribeiro, leader of RMA Jiu-Jitsu, conceived his exchange project, Xchange, with the support of our partner Braus Fight.

In a chat with GRACIEMAG, the black belt revealed details about the method used to select athletes, the challenges of opening his gym, and how GFTeam helped to carry out the initiative, generating fruit that reflected in the Jiu-Jitsu of prodigy son João Marcelo, who is still at purple belt, has been appearing in the biggest tournaments in the USA. Check the lines below!

GRACIEMAG: At what point did you and your family migrate to the US? Was it your intention to teach Jiu-Jitsu lessons?

MARCELO RIBEIRO: We came to the United States in 2006. I always wanted to migrate here, intending to provide my family with a more peaceful life. Jiu-Jitsu was also part of that dream, I always wanted to bring Jiu-Jitsu to my city and neighborhood, to further increase Jiu-Jitsu’s contact with me and my family.

What were the main challenges of founding your academy?

We opened our first academy in 2011. We focused on creating our teaching methodology, marketing, sales, and, most importantly, understanding our audience. There is a big difference between the Brazilian public that practices Jiu-Jitsu and the American public. My wife, Renata, who has a degree in psychology here in the United States, helped me with the behavioral part, which aims to understand people’s perceptions about consumption decisions. Our goal was to get a sense of how our customers feel, what they think, and how they act concerning our brand, our service, and our products. From this study, we created every detail of our brand, curriculum and established a connection with our customers. We created a company that provides customized Jiu-Jitsu classes, separated by age. Today with more than 400 students in Nashville county, we have our RMA Headquarters.

RMA Jiu-Jitsu’s junior team. Photo: Reproduction

How is your relationship with GFTeam?

We started our partnership with GFTeam in 2019. In addition to having been the IBJJF arbitration coordinator for many years, I am a friend and a great admirer of master Júlio César, who leads the team and with whom I had the honor of establishing a friendship while still in Brazil. After the great success that RMA had, we dreamt of sponsoring Brazilian athletes to participate in the biggest competitions here in the United States. After many conversations and spreadsheet analyses, we decided to start the Xchange project, an initiative that aims to help young athletes manage their careers and learn the English language. Through this project, we brought GFTeam athletes and thus started our partnership and connection with the team.

Where did the idea of ​​taking young athletes from Brazil to train at your academy come from?

Initially, it would be a small, unnamed project, open to all teams, but with only one athlete per year. Our oldest son was aiming to go to college in Southern California, so we had a limited budget at the beginning of the project. However, he was offered a scholarship to an excellent college here in Nashville, the same college my wife graduated from here, and he decided to stay close to home. Thus, we decided to increase the project and, in 2019, we received master Júlio at our home to share ideas and set goals for our teams. After sharing experiences and other conversations about business, we decided that the Xchange project would be exclusive to GFTeam.

And how does the selection process work for the athletes who will participate?

Some apply to participate in the project on our Instagram or email, while others come to us by referral. The process is arduous and time-consuming as we hear and read all the applications. It’s difficult because there are so many moving stories and unfortunately we can’t help them all. After the final selection is completed, Master Júlio gets in touch with the athlete’s teacher or even with the athlete himself, to extend the invitation. It is important to emphasize that, despite being integrated into the project, the athlete continues to represent his school and teacher. The goal of Xchange is to bring a different experience to this athlete and allow him to experience the management part here in the United States, while still training and competing. Athletes receive an experience of living abroad, with our family and being involved in their chosen sport. We have English classes, physical preparation, and specific training for competitions. We also include leisure trips so that they can experience the whole experience.

João Marcelo on the American Nationals podium. Photo: Reproduction

Who are the current members of the Xchange project?

Xchange 2021 currently has three athletes. We have Ismael Santos, a brown belt from GFTeam Ceará and a student of Professor Elinor Batista. We also received Luis Fernando Carvalho, a purple belt from GFTeam Merck, and a student of Professor Serginho Miranda. And finally, we have João Pedro Rodrigues, also a student of Professor Serginho at GFTeam Merck.

This exchange of knowledge ends up favoring not only the young people who are going but also your young and avid athlete João Marcelo, current champion of the American Nationals. What changed in his game and Jiu-Jitsu vision after the project?

Not only is it excellent training, but also an immense exchange of experiences, culture, and language. João Marcelo has only studied English all his life and his daily life with the boys helps him a lot with Portuguese. Our academy also made a difference in his career. Even before the project, he prepared for all of this year’s events, including the American Nationals in which he was champion at weight and open weight, with our RMA students. I would say that the experiences helped not only João Marcelo but the whole family.

What did you, teacher and experienced black belt, learn from these exchanges of experience?

I learned that the human connection is the most powerful thing in the world. Even though they’re much younger, around my son’s age, I learn daily from them. The life stories, the difficult moments they went through and the incredible strength that each one has developed to pursue their dreams help us to grow. Today I take on the role of “master”, which is what they call me, but I also function as a father figure, using this period of closeness to guide them towards success. Sometimes I am a little tougher, taking on the role of instructor and father, but my wife, like a mother, is more flexible. We talked a lot and developed a lot of affection for everyone. This exchange ends up being as special for us as it is for them and we know that, although our time with students is limited, the friendship and admiration will be forever.

And what are the next plans for Professor Marcelo Ribeiro and RMA?

In addition to continuing our partnership with GFTeam, which helped us in the development and execution process of the project, we intend to hold an Xchange camp in Brazil, but we are still defining the details of this new adventure.

João Marcelo (right) and Xchange participants. photo: Reproduction

In the same week that Dan Henderson said he has five fights left in him, Lyoto Machida also put a timeline on the rest of his career.

In this video with Fight Hub TV, Machida maps out the rest of his time as a competitive MMA fighter. Check it out.

Photo by Erik Fontanez

As quickly as she came, Ronda Rousey might go just as swiftly.

The UFC women’s champion’s plate is full of meetings, reality shows and roles in movies. With the hectic schedule, fighting in the Octagon appears to be coming to an end within two years from now, according to the fighter.

“I do four-year cycles,” Rousey told MMAjunkie.com. “I think I’ve got two years left in me, realistically, if I’m going to do this like an Olympic run.”

In regards to her fight career, Rousey just finished shooting for Season 18 of “The Ultimate Fighter,” where viewers will see her coach opposite her rival, Miesha Tate. The two bantamweights will then square off in the co-main event at UFC 168, in a rematch of their first fight from the Strikeforce days.

With the fight over four months away, the time leading into it allows Rousey to dabble in Hollywood and begin shooting for “Expendables 3,” her first movie role. Shooting will take place in Bulgaria, and Rousey, according to GRACIEMAG sources and various reports, will have a training camp on the set of the movie so she stays in shape.

But Rousey’s Hollywood ambitions don’t stop with the “Expendables” sequel. Once she’s done shooting for her first role, she’ll likely jump into shooting for her second role as an unnamed character in “Fast & Furious 7.” As of now, she is currently in negotiations and has not yet signed on for the film.

“I’ve got a lot of stuff coming up that I can’t talk to you about,” she said.

Rousey’s UFC 168 fight takes place on Dec. 28 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

Black belt Ralek Gracie at the family academy in Torrance, California / Publicity photo

“Jiu-Jitsu, don’t leave home without it…”

Renzo Gracie, while commentating a would-be mugging on the streets of New York real time via Twitter

“I only reacted after one of the guys grabbed my arm and tried sticking a hand in the pocket where I keep my wallet. When I saw that they wanted to rob me barehanded, that’s when I knew I was going to fight. If they had knives or weapons in that situation, I’d have handed them my wallet and cell phone.”

Renzo Gracie

“Maybe that was the right decision for Jon Jones’ career. Would I have done the same? No.”

Tito Ortiz, a former fighter turned manager, on the light heavyweight champion’s choice that spelt the end of UFC 151

“Vitor has trained a bit of everything here at Blackzilians, and he’s got his striking, ground and pound, and Jiu-Jitsu flowing. Predicting the outcome of a fight is always difficult. I feel the first one to slip up will pay dearly.”

Bráulio Estima, on Jon Jones vs. Vitor Belfort at UFC 152 on the coming 22nd 

“Bochecha’s a young black belt with a good game. He’s a heavy guy who moves like a lightweight. I certainly will not underestimate him.”

Roger Gracie, on the 20-minute match with no points or advantages at Metamoris Pro

“In the process of finding the best individual athlete you also find the most beauty in the art.”

Ralek Gracie, co-organizer of Metamoris Pro

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3WaGYPPiZI