Maldonado tenta a chave kimura. Foto: Carlos Ozório

Paulo Filho foi a grande atração do Memorial Fight, que aconteceu no dia 4 de junho, em Santos. Mas outra fera no card foi Fabio Maldonado. Conhecido pelas habilidades no boxe, nocauteador, o lutador surpreendeu ao aplicar o Jiu-Jitsu contra o peruano Jackson Moura. 

“O mundo está mudado! O Paulão nocauteou e eu finalizei!”, brincava, depois da guilhotina que lhe deu a vitória. 

“Estou treinando bastante. Sei que o meu Jiu-Jitsu é um pouco limitado, mas treino muito chão. Faço muitas posições e tenho uns quatro golpes bons. Estou tentando melhorar”, completou. 

A busca pelo combate no chão foi, em parte, pelas avarias sofridas no Bitetti Combat, quando travou dura batalha contra o holandês Jeffie Gibbs. 

“Estava preocupado com a minha costela por causa de uma joelhada na luta contra o Gibbs e esse peruano era invicto no boxe profissional. Estou há cinco anos sem um treinador de boxe, isso faz muita diferença. Num erro de distância, algo que piora pela falta de treinamento,o Gibbs me encaixou uma joelhada dura”, conta Maldonado, que, apesar da finalização, garante que não mudará o estilo. 

“Adoro trocar e boto a cara mesmo. Com essa luvinha vai ser sempre assim. Para mim é pessoal. É até um defeito ser orgulhoso, mas eu vou sempre trocar mesmo”, finaliza.

The World Pro JJ Cup, next April, in Abu Dhabi, UAE, have its first qualified athletes. In a partnership between GMAs Carlao Santos, of Emirates Team, Claudio Franca and Renato Tavares the US West Coast Trials took place this weekend, in Santa Cruz, California.

Here are the results:

Male

Purple/Brown/Black Belt:

-65kg:  John Ramirez

-75kg:  Marcos Pagliere

-84kg: Clark Gracie

-92kg:  Raul Castillo (GMA member at HMB MMA)

+92kg:  John Devine

White/Blue belt:

Absolute Light Weight:  Issa Able (student of GMA member Gustavo Dantas, of Nova Uniao Arizona)

Absolute Heavyweight:  Orlando Sanchez

Female:

Lightweight: Kiri Liao (student of GMA member Saulo Ribeiro)

Heavyweight: Lana Stefanac

The next WPJJC Trials is to take place next weekend, in Florida.

For more info, go to www.nafafighters.com.

Quesinberry and Relson

In Daytona, Florida, John Michael Quesinberry, of Gracie Daytona, will be welcoming his master Relson Gracie for a seminar on March 2^nd. The price for two hours of the finest Jiu-Jitsu is $ 60. More info at graciedaytona.com.

Beauregard

Brown belt Ryan Beauregard, of Team Beauregard, in Arizona, did great at the Copa Nova, earlier this month, in Washington, DC. Beauregard conquered the 170lbs category and $ 400. His friend Dimitri Chrisios  came second. Later on that week, Ryan taught two seminar, one of each in Dimitri’s school. For more info, go to teambeauregard.com.

In New Jersey, Stevie Bongiorno, of South Jersey BJJ, will be having the Grand Opening ceremony of his new academy next February 27th. A Ricardo Almeida’s representative, Bongiorno will have the presence of his master and other black belts as well. The new address is 2 route 73 South in Berlin NJ. For more info, go to sjbjj.com.

On Twitter, Larry Shealy, of Gracie Barra Jacksonville, in Florida, announces: KidJitsu JaxBJJ is on fire our new Muay Thai Instructor,Brian Tyle, along with Haganah Black Belt Nathan Lang…….COME HIT SOMETHING! More at jaxbjj.com.

Also on Twitter, Carlao Santos, of Emirates Team, tells us that it is all ready for the US West coast World Pro BJJ trials. EmiratesBJJ: Check Brackets for Abu Dhabi US West Cost Trials abudhabibjj.com/Brackets.html.

Our third Twitter announcement comes from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pablo Popovitch, the current up to 77kg ADCC champion, congratulates one of his students.  TeamPopovitch Fred Moncaio promoted to brown belt, congratulations. More at bjjcenter.com.

In Texas, Joao Crus invites for a special seminar on February 6^th. The class will cover BJJ techniques such as De La Riva Guard, Spider Guard, Sitting up Guard, Cross Guard. Untill January 30^th, it’s only $50. To register click here.

Back in Twiiter, we read that Ezekiel Zayas is having his technical director Yan Cabral for a seminar this Friday. More at asesbjj.com.

And our member in Birmingham, UK, Braulio Estima continues his US Seminar Tour. On January 31^st, Braulio will be in Chicago for a class at GB The Loop, of Beto Barros and Phillipe Dela Monica. More at, graciebarratheloop.com.

And to finish the newsflash for now, Yamasaki Jiu-Jitsu, of Mario and Fernando Yamasaki, in Maryland, is announcing another location for Jiu-Jitsu in the state. Now the team will also teach at Virginia Beach. More info at grappling.com

No, reader, this is not a synopsis of a new production of the movie “Lawrence of Arabia”, a major success in 1966 portraying the saga of a young English official who trained Middle Eastern rebels to face the Turkish Empire.

The westerner in question is our famous Royce Gracie, who is teaching a series of seminars to military men and civilians alike in the Middle East, more precisely Kuwait and Dubai.

Royce demonstrates his famous stomp on Carlao Santos, in the ADCC. Photo: Publicity

Today he was at the Abu Dhabi Combat Club to check out the training of Emirates Team and took the chance to give some pointers to the team led by Carlão Santos.

Royce was invited to teach seminars on an American base in the Persian Gulf and then for the army of Kuwait. After these two commitments he should return to the Arab Emirates for a seminar in Dubai.

So, what are these great battles about to take place?” It’s worth remembering how during the same week of April we’ll have, in Abu Dhabi, an historic UFC event and the 2^nd World Pro Jiu-Jitsu Cup. April promises to be a truly hot week in the desert.

GMA members Claudio Franca and Carlao Santos have united forces to put together the World Pro JJ Cup US West Coast Trials.

The tournament is scheduled next January 24th, in Santa Cruz, California. The enrollment is open to all Americans and legal US residents.

The winners of each category will receive plane tickets and hotel fares to compete in Abu Dhabi, next April.

The 2nd World Pro JJ Cup will give away US$ 145,000 in prizes.

Registrations for the US West Coast trials is already open. Don’t miss out on this opportunity and enroll now. More info at abudhabibjj.com.

Quase 200 atletas de diversos países tiveram a oportunidade de testar suas técnicas no torneio que buscou, acima de tudo, testar a capacidade de logística do Emirates Team para a organização de mais um luxuoso evento de Jiu-Jitsu.

Com cobertura da Abu Dhabi Sport TV, a Asian Super Cup foi transmitida ao vivo para mais de 50 países e contou com comentaristas especializados e entrevistas com todos os semifinalistas.

Atleta dá entrevista para TV de Abu Dhabi. Foto: Divulgação.

Pela primeira vez, também, o evento adotou o sistema com três árbitros por área, que inclusive receberam treinamento e foram testados nas semanas antecedentes ao evento. O staff do evento, todo do Emirates Team, pôde colaborar de dentro da ilha de transmissão da TV, contribuindo para que os telespectadores não perdessem os detalhes do espetáculo.

A Asian Super Cup, mesmo sendo um evento independente ao World Pro, mostrou-se como um ensaio de luxo para organização, público e atletas. A contagem regressiva começou. Preparem-se.

Nearly 200 athletes from several nations had the chance to test out their technique at the tournament meant to, above all, text Emirates Team’s logistical capacity for organizing what promises to be another grandiose Jiu-Jitsu event.

Covered by Abu Dhabi Sport TV, the Asian Super Cup was broadcast to more than 50 countries and relied on specialized commentators and interviews with all the semifinalists.

Carlão interviewed by Abu Dhabi TV. Photo: Publicity

Also for the first time, the event adopted a system of three referees per area, all of whom were given special training and were tested the weeks preceding the event. The staff for the event, all from Emirates Team, could collaborate from within the TV broadcast island, contributing so viewers would not miss any detail of the spectacle.

The Asian Super Cup, even though it is a separate event from the World Pro, turned out to be a luxury rehearsal for organization, crowd and athletes. The count-down has begun. Get ready.

Check out the complete results:

ASIAN JIU-JITSU SUPER CUP 2009 – ABU DHABI

White (-5 months) Under 66Kg:

1st Place – Hazem Issa – Jordan
2nd Place – Fadi Ahmad – Jordan
3rd Place – Ahmed Gharib Humaid Nasser Saeed – UAE
3rd Place – Abedalrahman Eid – Jordan

White (-5 months) Above 66Kg:

1st Place – Abdi Al Ghafar – Jordan
2nd Place – Ari Basti – Australia
3rd Place – Mohamad Naser – Jordan
3rd Place – Suliman Abdrahim – Jordan

Black Belts Under 73Kg:

1st Place – Michel Maia – Brazil
2nd Place – Samuel Hertzog – Brazil
3rd Place – Oscar Alfredo – Brazil
3rd Place – Marcelo Motta – Brazil

Black Belts Above 73Kg:
1st Place – Rafael Haubert – Brazil
2nd Place – Zumbi Larara – Brazil
3rd Place – Carlos Alexandre de Carvalho – Brazil
3rd Place – José Ferreira Junior – Brazil

White and Blue Belts Under 65Kg:

1st Place – Ali Monfaradi – Bahrain
2nd Place – Sadam Ayed – Jordan
3rd Place – Zelim Khan Kharsiev – Russian
3rd Place – Ahmed Ghlooum – UAE

White and Blue Belts Under 74Kg:

1st Place – Mohamed Naser Mohamed Saif Al Qubaisi – UAE
2nd Place – Jaber Hammad Said Hammad Al Darai – UAE
3rd Place – Tablib Saleh Mohammed Alkirbi – UAE
3rd Place – Ricky Rout – Indian

White and Blue Belts Under 83Kg:

1st Place – Mahdi Alqubisi – UAE
2nd Place – Majid Abdalla Saeed Majid Al Naqbi – UAE
3rd Place – Wesam Alahmad – Jordan
3rd Place – Salmeen Obaid Musabbeh Ghannam – UAE

White and Blue Belts Under 92Kg:

1st Place – Tammer Sameer – Jordan
2nd Place – Sami Salim – Jordan
3rd Place – Najib Al Nassar – Jordan
3rd Place – Yasan Janib – Jordan

White and Blue Belts Above 92Kg:
1st Place – Tarek Matter – Egypt
2nd Place – Faisal Fahad Ahmed Sultan Al Ketbi – UAE
3rd Place – Fouzan Alsabij – Kuwait
3rd Place – Abdul Rahman Hamad Nasser – UAE

White and Blue Belts OPEN WEIGHT:

1st Place – Tarek Matter – Egypt
2nd Place – Ali Salam Ali – UAE
3rd Place – Mohamed Nasser – UAE
3rd Place – Ahmed Alkutbi – UAE

Team results:

1- EMIRATES TEAM
2- JORDAN TEAM
3- BAHRAIN TEAM

A dupla vai se juntar aos atletas do Emirates Team, Edmilson Conceição e Daniel Garcez, para competirem nesta sexta e sábado. Os quatro representarão o Brasil na Copa do Mundo de Judô nas instalações do Club Al Jazeera.

Garcez vai competir até 66kg, Flávio Canto na categoria até 81kg, Edmilson até 90, e Léo até 100kg. “Vamos lá em peso torcer no clube”, diz Mohamad ao GRACIEMAG.com.

Realizado no Endeavour Sports High, a seletiva australiana dá a largada para uma série de seletivas ao redor do mundo. Até abril de 2010, serão 11 seletivas ao redor do mundo.

Segue abaixo algumas datas já confirmados do evento, e aguarde os resultados aqui, no GRACIEMAG.com:
 
 
Austrália: 15 de novembro (Países do continente da Australásia);

Nova Zelândia: 21 de novembro (Países do continente da  Australasia, menos australianos);

África do Sul: 5 de dezembro (somente africanos);

Inglaterra: 12 de dezembro (somente europeus);

Estados Unidos, Miami: 31 de janeiro (aberto a todos residentes);

Estados Unidos, Califórnia: 13 ou 14 de fevereiro (aberto a todos residentes);

Canadá: 06 de março (somente para pessoas com passaporte da América do Norte);

Brasil (Sul): 14 de março (a confirmar) (somente para pessoas com passaportes de países da America do Sul);

Brasil (Sudeste): 28 de março (a confirmar) (somente para pessoas com passaportes de países da America do Sul);

Bélgica: 20 de março (somente europeus);

Japão: 20 de março (somente asiáticos).