Hiago is one of the best black belts in the world. Photo: Personal archive

An elite light featherweight, Hiago George succeeded in winning gold in his first BJJ tournament in 2021. At the Grand Slam in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, the Cícero Costha-trained black-belt defeated three strong opponents to walk out with a gold medal and a beautiful eagle-shaped trophy.

First he had to get past Pablo Mantovani (Atos) in order to beat Lucas Pinheiro (Atos) and Diego Pato (Cícero Costha) in the semifinals and final, respectively. All matches were decided by points, which were scored through dominant positions achieved by the champion.

“The announcement of the events was in very short notice, but thank God I always keep myself training very hard,” Hiago said in a recent interview. “I give it 110% every day and stay prepared for any challenges, at any time. I had a very good performance and I’m celebrating a lot with this great title in my career. I’m happy to have fought well against great athletes who are at the top of the category. My game flowed well; I acted on top and on the bottom. My passing game and my guard game are sharp right now.”

The athletes, who were invited by the AJP, the entity that organizes these events in Abu Dhabi, stayed in a hotel in quarantine for 14 days, getting tested daily as a preventive measure against the new coronavirus. Hiago summed up to us the days preceding the tourney:

“It was an impeccable championship done by the AJP. All athletes were treated like professionals, and that’s very gratifying. The sheikh has a unique love for BJJ, and that’s why he values our art so highly. We were quarantined in the hotel, did daily tests because of the new coronavirus, and it all worked out in the end. It’s a new experience to have a mask attached to my face the whole time, but we adapt. I will always do my part so that everything goes back to normal soon, and I can barely wait to return to the UAE to fight again.”

Born in Livramento de Nossa Senhora, in the state of Bahia, the land of great fighters like Junior Cigano, Hiago is now preparing his transition into MMA. He told us he used to box and gave us insight on how he views this new challenge. “MMA has always been something I have a great desire for. To give you an idea, I had contact with the martial art through boxing 14 years ago and, after that, I began doing BJJ, the sport I wound up prioritizing. After achieving great titles in BJJ, the time has come to take another step and kick the challenges up a notch. I’ve already been practicing my standup for some time — I had a fight scheduled — but because of the pandemic, everything got delayed. I’m going to fight in August.”

On how he’s been handling the new kind of training, he said, “The main difference, for me, was adapting BJJ while I strike my opponent, and my conditioning, because it’s a different type of stimulation. You have to be in a very good physical condition to have a good performance in the fight.”

Hiago is not quitting competitive jiu-jitsu. He’s fighting again in June, both in Copa Pódio and in the AJP’s South America event.

After having to bow out of his debut UFC fight with an injury, Jiu-Jitsu world champion Robert Drysdale is ready to go and has a date scheduled in the octagon.

Drysdale will face Cody Donovan in a light heavyweight fight at UFC 167 this November, UFC officials confirmed on Thursday.

“It’s something I’m truly excited about — being able to fight against the best in the world,” Drysdale told GRACIEMAG.com back in June.

Drysdale was originally supposed to face Ednaldo Oliveira at UFC 163 in Brazil, but a staph infection forced the Jiu-Jitsu ace to drop off the card.

Now healthy, Drysdale will get the shot he’s been waiting for, after starting his MMA career with a 6-0 record.

UFC 167 takes place on Nov. 16 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The pay-per-view is being celebrated as the UFC’s 20th anniversary show, and is headlined by a welterweight title fight between champion Georges St-Pierre and challenger Johny Hendricks.

Young talent, Brazilian Marcio Andre won his second purple belt world title and received his brown belt on the podium. Photo: Erin Herle

Shortly after winning the purple belt featherweight division at the 2013 Worlds a few weeks ago, Marcio Andre was back on the competition mats in Rio with his new brown belt.

A nice way to break it in, the eighteen year old from the Nova Uniao team was able to submit with a toehold in his final match and secure his first gold. Watch the match below as he submits with a toehold:

Bellator founder and CEO Bjorn Rebney (Photo by Henry S. Dziekan III/Getty Images)

Bellator Fighting Championships will make their 2013 debut on Spike TV on Thursday, Jan. 17, and the broadcast will feature two title fights, the company announced on Tuesday.

Lightweight champion Mike Chandler will defend his title against Season 6 tournament winner Rick Hawn, and Pat Curran will defend his featherweight belt against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire on the Spike TV debut. The event will take place at The University of California, Irvine’s Bren Center in Irvine, Calif.

The company also announced that their second broadcast will be Jan. 24, which will feature welterweight champion Ben Askren defending his title against Karl Amoussou. Former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ Muhammad “King Mo” Lawal will also be on the second event, but an opponent is yet to be determined. Lawal will have specials dedicated to him airing between the first and second Bellator broadcasts on the network.

Bellator will air events every Thursday for 12 straight weeks, officials said, and broadcasts will start at 10 p.m. ET. Viewers on the West Coast with a dish can watch the fights live at 7 p.m. PT, but cable subscribers will have to wait for a tape delay at 10 p.m. PT.

Five tournaments will take place during the upcoming season, including those in the 145-, 155-, 170-, 185- and 205-pound weight classes. Fighters such as Lawal, UFC veteran Renato “Babalu” Sobral and Seth Petruzelli will be in the 205-pound tournament, while Ben Saunders and Douglas Lima will be in the 170-pound bracket. Others will be added in the near future.

Bellator’s biggest competitor, the UFC, has long presented itself as a Pay-Per-View company. Bellator, however, has made their reputation through cable networks, most recently with MTV2 and next year with Spike — a network that used to host UFC Fight Night cards. When asked, company CEO Bjorn Rebney said there are no immediate plans for a Bellator Pay-Per-View.

Officials said the company is currently casting for its first fight-based reality show, but plans for its debut are still being worked out.

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Brulio started off his MMA career on the right foot. Photo by Ryan Loco.

By Dão Tavares

You read all about ADCC superchamp Bráulio Estima’s MMA debut right here on GRACIEMAG.com.

Now check out some of what went on behind the scenes in the lead-up to the battle, when the Gracie Barra professor mounted and tapped out Chris Holland with a vise-like arm-and-neck choke at their August 24 encounter at Titan Fighting Championship 24.

The athlete’s training, preparations and day-to-day life was documented by Ryan Loco, who assembled the footage to make the video below.

Check it out, and let us know what your favorite part is.

Jiu-Jitsu ace Caio "Hell Boy" Magalhães and his MMA belts / Publicity photo

Another thick-skinned black belt from the Brazilian state of Ceará, Caio Magalhães will be making his UFC debut on June 8 against also-first-timer Buddy Roberts, 29, at the UFC on FX 3 show, and he knows just how he wants to put the assortment of Jiu-Jitsu attacks he has at his disposal into practice: landing on top and passing guard. “I’m going to take him down and run him over,” Magalhães told GRACIEMAG.com with confidence.

The best part for GRACIEMAG.com readers is that the UFC newcomer doesn’t hid his game. “To pass guard, the trick is to keep balance and never let your opponent be at ease. You can’t let him feel good; you have to keep the pressure on him,” explained the Brazilian, who was supposed to have faced Fabio Maldonado at UFC Rio, who ended up getting injured shortly before the show.

Originally signed by the UFC to fight at light heavyweight, Caio has now dropped a weight division to fight at middleweight. Now Buddy Roberts holds a record of 11 wins in 13 career fights, while Caio hasn’t lost in his five-fight career.

Both fighters were meant to have debuted in MMA’s most recognized cage, but injuries to their opponent delayed their appearances. “Now everything is going to work out, I’m happy again. I don’t like training myself to death and then not get to fight. These last four months have gone like that; I’ve been training like mad,” he said.

Other bouts set for the same occasion have also-Ceará native Carlos Eduardo “Tá Danado” taking on the USA’s Mike Pierce, the rematch between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall, and Dustin Pague facing Jared Papazian. Now Erick Silva will face Charlie Brenneman and Eddie Wineland will square off with Scott Jorgensen, while Bernardo Trekko will be trying for his first win in the UFC when he takes on Henry Martinez.

UFC on FX 3
United States
June 8, 2012

Ian McCall vs Demetrious Johnson
Erick Silva vs Charlie Brenneman
Eddie Wineland vs Scott Jorgensen
Jared Papazian vs Dustin Pague
Josh Neer vs Mike Pyle
Leonard Garcia vs Matt Grice
Mike Pierce vs Carlos Eduardo Rocha
Seth Baczynski vs Lance Benoist
Caio Magalhães vs Buddy Roberts
Bernardo Trekko Magalhães vs Henry Martinez