Pablo beat Saggioro 5-3 to become the champion in the Professional black belt lightweight division. Photo: Personal archive

After succeeding in structuring his personal life in Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, Pablo Mantovani resumed doing what he has always done well: competing. A teacher and athlete full-time, Pablo proved, in practice, that he is sharper than ever as he won the Grand Slam in Moscow, Russia.

In the tournament held by the Abu Dhabi Jiu-Jitsu Pro Tour (AJP), Pablo conquered the 69kg division when he defeated Leonardo Saggioro (BTT) in the final, scoring 5 points to Saggioro’s 3, with a guard pass and a back-take. Pablo’s path was not easy: he also had to eliminate Abubakar Khadaev and win a tough battle against Raul Basílio in the semifinal, where the score was 4-4.

In a recent interview, Pablo analyzed his fight with Saggioro, one of the biggest names in the division.

“I’ve been following him for a while,” said Pablo. “He’s done a World Championship final with Rubens Cobrinha, he’s done several tough fights with Rafael Mendes, and because of that, I knew I couldn’t afford to make mistakes. I left my comfort zone, and since I’m a guard player, I decided to take on his guard and try to pass. He has a good guard pass; that was when I decided to move away from his strong game. In the fight, he pulled; I accelerated to pass and take the back. Later, I ended up losing the back adjustments, and he put pressure to try to pass, but I managed to contain his impetus.”

Victory against great athletes, a Grand Slam title and lots of confidence once again. But how did Pablo keep his mind strong even after going a fair bit of time without competing? He explained:

“I believe that now, at 26, I’ve reached the maturity of an adult. What do I mean by that maturity? I mean not feeling pressure. Many times, I lost tournaments due to feeling pressured to win or because my opponent was tough. This time was different; I ignored that factor. I simply went there to have fun. I didn’t put pressure on myself before fighting; I was just a lot more focused this time. I fought moving forward because I wanted to win. Maturity was a determining factor in my victory.

“I read a few times that other athletes became world champions when they lost the fear of making mistakes. I just did what had to be done: I believed in my game and my potential. It made a big difference. I was ready to become champion — that’s my mindset. It’s to fight moving forward, whether on top or on the bottom, without the fear of making mistakes.”

It’s worth noting that when Pablo isn’t teaching at Baniyas Sport Club, he’s training with the Abu Dhabi national team, led by Ramon Lemos, which brings together some BJJ fighters that reside in the UAE. All the methodology that was being used at Atos Jiu-Jitsu gets applied to the team.

Leaders of Alliance, Alexandre Gigi Paiva, Romero Jacare Cavalcanti and Fabio Gurgel; Rio, Atlanta and Sao Paulo. Photo: Rubens Charles Maciel

In a recentl Facebook post, Alliance founder Romero “Jacare” Cavalcanti shared a 1994 match between his Alliance counterpart Fabio Gurgel and Leo Dalla. He commented, “Fabio Gurgel trademark pressure on top, trying to mount, always looking to finish his opponent until the end of the match. I think this is Jiu-Jitsu is very different from some boring matches we see nowadays. Please enjoy and learn.”

And to GRACIEMAG, he told us how he thinks that match will pan out: “Fabio has always had a very forward game, always looking to finish. If he is on top trying to pass the guard. He always looks for the classic combination to get to the side mount and then proceed to mount and finish. His game always involves a lot pressure but the goal is to finish. I think he will do very well against Ze Mario, who is a very tough opponent. I think it will be an awesome match. Two guys with very different styles but I hope Fabio gets the win!”

Gurgel’s upcoming superfight with Ze Mario Sperry will be at ADCC in Beijing, China this October. Even though this match will be without the gi, the pressure is still useful and we can bet that Gurgel will have it in his arsenal.

What do you think of the match below compared to what we see today?

Lovato attacks with a Kimura lock after passing guard. Photo: GRACIEMAG archives.

Rafael Lovato Jr., a GMA of ours in Oklahoma, USA, has released a series of videos where he teaches guard-passing techniques and tricks.

In the videos, the black belt shows how to put on the pressure and make opponents squirm, as well as the exact moves he uses to surmount guards in competition.

With his knack for teaching, he lays out how practitioners of all levels, from beginners to black belts, can use his pressure-pass system.

Click here to sign up and learn from the world champion.

Lovato: tips for making your Jiu-Jitsu pack more pressure.

In Jiu-Jitsu, applying pressure and making opponents uncomfortable is halfway there, if not the entire way. Find out, here on GRACIEMAG.com, how to annul the guard-player’s leg and hop the ramparts of his defenses.

GRAB THE HEAD, A JIU-JITSU CONCEPT

As our GMA Rafael Lovato Jr., a teacher in Oklahoma, USA, teaches, sitting on the opponent’s leg and controlling his head are important part of the equation.

Like that? After trying it out, comment below and let us know your thoughts.