Henrique Saraiva teaches Jiu-Jitsu in Dublin. Photo: Divulgation

“Sit down. Be humble”. With this mantra on the wall, Professor Henrique Saraiva resumed Jiu-Jitsu classes at his schools in Ireland in September, after more than a year of closed gyms in the country.

Son of the great master Orlando Saraiva, the professor celebrated the new phase in Dublin and shared the teachings with our team.

“I think the greatest learning I could gather during this difficult period for everyone comes from an analogy I made with Jiu-Jitsu”, reflects Henrique. “Which is: in life, we ​​don’t have control of many things. In times of difficulty, it is necessary to be wise enough to wait for the right time to react, the important thing is not to waste energy unnecessarily. Nobody throws themselves into a sea to face a storm, nor is there any point in embarking without wind”.

Saraiva took advantage of the forced stoppage to promote changes: “On my way back, I started again in September in a new dojo, in a region that still didn’t have any Jiu-Jitsu academies. I hope to grow a lot around here. The academy in D15 continues as well, so we grew in the end.”

Henrique Saraiva also took the opportunity to keep up with the conversation, and the teachings, up to date in Brazil. “I flew to Brazil at the beginning of the pandemic and so I was able to enjoy my family. Since I moved to Ireland, I couldn’t spend as many months with them. Even when I lived in Brazil, I had never been this close to my parents. It was a great opportunity, I was able to talk a lot with my father and absorb as much of his experiences and his great stories on the mat, with masters Carlson and Paquetá.”

According to Saraiva, the Irish team returned more excited than ever, and they have already started to plan their return to the championships as well. “I think Jiu-Jitsu in Ireland will be even stronger, the spirit of the young ones was renewed. I see it in the children of our team, who are even more excited, wanting to spend all that piled-up energy. I hope to see my students fighting at events across Europe soon. We’re getting there, at last.”

Photo: IBJJF/Facebook

Yago Souza, 27, is back on the competition scene. After a long hiatus where he had to overcome injuries and make personal decisions, the black-belt started competing masterfully again in 2021, and has already racked up four gold medals, won at the Orleans Open, Orlando Open, Memphis Open and Houston Open – and, just this month, the IBJJF’s Orlando Summer Open.

“I was absent because of my period of adaptation to the U.S. and also the various injuries suffered, which was very difficult for me to adapt to,” he explained in a recent interview. “I also had a period of adaptation to the food and routine from here, which is all very different from what I used to have in Brazil. But now it’s all normal, and I know the path to achieving great titles again. I’m very happy about having won four straight opens, and now my goal is to sign up for the absolutes to test myself more, just like I did at the Memphis Open.”

A Pan and European champion in the black belt, Yago is thirsty to repeat the feats he accomplished in big events in 2016 and 2017, when he won most of the tournaments he took part in, notching wins against Otávio Sousa, Vitor Oliveira, Josh Hinger, Marcos Tinoco and AJ, for example.

“My biggest goal in 2021 is to keep myself competing and 100% healthy to reach the greatest version of myself in the big competitions and get a good result,” he said. “I’m practicing plenty of jiu-jitsu and lifting weights to strengthen my body, all done truly with great care. I train five times a week. I’m happy with the moment I’m living.”

Yago likes fighting on top and on the bottom, which often greatly hinders the strategies of opponents, who don’t know where to attack during the fight.

“I’ve always liked being versatile,” he said. “I’ve always tried to learn about everything and never limit myself to just one type of technique. My biggest goal in jiu-jitsu is to reach a high technical level. I really like working with the basics, because I see that the basics are getting lost as the years go by. People want to skip the basics and learn complicated things; that’s why I insist on the basics. The basics are the base for everything.”

Yago has gold medals from the World Championship and Brazilian Nationals, events also held by the IBJJF.

Nate Diaz returning in November. Photo via Getty Images.

One-time UFC lightweight title challenger Nate Diaz is expected to return from suspension in November, GRACIEMAG.com learned on Tuesday.

Mike Kogan, Diaz’s manager, said today that his client, who was recently fined and suspended for using a homophobic slur on Twitter, will be back to fighting in the fall.

The return, according to the schedule of reported fights for November, would land Diaz on either the UFC Fight for the Troops on Nov. 6 or UFC 167 on Nov. 16.

Diaz’s return comes after a $20,000 fine and 90-day suspension for using a slur on his Twitter page in which he was reacting to another fighter’s comments in a recent article. Bryan Caraway, the fighter Diaz was referring to in his tweet, made statements condemning marijuana use and expressed his happiness to collect a fight night bonus from Pat Healy, who lost the bonus after testing positive for marijuana metabolites in a post-fight exam.

“I feel bad for Pat Healy,” Diaz wrote, adding, “they took an innocent man’s money and I think the guy who took the money is the biggest [explicit] in the world.”

In a subsequent defense of Diaz, Kogan relayed comments saying his client’s use of the slur wasn’t directed at homosexuals.

Diaz last competed at UFC on Fox 7 in a match against former Strikeforce lightweight champ Josh Thomson. Diaz suffered the first TKO loss of his career in the fight, falling to Thomson via head kick and punches.

Josh Barnett will make his return to the UFC against Frank Mir. Photo credit: Sherdog.com.

Former champion against former champion.

Josh Barnett will return to the UFC after 11 years away from the franchise and face Frank Mir at UFC 164, the organization announced earlier this week.

Barnett won the UFC heavyweight belt in 2002 when he knocked out Randy Couture. The American then tested positive for steroids in a drug test soon after, and ended up losing the title and employment. Barnett has since been with several organizations, including Strikeforce, where he competed in the Heavyweight GP. In the final, he was defeated by Daniel Cormier, who debuted in UFC with a win over Mir at UFC on Fox in April.

Mir suffered a setback in his title shot against Junior dos Santos, and proved quite apathetic in combat with D.C. in April. Nevertheless, the fighter has his moments, and often makes exciting fights. He was heavyweight champion in 2004, when he beat Tim Sylvia.

Mir and Barnett are both black belts in Jiu-Jitsu and most of their wins have come by submission. It is likely that this fight bring a show ground for lovers of MMA and Jiu-Jitsu.

UFC 164
BMO Harris Bradley Center – Milwaukee (USA)
August 31, 2013

Frank Mir vs. Josh Barnett
Chad Mendes vs. Clay Guida
Erik Koch vs. Dustin Poirier
Ben Rothwell vs. Brandon Vera

Duffee will return to the organization and is scheduled to fight Phil De Fries at UFC 155 on Dec. 29, according to a Wednesday report from the Las Vegas Sun. The UFC later confirmed Duffee’s return on Twitter.

“Welcome back, big guy!” read the status update.

Duffee, once considered one of the heavyweight division’s brightest prospects, was last seen defeating Neil Grove by knockout at Super Fight League 2 in April. Prior to that, Duffee suffered a loss to currently-suspended UFC fighter Alistair Overeem at Dynamite!! 2010 in his bid for the Dream heavyweight title.

Most memorably, Duffee fell to Mike Russow at UFC 114 in May 2010. Duffee was dominating the fight for the better part of the contest when Russow landed a shocking punch that sent Duffee falling to the floor unconscious. The loss was Duffee’s first of his career.

De Fries was last seen finishing Oli Thompson by submission at the UFC on FOX event last August.

UFC 155 will take place in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Tererê back atop the winners’ podium / Publicity photo

Last weekend was an exciting one for Jiu-Jitsu fans in Mexico City. It was there that embattled gentle-art star Fernando Tererê made his competition return after a long and tenebrous winter without competing. Invited to take part by his student Jonathan Amaral, otherwise known as “Pé de Bolo”, the black belt tested out his Jiu-Jitsu at an open championship in Mexico’s capital city.

Making the most of a six-month stint teaching Jiu-Jitsu in Mexico, Tererê decided to don his gi for the fans, and came up with three submissions in the three matches he was in, showing he’s still got it.

The event’s promoter, Pé de Bolo, also got in on the action but lost in the semifinals to Dan Schon.

Check out Tererê’s performance, and let us know what you think.