Still not very famous in 2005, the black belts Rubens “Cobrinha” Charles and Rafael dos Anjos fought hard for their dreams. In the America Golden Cup event in Rio de Janeiro, Rafa and Cobrinha tested their games in Jiu-Jitsu, one against the other. The duel finished with Cobrinha’s victory.

Almost ten years later, the winner collects four World Jiu-Jitsu Championships (2006-2009) and two ADCC tittles. Rafael moved to MMA and is now the UFC lightweight champion.

Fabricio Werdum: his three jobs parallel to the UFC do not distract him from his main goal, the heavyweight belt. Photo: GRACIEMAG archives

GRACIEMAG: How are you leading up to this decisive clash with Travis Browne at the April 19 UFC in Orlando?

FABRICIO WERDUM: I feel in the best moment of my career. I’m 36 and I’m living my most professional phase as a fighter. I’m also a UFC commentator in the Spanish version that goes out to Latin America. And I have a third responsibility as the UFC ambassador in Latin America. My role is to introduce the sport and explain the UFC to people who don’t know it. Not to the fans, but to the new potential spectators. So I have three jobs in the UFC: fighter, commentator and ambassador. And physically and technically I feel very good.

So you’re constantly either training or traveling – is that it?

Yes. The UFC sends me to Mexico, Colombia, Chile and many other countries. I stay in each place for three days and promote the outfit in every medium. The UFC is investing a lot in these new markets. I also tape the show “UFC Ahora,” a Spanish-language version of “UFC Now,” with Kenny Florian and Daniel Cormier. There’s also a Latin American “TUF” in the works, whose registration is still open for rookie athletes. The coach must be Cain Velasquez, against either me or Travis Browne. Whoever wins this bout is going to be a “TUF” coach in Latin America. It will be special, as the reality show will be gathering fighters from many countries.

How is your camp for the Travis fight?

The training is excellent; I’ve now been training for seven years with Professor Rafael Cordeiro at Kings MMA gym. The wrestling aspect is in the hands of Kenny Johnson, who adapts takedowns to MMA like no one. For almost two years I’ve been honing my BJJ and doing physical preparation at Rubens Cobrinha’s academy. Today I weight 109kg and feel great. Cobrinha is a very serious guy as a coach, he demands a lot of repetition, so I think I’m going in very well technically as well.

How do you evaluate your BJJ today?

I hear a lot of people in MMA say: “You don’t need to train BJJ anymore; you’re already good.”I think the exact opposite. Since everybody already knows my BJJ is strong, I must practice that much more to get it even better – otherwise my foes will be able to avoid it easily. These days I get to Cobrinha’s school at 8 a.m. and he only lets me leave at 2:30 p.m.! I’m on the mat the whole time – I only step off it to eat something and take supplements. I don’t want to have happen to me what I saw happen to many BJJ fighters who started training boxing and muay thai and had their games change completely. I’m aware that my game is on the ground. Once
we’re down, I know the fight must be finished; I can’t lose the position.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M5cyDlmzHM

What is the worst part about transitioning from BJJ to the UFC?

Getting hit in the face, of course. If you watch my bouts you’ll see I don’t take many punches when I’m on the ground. I manage to defend well down there – the guy does hit, but not very hard. What helped me a lot in my transition was the self-defense program at the Behring schools. Behring, Corleta e Hunter – that makes all the difference. It’s the strong base for the guy to defend himself in the octagon.

What is Travis’ strong point?

He has very sharp muay thai and showed it recently. He has three wins with the best KO of the night, and that certainly cannot be underestimated. Travis Browne is doing his game so well that many of his fights don’t even get to the ground. That is also a consequence of his good takedown defense. He has a good elbow strike, but I remind fans I also have two elbows. If he hesitates I can throw one as well. But I’m calm; I’ll have 25 minutes to take him down, and I know we’re gonna hit the canvas.

With the event being in Orlando, you expect a lot of incentive from Brazilians from there, right?

I hope so; I hope there’s a noisy crowd there. If they chant, “Uh, vai cavalo!” [“Go, racehorse!” perhaps] then I’m gonna get emotional. I hope for a big number of supporters, also from Brazil through the TV. The last few times I went to Brazil I saw the people have been rooting for me more, respecting me for my recent wins. I ask them to really do it, because the positive energy from the people travels all the way to the octagon, and I’m leaving there with another victory to get me closer to the heavyweight belt.

As the registration deadline nears, the divisions fill with athletes from all over the world. A large number of tough and technical European athletes find their way to this tournament–some who have never tested their skills at the worlds and pan-ams but could give any opponent a run for their money.

Already registered include names like: Francisco Sinistro, AJ Agazarm, Luca Anacoreta, Claudio Calasans, Jackson Sousa, Leo D’avila, Marcos Torregrosa, Renato Babalu Sobral, Andre Maneco and more to be confirmed.

Don’t miss out on winning the first title of the year. Registration remains open until Jan. 15 or until capacity is reached.

To register, go to www.ibjjf.org

Watch a match from the 2013 European Championship between Rubens Cobrinha Charles and Osvaldo Augusto Queixinho:

Laercio Fernandes wins the 2013 European Championship. Photo: Ivan Trindade

Laercio, who trains under and represents both Rubens Cobrinha Charles and Giva Santana, has been training Jiu-Jitsu since he was eleven years old. Throughout his trek to the black belt elite level where he stands now, he worked and studied meticulously.

After a day’s work, he would train and then find time to study before waking up and repeating the cycle. His persistence earned him a master’s degree in engineering as well as the ability to manage a high-level career while winning gold medals at high-level championships.

The studious approach to his studies as well as his Jiu-Jitsu earned him a place on the podium at every major tournament he entered since 2010. In 2012 he placed second at the World Championship missing the gold by a referee decision against Guiherme Mendes. At the 2012 BJJ Pro League he suffered the same fate, this time against Caio Terra.

This year Laercio aims to secure the gold in the four-man bracket in the same way he became both European Champion and No-Gi World Champion for 2013.

Check out his final match at the 2013 No-Gi World Championship that brought him to the top of the podium:

Learn more about the 2013 BJJ Pro League on Dec. 8 at the Long Beach Walter Pyramid at www.bjjproleague.com

GMA Cobrinha BJJ will be hosting a seminar for bully prevention on Sunday, July 28. Led by Alliance black belt and kids instructor Fabbio Passos, the event will benefit both kids and parents in a variety of ways.

The best part is the seminar is absolutely free. From 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. your child and you can learn how to prevent bullying and how to handle the situations should they arrive. Representatives from local police stations in the Mid-Wilshire area will be there to speak about the serious issue.

To learn about bullying and how to prevent it while allowing your child to gain confidence through Jiu-Jitsu techniques, reserve your spot at the seminar today.

The GMA academy is located at 4929 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 104, Los Angeles, CA 90010

You can call 323-931-9953 or send an email to info@cobrinhabjj.com

Michel Langhi at the 2011 Worlds as a brown belt. Photo: Preston Smith

You may not have heard much about Alliance superstar Michel Langhi, but today the young black belt is 22 years old. Brother to Michael Langhi, he avoids remaining in any sort of shadow by accomplishing great feats himself with his very own style and accomplishments.

He won the World Championship three times at belts blue, purple, brown and also won the Pan American and Brazilian Nationals three times. His active guard is one of the best of the featherweights and he is only the second person to be promoted to black belt under Rubens Cobrinha Charles.

Happy birthday to Michel.

You can watch the promotion here, which came a week after he won the 2011 Worlds:

Rubens celebrates after submitting a few seconds from the end of the fight. Photo: Dan Rod

Last year in New York, two of the best Jiu-Jitsu competitors met for a relaxed Jiu-Jitsu training session.

Already in anticipation of the great attractions of the second half of the year, the 2013 ADCC in October and the IBJJF No-Gi Worlds in November, GRACIEMAG today recalls rolls between two legends of the Alliance. What have you learned from the video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPAP4fFwrso

Augusto Tanquinho in a match against Isaque Paiva at Pans 2013. Photo: Ivan Trindade/ GRACIEMAG

For Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes, this Jiu-Jitsu World Championship won’t be like the others. First, because this IBJJF Championship to be held in Long Beach from May 29 to June 2, will be his first Worlds after surgery in which he needed to put four screws in his neck, due to an injury during a training session in 2011.

And also, because it may be the last Worlds for this beast. “After this Worlds, I’ll only focus on MMA, whether I win or lose in Long Beach,” he announces.

Tanquinho will need to have a perfect day to get to the top of the featherweight division, which this year already confirmed an army consisting of Rafael Mendes, Rubens Cobrinha, Mario Reis, Theodoro Canal and the eternal Wellington Megaton, Tanquinho’s father-in-law.

The Soul Fighter’s professor, however, has a secret weapon that other competitors do not have: the assistance of the explosive UFC champion Ben Henderson. Tanquinho chatted with GRACIEMAG, check it out:

GRACIEMAG: How’s your head 15 days from the start of the World Championship?

AUGUSTO TANQUINHO: As strong as it can be. I fought several competitions after the surgery and I feel I’m doing well for someone who one year and half ago placed a titanium plate and four screws in the neck. All I had been through pre and post-surgery and in training was thinking about fighting this Worlds. So I used the prior events to correct errors and improve my pace, and I’ll get to this Worlds in the best shape of my life. I am very focused and training hard to become the champion. I believe 100% that my strongest aspect in Long Beach will be my mind.

You took third at Pan Ams in April. What have you changed to win the Worlds?

I haven’t changed much. The level is very high today and during Pans I lost against (Rubens) Cobrinha by advantages–he was better that day. The same way that I was better than him in Abu Dhabi. So I followed the plans, I kept training and let the mind be strong. There is no mystery: who makes less mistakes will be the champion in Long Beach.

Are you focusing on any technical details to shine at the Pyramid?

I’m always improving technical details; I pay much attention to all opponents. I try to train to be a complete fighter. If I need to play on top, I do it, if I need to pull guard, I do it, if I need to fight standing up, I also do it. And when training to be complete in Jiu-Jitsu, there are always details to correct.

How’s your camp for the tournament?

I’m doing physical training with Jerret Aki, from MMALab, and training Jiu-Jitsu thoroughly with Megaton Dias, Mackenzie (Dern, girlfriend) and their gang. I’m also training MMA and no-gi at the gym with Ben Henderson, Efrain Escudero and several others. I’m training to get there as a highly skilled athlete. Fans can expect a much focused Tanquinho, with my guard and passing sharp. My plan is that this will be my last Worlds for now, then I’ll take a break and devote myself exclusively to MMA – whether winning it or not. So I really want the title and I’m going for it, always fighting smart and finishing the fights when I’m able to do so.

How do you plan to surprise Rafa Mendes, the triple world champion who has dominated the feather division?

Rafael is a great athlete, he is the champion. I see him as a perfectionist in Jiu-Jitsu. But surely he also has flaws and should be training to correct them. I don’t know if we will face each other at the Worlds. I have to go through a lot of people and so does he. If the time comes to face each other again, I’ll be ready for him. The category is very difficult, no fight will be easy. The World Championship in the black belt, in all categories, is very tough. It’s in God’s hands (laughs)!

Tanquinho, what lesson can you teach our readers so they can have a good Jiu-Jitsu base?

Jiu-Jitsu is training, as simple as that. Train hard and it will help. Second, train like you intend to fight, so try not to accept sweeps and takedowns easily. If you are used to accepting these positions in training, you end up accepting them in a fight. Third but not least: work out the legs, strong legs are an important aspect for a good base.

Marcelo during the middleweight final at the 2011World Championship, against Lucas Leite. The star was injured and didn’t fight in 2012. Photo: Ivan Trindade/GRACIEMAG

Three weeks from the biggest championship of the year, Alliance gym is already hoping to try its eighth world title among teams in California.

The eagle team will be led by Romero Jacare, Fabio Gurgel and Alexandre Gigi in Long Beach, and should take about 300 competitors to the Pyramid at the very end of May.

“Alliance is already training hard for the Worlds, and we are all focused on winning another title. The strategy here in Atlanta, as well as in other schools, is total dedication. The stars are all confirmed: Lucas Lepri, Michael Langhi, Rubens Cobrinha, Bernardo Faria, Léo Nogueira, Tarsis Humphreys, Luanna Alzuguir, Gabi Garcia and Bruno Malfacine will all train together in our camp,” said Master Romero, keeping fans in suspense about a certain five-time middleweight world champion.

“About Marcelo Garcia fighting for his sixth world title, we’ll save that surprise until the last minute (laughs) … But he’ll be here in Atlanta for a great seminar on May 18. That’s all I can anticipate,” said the gym founder.

Jacare is also very excited with the new promises of Alliance.

“From the new generation we will have several athletes in the 2013 World Championship, many of whom we are seen as promises for the future. There are the purple belts Jacob Sandoval, silver in Pan Ams and Brazilian National, and Rehan (Muttalib), both students of Cobrinha. There are also Marcelo students and the kids from Atlanta. Athletes will come to São Paulo, where Fabio is conducting hard training sessions. The team will come well prepared,” he said.

If you’re in the U.S. and want to learn from Marcelo in Georgia, visit www.alliancebjj.com to learn more.

To check who is already confirmed for the World Championship, visit the IBJJF website here.

If you want to enroll for the World Jiu-Jitsu Championship 2013, click here.