Thiago Tavares celebrates win at UFC Rio, in 2011. Photo: UFC publicity.

A Jiu-Jitsu black belt and UFC star, Thiago Tavares is back to attacking on all fronts—as an event promoter. Tomorrow, the Rio de Janeiro-Santa Catarina transplant will be putting on Insano Fight in São José, a town bordering Florianópolis in Tavares’s adopted state.

It’s the second time the UFC star is promoting an MMA event, and he’s still got his work cut out for him, as he explains to GRACIEMAG.com.

“Fighting is a lot easier. It’s really rough; even a simple authorization from city hall is complex and hard to get. They have to authorize everything, from the volume of the audio to the overall setup, and nothing goes your way but in the end it all works out,” he says.

HONOR THE MASTERS AND EAT MAT

The event will feature an under-80kg GP tourney, as well as under-66 kg and over-93 kg title fights. According to Tavares, the show will be broadcast on Band television station across the state of Santa Catarina.

After announcing the finalized card, Thiago spoke a bit about his success in Jiu-Jitsu and what to do to be a good UFC fighter.

“The first lesson is to be loyal. A man who isn’t loyal to his teachers, to his friends, won’t get anywhere, no matter what your profession. Whether a fighter or a dentist, you need to be loyal to the people around you. It’s the least you can do to honor them,” he says.

“Another tip: dedication. Everything you do in life you should do as best you can; otherwise there’s no point. Jiu-Jitsu fighters’ wanting to go professional need to train a lot, do lots of physical conditioning and eat mat, training Jiu-Jitsu and other martial arts the whole day. And never forget that only Jiu-Jitsu saves your skin,” says Tavares in closing.

Insano Fight
Arena Multiuso, São José, Santa Catarina, Brazil
March 2, 2012

Under-80kg GP
Santiago Ponzinibbio (Argentina) vs Ricardo Hulk de Oliveira
Renato Pezinho vs Sebastião Junior

Superfights
Rafael Rocha vs Fernando Giacomechi
Josenildo Mazinho vs Buiu Santos
Nil Rocha vs Luciano Oliveira
Marcio Junior vs Morris “Hulk”
Marcelo Piazza vs Julio Cascaes
Rangel Pires vs Thiago Bel

Over-93kg title fight
Phellipe Mira vs James Junior

Under-80kg GP final
Winner of fight 1 vs Winner of fight 2

Under-66kg title fight
Nazareno Malegarie vs Jonas Lis

Young Jiu-Jitsu students in Abu Dhabi

Black belts looking for opportunities to expand their professional horizons may be in luck.

A new group of instructors is being put together in Abu Dhabi, the prosperous capital of the United Arab Emirates, and a new hiring round has begun.

The requirements, in short, are: speak English, know your way around a computer, be a black belt and have at least three years of experience teaching Jiu-Jitsu.

Find out more about interview dates, exact location and how to fill in the required form by clicking here.