Caio Magalhães in action / Photo: Carlos Ozório

Undefeated in MMA, black belt Caio Magalhães is also one of the main forces in the Northeast Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu scene. After some time away, the SAS JJ rep made his competition return by taking gold at the Rio Open and followed up by securing his spot at the 2012 World Pro, winning the tryouts for the event in Natal, Brazil.

“It was the first time that I participate in a World Pro tryout, and it was awesome. The fact that it was in the Northeast, where I’m from, was great; I got to feel the crowd’s excitement.”

Check out what he had to tell GRACIEMAG.com:

How are you going about dividing your time between Jiu-Jitsu and MMA?

I have the Amazon Fight belt to defend in November. That’s why I’m going to have to lay off training in the gi for a while, but later I’ll get back to it full time for Jiu-Jitsu tournaments.

And why did you decide to return to competing in the gi?

I spent two years away because of MMA and came back this season. I decided I wanted to focus on gi competition as well. I saw a lot of my friends competing and winning – guys I’d already faced as a brown belt –, so I thought I could win, too. This year I also competed at the Rio Open and won, and now I had five matches and won the tryouts.

For some years now the folks iin the Northeast have been having a hard time winning major Jiu-Jitsu events. Has that changed now?

These days things are easier in Brazil. Getting plane tickets is easier, and companies are supporting athletes. It’s not ideal yet but it has improved a lot, mainly for higher-ranked athletes with more experience. That’s helping to make Jiu-Jitsu globalized in the sense that everyone is on even terms. At any high-level championship these days the level is way up there, with fighters from all over Brazil.

Luiza in final with Mazelli / Photo: Carlos Ozório

Luiza Monteiro has been carving out a place for herself among the big names of female Jiu-Jitsu. This year the CheckMat black belt took second at the Worlds and gold at the Brazilian Nationals. Last Sunday she secured a spot at the 2012 World Pro, winning the Natal, Brazil, tryouts for the event after beating Fernando Mazelli. In training to keep up such stellar results she gets some help from her boyfriend, none other the lightweight sensation of the moment Leandro Lo.

Following her triumph Luiza had a chat with GRACIEMAG.com, and here’s what she had to say:

You’ve been cementing your place at the top of the current competition Jiu-Jitsu scene. What is it that’s making the difference?

The further I make it the more I want to keep up with the other girls. I’m not at the level of a Luanna Alzuguir or Bia Mesquita yet but I’m motivated to train more and more because I want to be as good or better than them. What I want most is to be world champion. All I think about is getting better.

How did you go about preparing for this event?

For the last two months, despite being from CheckMat, I’ve also been training at Cícero Costha’s academy with some guys who’ve helped me out a lot. However, I didn’t do any physical conditioning work or dieting like I did before, and that set me back a bit. I felt fatigued. For the World Pro I want to do some solid conditioning work and eat right. I have to do everything just right. I trained a lot with Leandro Lo, my boyfriend, and he’s been a great help to me.

What’s this relationship between two competitors like? Is it a good thing?

He’s helped me out a lot and believes in me. I believe a lot in him, too. He’s really good but thinks he isn’t! We encourage each other and he teaches me a lot of things. I’ve even tweaked some aspects of my game to be more like what he does. We travel together and all we talk about is Jiu-Jitsu. That’s helped a lot.

Antonio Carlos going for triangle / Photo: Carlos Ozório

Antonio Carlos “Cara de Sapato” was one of GRACIEMAG.com’s picks to stand out at black belt this season. It’s a rocky road but the CheckMat rep has already come up with some big results. At this past weekend’s World Pro tryouts in Natal, Brazil, the Helder “Bob Esponja” student in the Brazilian state of Paraíba topped the over-92kg division. But this season Antonio had to overcome another major adversary: the trauma of having lost a great friend.

Check out what he had to tell GRACIEMAG.com:

What do you make of your performance at the competition?

The championship was great, a high-level event. There were a lot of folks from here, the Northeast. We don’t have a lot of competitions around these parts, yet the competitors here are at a solid level. I won again and am plenty pleased. Over in Abu Dhabi the best will be there, like Rodolfo Vieira and Bernardo Faria, the guys who make a splash at the Worlds and the Pan. I’m coming up through the ranks now. This year was a rough one for me, so I’m really happy to have achieved this result.

It was a rough year? Please explain…

A friend of mine (Rufino Gomes “Morcego”) was murdered; I suffered from panic syndrome and had to undergo treatment for it. I wasn’t seeing my best days but managed to do some good work this year. Like I said, I’m coming up now, facing a bunch of guys who’ve been around awhile. I’m learning from all of them and will work with Bob Esponja, my teacher, to keep getting better and better.

"Cara de Sapato" gets back mount in final. Photo: Carlos Ozório.

You got your black belt late last year. What has changed for you since leaving brown belt?

At black belt, besides the 10-minute match duration at IBJJF events, a lot has changed. We face athletes who’ve been at this rank for a long time, are very experienced. At the same time, there are the guys who just came up from brown belt and are charged up with desire to win. Or in other words, this is where everyone converges. Now, any match I get will be way tough and there’s no room for mistakes. I have to give my all, keep to strategy, because a tiny mistake can mean certain defeat. I felt that in the flesh at the Worlds, when I made a mistake against Rafael Lovato. But I took third at the Worlds, third at the World Pro, and I won the Brazilian Nationals. I faced a bunch of guys who were role models to me and I’m happy for it; at least I held my own.

Here you competed in a division other than your own. Will you compete at over-92kg at the World Pro, too?

Last year I competed at 92kg and should remain there. Truth is, right now I’m weighing 89kg. I preferred competing one division up because there were two guys from my team at 92kg. Thank God it all worked out. As I’m always competing in the absolute division, I’m used to facing stronger opponents.

Lo applies pressure. Photo: Carlos Ozório.

Leandro Lo is one of the biggest standouts of the 2011 competition season. The Cícero Costha student won the World Pro, the Brazilian Nationals, and the Rio Open. Furthermore, he’s been showing he’s got what it takes to hang in the absolute. Last weekend at the World Pro tryouts in Natal, Brazil, Lo won both the under-74kg division and the absolute. Here’s what the black belt had to say to GRACIEMAG.com:

What did you think of your performance at the event?

I had a lot of tough matches against athletes I wasn’t yet familiar with. There was a guy from Roraima, one from Rio Grande do Norte, one from São Paulo… I also came up against a really tough group in the absolute, really strong athletes. I faced folks I didn’t know of yet.

Did facing athletes you knew nothing about make things harder?

That’s certainly a factor that makes things a lot harder. Folks here have a different game, one I wasn’t familiar with yet. It was a really tough competition, and I really enjoyed it.

You’ve been standing out a lot in 2011, to what do you owe that?

The secret is training a lot. Things are clicking in training, so that helps in competition.

Lo in the absolute final / Photo: Carlos Ozório

What about the World Pro? There’s still some time to go, but how do you plan to keep the pace up until then?

I’m going to keep doing what I’m doing. I’ve been competing every weekend for the past five weeks, so I’m keeping up the rhythm. I can’t stop.

Is it better to compete in so many competitions, or might you at some point overdo it?

I feel competing a lot is better; that’s how I see it. I like competing whenever possible. It keeps me in rhythm.

Bruno against Adriano Silva / Photo: Carlos Ozório

Gracie Barra Pernambuco rep Bruno Alves didn’t have it easy at the World Pro tryouts in the northeastern Brazilian town of Natal this past weekend. Alves won five matches in becoming champion of the tryouts, and he addresses the event with GRACIEMAG.com:

What did you think of the level of competition, with so many athletes from the region, the Brazilian Northeast?

Some folks come here thinking it will be easy to win here in the Northeast, but it was as tough as any other World Pro qualifier. My bracket was perhaps the toughest of all, with a real burly bunch from here and the Southeast, like Adriano Silva. It wasn’t easy, it was through the hard work I’ve been doing with Master Zé Radiola that I was able to win. I’ll be in Abu Dhabi again, and making sure of it so early is awesome!

What will you be doing to make sure you take the title in Abu Dhabi?

I have to keep doing what I’m doing, but I obviously have to look at what I did wrong and evolve. I think there are a lot of things I can improve on standing and playing on top. Master Zé Radiola knows what I need to do to be sharper when I get there.

Do you plan on joining other of the team’s representatives to prepare, maybe others from Pernambuco, like Bráulio and Vitor Estima?

Zé is the one coordinating the Gracie Barra competition team, so I think he’ll put something like that together for me. The guys should indeed get together before events like the European Open, the Pan and the Worlds. Everyone is also focused on Gracie Barra getting farther in competition as a team.

You mentioned three major IBJJF events. Do you plan to compete at all of them next year?

I plan on competing at the Pan, the European Open, the Worlds. Besides the World Pro, in 2012 I want to be at all the big competitions. This year I’ve already competed a lot, all over the place, and I plan on keeping it up.

[flickr set= 72157627575767837]

Lo seeks finish in absolute final. Photo: Carlos Ozório.

This Sunday saw the winners of the very first tryouts for the 2012 World Pro materialize, in Natal, Brazil. After qualifying for two finals on Sunday, Leandro Lo cemented his place at the top by winning both. With the result, the Cícero Costha student earned his all-expenses-paid trip to Abu Dhabi for the finals and a 2,000-dollar bonus to boot.

In the under-74kg division, Lo overcame local ace Bruno Ramos (Nine Nine) by passing guard, getting knee on belly, and finishing neatly with an armbar. Now in the absolute, against André Simões, Leandro swept thrice, passed guard and got knee on belly, winning by a score of 11-2.

But Leandro Lo wasn’t the only one who caught attention. The final that livened up the crowd most was the one between Thiago Barreto (#One JJ/Brasa) and Jussier Formiga (Kimura), both hometown 65kg competitors. Thiago started out using his guard-playing savvy to get a sweep, which Formiga returned in kind. It stayed at a draw, however, a triangle attempt from Barreto in the waning moments earned a judges’ decision in his favor.

In the under-84kg division, Gracie Barra whiz Bruno Alves worked his guard-playing magic on Adeildo José (GFTeam). Alves swept twice and controlled the run of play till the end.

Caio Magalhães, the winner of this year’s Rio Open, divides his time between Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. The Sas JJ black belt did well to contain the attacks of Fabiano Boi (Alliance), who had submitted everyone in his way until then. With an advantage point from early in the match, Caio rode out the match on top and took the gold and berth in Abu Dhabi.

Also earning his way to the Arab Emirates, Antonio Carlos “Cara de Sapato” had to topple giants in getting there, having opted to compete in the over-92kg division. Antonio came up against 2010’s winner, Caio Alencar, and managed to sweep and take back mount. He had to work free from an omoplata but kept the score in his favor.

Luiza against Mazelli / Photo: Carlos Ozório

In the female division, Luiza Monteiro (CheckMat) overcame Fernanda Mazelli in the over-63kg weight class. Luiza started out losing by a takedown but then swept and passed guard. Now in the lighter weight group, Marina Ribeiro (CheckMat) defeated Bruna Ribeiro (Atos). The black belt took back mount and finished up with a choke.

Rafael secured his trip to Abu Dhabi. Photo: Carlos Ozório.

This Sunday in Natal the colored belts saw their champions determined. The winners of the light and heavy absolute divisions earn all-expenses-paid trips to Abu Dhabi for the main event.

At purple, Rafael Pereira (Gordo JJ) won the light absolute as well as his weight division, winning a total of eight matches. In the heavy absolute, Fernando Andrade will have his way paid to the Middle East, to the joy of his coach, Thiago Rocha, of Alliance Uberlândia.

In the blue belt light absolute, Anselmo Gomes captured gold for Alliance. Max Gimenez was the big name to arise in the heavy absolute, to GFTeam master Julio Cesar’s delight.