Marcelo Garcia truely lived up to the hype. He submitted me at will with pretty much any submission he wanted. It was awesome! In my many years of being a jiu-jitsu bum, Ive had the pleasure of rolling with some of the worlds best. A couple months back I had the chance to roll with the best and see what he was made of. Marcelo Garcia truely lived up to the hype. He submitted me at will with pretty much any submission he wanted. It was awesome! More than the humiliation and humbling, it was awesome to learn from the man and hang out with him outside the gym. Marcelo is one of the most humble jiu-jiteros on the planet, and next weekend hes going to return to the ADCC as reigning champion. Best of luck to you my friend!
BALEIA) With Abu Dhabi less than a week away, Marcelo, how confident are you entering this years tournament?
MARCELO) It´s as best as it could be, because confidence is what makes me fight better.
BALEIA) How has training been for this tournament? Any different than before?
MARCELO) This time, I trained without the gi, since I knew with advance… with gi only with my private students. And since the guys at my gym were trainningfor the trials in December , I´ve been training without the gi since then!!
BALEIA) Are you going to enter the absolute division this year again as well?
MARCELO) I hope I get invited again, and I will promise to do my best!
BALEIA) Are you at all dissapointed that you won’t have an oppurtunity to battle with Jean Jaques Machado this year now that he is in the superfight with Dean Lister?
MARCELO) I think that my category is very tough, everyone is good, so with him leaving it didn´t change much, but I wanted to fight him because of theexpectations that were created!! And because he´s a very good fighter!!
BALEIA) After Abu Dhabi, what are your plans for the near future? Are you gonna fight Vale-Tudo soon?
MARCELO) I will be spending a month in the US, giving seminars, and then I will go to Mexico for a week, by the way, if anyone is interested in hosting a seminar please contact me at academia@fabiogurgel.com.br. As for vale tudo I amopen to invitations.
BALEIA) You recently spent some time in Canada, how did you enjoy your trip there?
MARCELO) It was great, i was warmly welcomed by the Canadians, specially by my team mates from Alliance, Jeff Joslin and Riccardo!! THe level of the athletes was very good, it was also part of my ADCC trainning!!
BALEIA) Who would you say has been your biggest inspiration in jiu-jitsu?
MARCELO)Through time I had many different inspirations, my teachers, my teamates, but I think today the biggest name out there, that is the face of succes is Minotauro.
BALEIA) Do you prefer PS2 or XBOX?
MARCELO) I actually like both, i own a PS2, but what I really enjoy is war games, and strategy games!!!
BALEIA) Which match either in jiu-jitsu or in submission are you most proud of and why?
MARCELO) In submission I think it was my performance at the ADCC 2003, because peoplestarted to know me there, and I think I fought the best guys in the world at my category. And in jiu jitsu I think it was my last world´s, where I got my first world title as a black belt.
BALEIA) What was your most difficult match in jiu-jitsu or in submission?
MARCELO) In submission I think it was Pe de pAno, at the open weight in ADCC 2003, because his body structure is good for his game, and he´s very technical!! And in jiu jitsu I think it was Roger Roger, not because of the weight difference, but because of his technical skills, that are huge.
BALEIA) Who do you think will win between Dean Lister or Jean Jaques Machado?
MARCELO)Even though I think jean Jaques is more technical than Dean Lister, he has not been competing for a while, so it´s hard to predict because I don´t know how he is now, and I believe that each fight is a fight, there is no favorite.
BALEIA) What advice do you give the onthemat readers about there jiu-jitsu training and how to improve there skills?
MARCELO)I think that during trainning the should take risks, try everything that is possible, train their weak points, so this is the best way to improve, in my opinion.
BALEIA)Would you ever consider moving to either the U.S. or Canada to open up your own jiu-jitsu academy?
MARCELO) I am open to any opportunity, I would enjoy moving to another country, so it would depend on a good invitation!!>BALEIA) Is there anyone you would like to thank for supporting you to the next Abu Dhabi?
MARCELO)I would like to thank my sponsors, Keiko Rasa and Hotblood, my coach Fábio Gurgel, all my friends my teamates, specially Soluso who gives 100% on the mat, to help me, and my wife, for the support.
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