Monday 18 May 2015

The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 35 - Roger Gracie vs. Rodrigo Cavaca - 2006 Worlds

(The previous edition can be found HERE)

Welcome to another Match of the Week! This week's match is Roger Gracie vs. Rodrigo Cavaca from the 2006 World Championships. 

Roger Gracie is a black belt under Carlos Gracie Jr. and represents Gracie Barra. Roger is a man who needs no introduction. He is the greatest competitor of all time, having won the World Championships as a black belt a record ten times. He is also the son of Rolls Gracie black belt, Mauricio Gomes. Today, Roger has a very successful academy (Roger Gracie Academy) in London, England, and has had great success in MMA, competing in Strikeforce, UFC, and ONE FC.

In total, Roger's achievements in Jiu-Jitsu and Submission Grappling are too long to list. Here is a summary of his black belt achievements. He is a ten time World Champion (2010 weight & absolute, 2009 weight & absolute, 2008, 2007 weight & absolute, 2006, 2005, 2004), a three time ADCC Champion (2007 superfight, 2005 weight & absolute), a two time European Champion (2005 weight & absolute), and a one-time Pan American Champion (2006 absolute). 

Roger is known for his very basic style of Jiu-Jitsu. You will not see him play any 'modern' type positions or do any flashy moves. Instead, you will see him rely on the most basic moves in Jiu-Jitsu. His Jiu-Jitsu is extremely efficient and his defence is incredible. Roger is notorious for using the cross choke from the mount, a submission which he has seen great success with throughout his time in competition.   

Roger Gracie

Rodrigo Cavaca is a black belt under Élcio Figueiredo and fights for Zenith. Cavaca was once one of the main coaches of team Checkmat, and helped produce some of today's stand out talents from his academy in Santos, São Paulo, Brazil. Some of these competitors include Marcus 'Buchecha' Almeida and Michelle Nicolini. In 2013, Cavaca left Checkmat in order to form his own team, Zenith, which he co-leads along with Robert Drysdale. 

Cavaca is a three time European Champion (2014, 2010, 2009), a two time Brazilian National Champion (2010, 2008), and a one-time World (2010) and South American Champion (2014). He is also a three time Worlds silver medalist (2013, 2011, 2009) and a three time Pan American bronze medalist (2010 weight & absolute, 2008). 

For such a big guy, Cavaca is very flexible. He often plays inverted guard, something which you rarely see at the higher weight classes. Throughout recent years, Cavaca has become well known for his use of the straight ankle lock in competition. He is typically executes the submission from the 50/50 guard, another position which he has become notorious for using. 

Rodrigo Cavaca

An old match, but a good one. In this match you really get to see Roger's basic but yet very effective style of Jiu-Jitsu. Very tight and heavy constantly all the way through. Cavaca is an amazing guard player in his own right, but it is no match for the guard passing of Roger Gracie. 

The video of the match can be found below! I hope you guys enjoy!

See you next week!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

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Wednesday 13 May 2015

The Berimbolo Kid's Match of the Week - Week 34 - Lucas Leite vs. Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu - 2007 NoGi Worlds

(The previous edition can be found HERE)

Welcome to another Match of the Week! This week's match is Lucas Leite vs. Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu from the first ever edition of the NoGi Worlds back in 2007. 

Lucas Leite is a black belt under Leo Vieira and competes for Team Checkmat. Lucas has been a common figure on the podium of major competitions ever since he was promoted to black belt back in 2007. He is well known for changing weight class, and sometimes has even competed at heavyweight (-94kg). Today, Lucas runs a successful academy in La Harba, California.

He is a five time Pan American Champion (2015, 2014, 2012, 2009, 2007 brown), a three time World NoGi Champion (2014, 2011, 2009), a two time World (2007, 2005 brown) and Grapplers Quest Pro Champion (2009, 2007), and a one-time European (2006 brown), American National NoGi (2011), and São Paulo State Champion.

Over the years, Lucas has become famous for his use of the half guard. He is one of the key figures responsible for bringing great attention to the position. He really is exceptional from that position. He has great sweeps from the half guard and also transitions to the back really well. Submissions wise, Lucas has a preference for chokes from the back. 

Lucas Leite
Source: Owen Francis 

Roberto Abreu, better known in the BJJ community as 'Cyborg', is a black belt under Francisco 'Toco' Albuquerque. He initially started training with the Nova Geracao Team, but has since started his own team, Fight Sports. Cyborg is well known for his very unique style of grappling and the tornado guard, which he has since made famous. 

Throughout his reasonably long career, Cyborg has won multiple titles. He is a four time World NoGi Champion (2012, 2011, 2010 weight & absolute), a two time Pan American Champion (2008, 2001 blue), and a one-time ADCC (2013 absolute) and European Champion (2005). He is also a six time World bronze medalist (2013, 2011, 2008, 2006 absolute, 2003 purple, 2002 purple absolute) and a two time ADCC (2013, 2011) and World NoGi bronze medalist (2008 absolute, 2007).

Obviously, as I mentioned earlier, Cyborg is well known for his tornado guard. He is also known for his half guard and the deep half guard position. A very unique, yet under utilised submission which Cyborg has great amounts of success with in competition is the reverse triangle. For such a big guy, Cyborg moves almost like a lightweight. He is very explosive with his movements.

Roberto 'Cyborg' Abreu

During this match, Lucas really shows his skill from the half guard. For the first half of the match, he is relentless with his back takes and sweeps. However, Cyborg does a great job of defending and is always pushing the pass. He also uses some of his famous tornado guard to sweep. The ending of this one might actually surprise you!

The video of the match can be found below! I hope you guys enjoy!

See you next week!

(If you are viewing on a mobile device, please click HERE)

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