Tuesday, October 14, 2014



I might never be able to master the rubber guard or the 10th Planet system, but I will say that the Eddie Bravo Invitational might be a platform that opens up Jiu Jitsu to a larger market of both casual combat sports fans and casual sports fans. The EBI was created by Eddie and his partner Vic Davila, the voice of Latin UFC broadcasts, to bring Jiu Jitsu to television. Originally, the first event in June was supposed to be aired as a pilot on Fox Deportes, the Latin American version of Fox Sports, but that never came to fruition and the event has since been posted online by Eddie for free. The second installment of the EBI on October 10, 2014, built upon the foundation laid by Eddie and Vic with improvements to the production quality and the quality of competitors with the hopes to eventually get a television or live online broadcast produced as early as the third EBI in February 2015.

While we have seen other sub-only matches and tournaments, such as the Gracie Nationals, Jiu Jitsu Battle, and Metamoris, EBI has added its own wrinkles with the inclusion of submission bonuses (more on this later), overtime rules, and the inclusion of his own top competitors that have helped raise the profile of his 10th Planet students including the Martinez brothers, Denny Propokos, and Nathan Orchard. While some might write off 10th Planet’s competitors due to their performances in the point based IBJJF competitions, the sub only format of the EBI showcases the effectiveness of Eddie’s techniques and philosophies.

I love the overtime format. It is dramatic and engaging as you see both competitors trying to simultaneously go for the kill and hang on for dear life from high percentage finishing positions. The overtime rules remind me of the college football overtime rules in that it gives both competitors a chance to play offense and defense. The overtime starts with competitor A choosing one of two dominate positions; back control with hooks and seat belt grip or top arm bar position with competitor B holding a padlock defense. Competitor A is working for the submission while competitor B is working to escape the dominant position. There is no time limit and once there is a sub or escape, the competitors will alternate positions and competitor B will then get to choose back or arm bar position. If one competitor gets the sub, then that person will be the winner. If both get the submission or neither gets the submission, they will repeat it again for 3 rounds. If after 3 rounds, they are still in a stalemate, a winner will be determined based on the combined escape time from all 3 rounds, with the competitor who took less time to escape being declared the winner.

Like many movies with sequels, I will say that the second installment of the EBI had some improvements, but I will say that I preferred the first event in June. In this review, I will breakdown opportunities to improve the overall event and experience. I am a fan of the event and want to see it succeed. After seeing both events, I will say that Eddie and his crew are on to something. While there are naysayers and Jiu Jitsu traditionalists, the counterculture vibe of both Eddie and his students are a good thing for Jiu Jitsu and I believe in his vision of showcasing the sport to a wider audience will be nothing but beneficial to everybody in the Jiu Jitsu community.

Need More Finishes
I sold this event to people online, friends, and teammates as an event with a high percentage of finishes. At the first event, I believe 28 of the 30 matches ended in finishes with one of the matches going to overtime being the 145 lbs finals between Jeff Glover and Geo Martinez which had both guys going for the kill in both regulation and overtime.  In all of the matches, you felt all of the competitors had a killer instinct and were going for the quick finish. There was little to no feeling out process. There was no footsies from 50/50 with a person try to get points or an advantage and then stalling out. You had two guys trying to take each other out with zero fucks given.

This time around, it felt like 40% to 50% of matches went into overtime. There was more caution, less urgency amongst competitors. I will say that the 10th Planet guys were going for the kill and pushing the pace to please their Master who refereed most of their matches. However, many competitors seemed more cautious. A few theories of why this might be are

1.       No Bonus Money for this event: At the first event, I was talking to Garry Tonon’s corner man, who told me about Eddie’s pre-event talk to the competitors. Eddie offered a $500 bonus for each submission, a bonus for submissions under a certain amount of time, and $1,000 bonus for a twister. The event was a pilot for a TV show and submissions are what would sell the event to the casual fans. After seeing the number of matches going to overtime at the second event, I asked one of the competitors if Eddie offered bonuses for submissions and the competitors said that Eddie said there would only be prize money for the winner. The lack of bonus money for submissions, took away the incentive for competitors to push the pace and go for the kill this time around.

2.       Traditional IBJJF competitors: For this event, Eddie did bring in high level IBJJF black belt competitors including decorated Alliance/Cobrinha black belt Fabbio Passos. Passos is currently ranked 3rd in the world in the Adult Black Belt NoGi feather division according IBJJFrankings.com. While Passos did advance to the finals of his bracket, he played a very strategic and conservative game against his opponents that went against the ‘zero fucks given’ style I saw in the first EBI. After training for NoGi American Nationals and Worlds, can a traditional high level IBJJF competitor flip the switch from playing a points based game to a sub only format?  It made me wonder if Eddie needed to recruit styles that fit the spirit of EBI more than belts and IBJJF accomplishments for the next event.

3.       Gaming the system: Competitors have learned to game the IBJJF point and clock structure and playing for overtime could be a very sound strategy for competitors that have extensively trained finishes from the arm bar and back control positions. With 90 seconds left in one match, I heard a coach instruct his competitor to play conservative with the time left and go to overtime. Combined with a lack of submission bonuses, there was little urgency or reason to move out of a stable position, if you believe you could dominate in the overtime session.

Event Presentation/Format

The EBI is still a very young event and is still perfecting their processes and format. There were a few event presentation areas where they can make some really quick improvements.

1.       The event started at 8 PM and ended at 2 AM: The event started at 8 PM on a Friday night and concluded at 2 AM. By this point at least half of the attendees have left and the people that remained were dead tired. I only made it to 2 AM, thanks to the Caveman Coffee concession stand where I had a large coffee with MCT oil. 6 hours of Jiu Jitsu is way too long for a Friday night. I don’t think Eddie and his crew anticipated the high number of matches going into overtime since the first event had many quick matches with an average match lengths ranging between 3 to 7 minutes while this event ranged somewhere between 7 to 15 minutes per match. Starting the event earlier at 6 PM or holding a single 16-person bracket or two 8-person brackets might make the event more digestible for fans in attendance and more appealing to television broadcasters and viewers. The average soccer match is 2 hours and an average football game is 3 hours. 6 hours is just too long, especially if they want to do a live broadcast.

2.       There were no clocks for fans: Fans were left in the dark in regards to how much time was left on the clock in the matches and how much overtime “riding” time was accumulated by each competitor. One of my friends at the event thought there might have been time keeper error in one match since he tracked the time on his phone and said the match went 11 minutes and 30 seconds during regulation. Adding a mounted clock on a LED TV screen of a small scoreboard would greatly improve the fan experience and add to the overall production value. Imagine fans counting down the clock with 10 seconds left as one competitors has the other in a submission as time expires.

3.       Need to explain rules and overtime format: There was no explanation of the rules to the event or the overtime format during the event. It would have been nice if Eddie or the announcer gave a brief explanation of the rules and the overtime format before the event or the first overtime session started. During the first match that went into overtime, several people around me were wondering what was going on.

4.       Sponsorship Activation: The EBI had several sponsors at the event including Caveman Coffee, Onnit, Grips, Newaza, and Roots of Fight. Caveman Coffee and Newaza both had concession booths set up in the entry area, but there was little activation for the sponsors other than a brief shout out from Eddie during the event. There could be a lot more sponsorship activation that includes

  1. 1.       Naming rights to the brackets, trophy, and submission bonuses like “The Caveman Coffee Bantamweight bracket”, “The Roots of Fight EBI Trophy” or announcing “Geo Martinez just earned a $500 submission bonus presented by Grips Athletics.”
  2. 2.       Fashion show during intermission with gear from Newaza, Roots of Fight, and Grips
  3. 3.       Use of the video projector screens to show the logos of the sponsors on rotation between matches.
  4. 4.       The staff wearing apparel with the sponsor logos on them.
  5. 5.       Giveaways including apparel and Onnit supplements.

5.       There was no Acai Bowl stand: There was no Acai Bowl stand at the event which was a shame. A Jiu Jitsu event doesn’t feel the same without an Acai Bowl stand.

Eddie Bravo’s Conflict of Interest
Eddie refereed most of the matches at the first two EBI events. This presents a conflict of interest at times since many of the competitors are from his 10th Planet schools. I don’t think Eddie is playing favorites, but at the same time he is a polarizing figure in the sport and it would help end any doubt of the perception of favoritism if he moved to the role of color commentator or emcee at the event.
During the second EBI, my coach Dane Molina squared off against MMA fighter and Cleber brown belt Joe Murphy. Dane caught Murphy in a triangle from the guard position and Murphy defended by lifting Dane off the ground. Joe then slammed Dane to the ground and in the process, their heads collided and Dane’s nose started bleeding. Before the event, there was a rules meeting where Eddie said there would be no slamming allowed. Dane and his coach Shawn Williams specifically asked if slamming would result in a disqualification and Eddie said “yes.” While Dane was on the side of the mat getting treated for his bloody nose, Eddie at one point crossed both his arms and pointed at Joe Murphy, which indicated a disqualification. However, moments later he changed his mind and as soon as Dane was ready to go the match resumed.

Going back to my first point about the perception of favoritism, I think Eddie was stuck in a tough spot of trying to please everybody. In one corner was Shawn Williams who was coaching Dane and had appeared on a Budo Jake podcast with Eddie and had rolled with him in the past. In Joe Murphy’s corner was a coach who was also on the production staff of the EBI. Eddie’s relationships with both parties, put him in a tough spot which further drives home the point that he should step aside from officiating matches and move to a commentary or emcee role which would really help him promote the future events.

What’s Next for EBI
The next EBI is in February 2015 and I definitely plan on attending it. The UFC Network’s CEO Hugh McCarthy was in attendance for the event and his presence hints at the possibility of the EBI eventually moving to the UFC Fight Pass online network. This would be a huge step for the event in helping reach a larger Jiu Jitsu and MMA audience.

Some things I would like to see in the next event are

Geo Martinez in a Super Fight: I believe Geo Martinez is the Royce Gracie of the EBI and he should be competing at the event in a super fight rather than the tournament. I would love to see him go against one of the Mendes brothers, Miyao brothers, or Cobrinha in a main event super fight.

Loading
UFC Network CEO Hugh McCarthy got to EBI way early :-)

Bring back the submission bonuses: The submission bonuses were the key to have competitors push the pace and go for the kill from start to finish. That is what made the first event so much fun to watch. Hopefully through better sponsorship sales and activation and money from a UFC Fight Pass broadcast deal, they will be able to bring the bonuses back into the mix.

Bring in more stars: Building upon the point above, bring back more Garry Tonon, Jeff Glover, and Bill Cooper style competitors that will push the pace and make the event more entertaining.

Saturday or Sunday 4 or 5 PM start time: Ending an event at 2 AM in the morning is just too late for fans.

The event should only be 3 to 4 hours long: Better time management and planning to condense the event from 6 hours down to 3 to 4. 6 hours is just too long.


Acai Bowl Stand: Self explanatory.

My Review of the Eddie Bravo Invitational 2

Read More

Sunday, October 5, 2014



"There is no losing in jiu jitsu. You either win or you learn.” – Carlson Gracie

We live in a culture that is focused on winning. There are quotes that you will hear from little league fields to adult recreation basketball leagues like “second place is the first loser” or “winning isn’t everything it is the only thing.” As a culture, we praise the winners and forget and mock the losers for their shortcomings.

There is little room to appreciate “the warrior spirit” or the hard work and grind that an athlete or team puts into competing once they fall short of their goals and expectations. The learning and personal growth that comes from the setbacks in sports is often forgotten to the point where we shield kids from losing by not keeping score during youth soccer games or awarding medals to all children regardless of outcome.

What differentiates Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and other martial arts competitions is the understanding and appreciation by the practitioners that nothing is instantaneous. It is a long, slow, grueling process of learning, setbacks, and learning more from your setbacks. This philosophy goes against the grain of both the “winning is everything” and instant gratification mindset that we have been indoctrinated into by the society we live in.  

Osvaldo “Ozzie” Rios is an embodiment of the “warrior spirit” and the martial arts approach to training and competing. Ozzie started his Jiu Jitsu competition career going winless in his first 10 matches. On both a physical and mental level, competing in Jiu Jitsu could be a very daunting task. There are the weeks of training and dieting, to the mental aspects of dealing with fear, doubt, and your own ego as others watch you compete in hand-to-hand combat against somebody who is ranked at the same level of skill and age. Even after putting in the time and overcoming the physical and mental challenges, there is no guarantee that you will be successful. While some might give up on competing after several loses, Ozzie took a very different mental approach to training and competing. His positive outlook and understanding that learning and competing in Jiu Jitsu is a long process helped him grow both as a martial artist and put him in a position to win his first match and place second at the 5 Grappling California 2 competition in September 2014.

Ozzie’s journey into Jiu Jitsu started as a bet among friends in August of 2011.

“I was having Korean BBQ with friends and we made a bet that one of my friends who was 6’1 and 210 lbs couldn’t lay on me for 3 minutes straight,” said Ozzie. “I took him up on the bet and he laid on me for 3 minutes straight. I didn’t like that feeling.”

After losing the bet, his friend Alan, a Jiu Jitsu student at 5 Star Martial Arts, invited him to attend a class with him. In his first class, Ozzie was hooked after learning the De La Riva Guard transition to sit up guard to a sweep. He started to train 3 days week and realized early on that it would be a long learning process.

It took a while. I asked around. I asked Coach Alex and Coach Armand. They molded my approach to Jiu JItsu. It was a slower process,” said Ozzie. “If you want to learn everything it will take longer. It is not something I planned to do for 6 months and expected to get good at it. It is not like I expected to do it for a year and expect great things. I understood from the beginning that this would be a 10 year process.”

Ozzie trained consistently for over a year until he was bitten by a dog in November 2012. Ozzie saw a 90 lb German Sheppard attacking a woman and her small puppy on the street. Ozzie intervened, but in doing so was bitten by the German Sheppard in the right bicep, causing the bicep muscle to be detached from the bone. The injury put Ozzie on the shelf for 4 months and when he returned to the training in April 2013 he was approached by a training partner about competing in a Jiu Jitsu tournament. He said the part of the pitch that sold him as he recalled was “At least you can say you have been in a martial arts tournament and that was pretty cool.”

After deciding to train for his first competition, Ozzie increased his training to 5 to 6 days a week and started training with his school’s competition team. He made his debut at the 2013 IBJJF Worlds where he lost to the eventual Gold medalist in the first round by arm bar in his first match. Next came the NABJJF Los Angeles Open, then the IBJJF Las Vegas Summer Open and number of other tournaments. While the scoreboard favored his opponents, Ozzie using each of the matches to learn and further develop his Jiu Jitsu game.

When asked if he grew if he grew frustrated over his setbacks, he said “No, there is always something to learn. You can go back and review. I get frustrated when no one records the match and I have nothing to review.”

The streak continued into 2015, but progress was being made and improvements were noticeable in Ozzie’s game during competitions. In his first few matches he was losing by submissions, and then as he progressed he was losing by points. At the 2014 Worlds, he lost to the winner of the Houston Open 2-0. In 3 of his last 4 matches prior to 5 Grappling, he scored first, but then lost on points or by submission. In 75% to 80% of matches, the competitor who scores first wins and for Ozzie to score first, and then lose in 3 of 4 matches was just puzzling. Ozzie was now in a realm where he was almost a statistical anomaly. Even then he was still mentally resilient.

“It depends on your perspective. I am usually the lightest guy in my division,” said Ozzie. “Other guys are bigger, stronger and more explosive. So for me to get to the point where that its that close. I would lose because I moved too much or rushed it would still be a great feeling because I was the smaller guy. That can get fixed. Watching footage and getting feedback from teammates and coaches. That can get fixed easily. That is not a big mistake. I can work on things every single day.”

With each month of training and each competition, his game plan and identity as a Jiu JItsu player evolved.

“At first I wanted to take people down since Professor Shawn Williams wanted us to be well rounded. It is a great way to start the match, but you have to be good at takedowns to get takedowns and I wasn’t so I started to pull guard. And I started having more success and getting more sweeps. I think it is a process of experimenting and finding your groove.”

When asked how he stayed so mentally strong and positive, while most others would have become frustrated, Ozzie spoke about how he grew from a bench player on his junior high  team to becoming a starter in his senior year  for his varsity high school basketball team. This experience taught him valuable lessons and instilled character traits that he transferred to Jiu Jitsu.

“Things never go my way. When I was 12 or 13 I started playing basketball and I was horrible. For the first 2 or 3 seasons I was sitting on the bench,” said Ozzie. “I maybe got maybe 3 or 4 minutes a game if I was lucky. I understand there is process where I am going to suck and you have to grind it out. When you get good at something, there are more components. There is more to scoring, offense. There are transitions, ball movement.”

At the 5 Grappling tournament at Long Beach Poly High School, Ozzie was in a 3-person bracket where the first two competitors would face off in the first match, followed by a second match featuring the loser of match 1 and the third competitor. The winner of the first and second matches would then face off in the finals. Ozzie drew the first match and faced an opponent from Gracie Barra. While Ozzie is taller and leaner, his opponent was shorter and stockier. Despite his opponent’s compact build, Ozzie managed to take his opponent down with a double leg. After alternating top position several times, Ozzie won by points 5-3. The monkey was off his back. As the clock winded down to zero, there was a loud cheer from his training partners and teammates through the gymnasium.

When asked about the applause Ozzie said “When I got the first takedown. There was a wave of roars that swept through the mats. It is the best part. Going into a match knowing you have 10 or 15 guys in your corner and the other guy goes back into his corner and there is only 1 or 2 people there. It gives you good feeling overall.”



In his second match, which was for the Gold, Ozzie faced an opponent from the Clark Gracie school. Ozzie again took his opponent down and fought valiantly in a back and forth match that he lost 7-6 in the closing minute. In the end though, all the hard work, sacrifice, and the grind of going through the process to develop his game and identity had paid off with his first Silver medal.




Unlike his other competitions, Ozzie showed a very effective double leg takedown that he had studied and drilled for several months. The growth in his Jiu Jitsu takedown game put him in position to win both of his matches and highlighted the growth of his game from somebody unsure of whether to pull or takedown and opponent, to somebody who was very confident to do either.

“I am not going to be the biggest. I am not going to be the strongest. So I did my homework. I started watching Cary Kolat and Jordan Burrough. A couple things I picked up from them. I started watching (teammate and former college wrestler) Cody Bitler and some of the things he was doing. The way I visualized in my head made it easy to implement. Something clicked. There is still room for improvement.”




Never satisfied and always looking to grow and improve his game, has Ozzie come a long way since he was unable to move when his friend laid on top of him after a night of Korean BBQ. A week after winning his first match and winning the Silver medal at the 5 Grappling Tournament, Ozzie was promoted to Blue belt. The promotion is symbolic of Ozzie’s persistence and positive attitude during the first leg of his Jiu Jitsu career. 


No Losing. Just Winning or Learning

Read More

Monday, September 15, 2014



Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is in many ways is a great escape and diversion from the stress, monotony, and BS of everyday life. For many adults, it is a form of learning and self-expression where one gets to start or continue an athletic career and develop a sense of self confidence and awareness while maintaining a sense of humility. It can become a positive obsession where, we want more of it whether it is instruction, mat time, or knowledge. I have had many conversations with classmates and friends about figuring out ways to make Jiu Jitsu a bigger part of our lives while cutting out the fat of life that we still require to maintain a certain standard or living, status in society, or meeting the expectations of others. Almost all of these conversations are just day dreams, bad ideas, or good ideas that lack the guts and follow through to develop into a reality.

While some talk about their dreams and passions, most do not act upon them and make the sacrifices necessary to make it happen. Only two and half years ago, Kristin Furman was quickly moving up the corporate ladder, working in Pharmaceutical advertising in New York City. At the age of 28, she had graduated from Boston University, received a great job offer out of college, and rose quickly through the ranks of her company. She was well respected by her coworkers, headed a team at her job, and was meeting with executives from Pharmaceutical companies in New Jersey on regular basis. However, the career success and advancement still left her yearning for more.

While growing up in West Chester County, New York, a suburb an hour north of Manhattan, Kristin was very active in competitive team sports including soccer, basketball, and skiing. As a child, she also trained in Tae Kwon Do, before joining a Kenpo Karate school where she achieved the ranked of second degree Brown Belt while in high school.  

 “When I was taking Kenpo in high school, I was working at the school, I was sparring, it was an awesome school, but it wasn’t a competitive school. The Sensai was focused more on self-defense. More practical (martial arts.)” said Kristin. “No one was telling me to compete.  We did demos. I was 100% confident to defend myself on the street.”

Her sense of adventure and attraction to physical activity was not just limited to team sports and martial arts and her original career aspirations were to join the New York Fire Department after high school.

“When I was in high school I was a volunteer firefighter. At one point I was going to be a firefighter,” said Kristin. “When I got into the school I got into, my parents advised me to go to college instead of NYFD.”

While attending Boston University as an Advertising major, Kristin considered pursuing a career in mixed martial arts, but by the time she graduated life and the expectation of what a person is expected to do with their life when they graduate college at the age of 22 took precedence.

Kristin explained “I went to Boston University, and got a great job out of college and was preprogrammed into believing you were supposed to do this like your father did. I was grandfathered into the belief you were supposed to go to college, have an office job and work, and it was hard to transition my life into something like MMA.”

During college, Kristin took a hiatus from martial arts that continued through her post college years as she worked long hours to met the demands of her career. Eventually at the age of 28, the repetitive nature of the day to day grind at work created a sense of restlessness that drove her to return to training martial arts.

Kristin said “When I got into Karate again, I thought, ‘I like punching and kicking things. Why am I sitting in an office.”

She decided to resume taking classes again at the Kenpo Karate school in West Chester that she attended and worked at while in high school. While there were hundreds of martial arts schools in Manhattan, her sense of loyalty to the school she originally started training under remained strong. Her loyalty to her school would pay off and change her life.

 “I went back to Karate, the old school I went in West Chester and they had Brazilian Jiu Jitsu classes 2 nights a week and I one day thought well I will give it a try,” she said. “I was immediately hooked and I loved it. I transitioned all of my free time to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. “

Unfortunately, the two classes offered did not fit her schedule. Fortunately, the Jiu Jitsu instructor saw promise in Kristin and offered her free private lessons at 9:30 PM on Monday evenings. The private Jiu Jitsu lessons along with her kenpo classes created a daily logistical nightmare of a commute.

She explained her daily routine  as “I get up 5:15 AM, get to work by 7 AM, work til 8 PM, and that would be enough time to drive to West Chester by 9:30 PM. Getting home 11 or 11:30 PM.”
As time went on she made changes to her work schedule to accommodate her training.

“I changed my schedule and I was in charge of my team so I made some rules so if I met with my team in New Jersey, I would leave there and drive to West Chester. I would have to talk to my team and not schedule meetings during afternoons or do conference calls while on the drive from New Jersey to West Chester."

Keep in mind, the drive from New Jersey to West Chester was a two hour commute in bumper to bumper traffic.

In addition to the long commutes, there were sacrifices and financial costs that came with this training schedule. She paid up to $400 a month for parking in New York City so she could commute to West Chester and joined the Church Street Boxing Gym in Tribeca so she could work out on days she could not make it up to West Chester. There were thoughts of joining Marcelo Garcia or Renzo Gracie’s gym, but her loyalty to her original school was too strong. Her newfound passion for Jiu Jitsu, career, and other circumstances had her rethinking her priorities and goals in life.

“I was doing so much to prioritize Jiu Jitsu and it was the only thing making me super happy. So I always wanted to own my own business and I always had an entrepreneurial spirit. You know what, how can I create a lifestyle where I can still be successful and still do more of what I want and build a life that works for me. It was killing me. I was doing Jiu Jitsu all the time. I would be on the train writing notes, practicing moves in my head. I would be on the bus and train, taking notes on what I learned the night before. The benefits of living in New York are not outweighing what I want to do.”
Many people ponder dramatic changes in their lives, but very few actually pull the trigger. Since discovering Jiu Jitsu, Kristin’s goals and priorities shifted. The day to day grind of the daily commute in New York City and long work hours had lost its appeal. She had several reasons to make a change and relocate from New York to Los Angeles.

“My brother and sister lived out here and as I started learning how big BJJ was out here, I thought it would be better out here. Also, I had an autoimmune disorder I got a few years ago when I am in anything cold, I lose circulation in my hands and fingers and toes so I can’t physically be in the cold,” she explained. “All of these reasons, moving out here Is the best thing I ever did.”

Along with the relocation from New York to Los Angeles came changes in her work and life schedule. Jiu Jitsu would become a bigger priority in her life. She joined 5 Star Martial Arts in Los Angeles and started to train under Renzo Gracie Black Belt Shawn Williams. Her training volume increased from one private lesson per week to training multiple times a day. In order for her to have more flexibility in her work schedule, she would need a job that would accommodate her training hours. Luckily, her years of experience in the Pharmaceutical industry would make her very marketable.

She said “I had a friend out here who owns a social media agency and wanted to get into the pharmaceutical industry and so I started consulting with him and it kept going and building and its been awesome. It gives me the flexibility to live the lifestyle I want to live and building out the business.”

The flexibility found in her new career as a consultant also allowed her time to pursue a business endeavor that was spawned from a problem she had when she first started Jiu Jitsu. When she started training in Jiu Jitsu back in New York, she found that there weren’t many apparel options for females training in NoGi. The apparel being worn by many female Jiu Jitsu practitioners were designed for other activities such as running or yoga and not the physical rigors of Jiu Jitsu. Much of the apparel that was available and designed just for women was limited to pink and flower designs.

“I love Jiu Jitsu. I wanted to pursue something that was my passion besides training. When I started training, I started to look out there at the gear available for women and was disappointed the only things I found was super pink or covered in flowers. It is nice to have options,” she said. “I saw an opportunity there and I thought I should jump on it. I had gone through a bunch of ideas through the years. I have had a zillion hobbies. I was always trying to think of how to make a hobby I loved into a business. When I stumbled upon this idea, I thought ‘wow,’ this is a legit opportunity since it was not done before. I just didn’t hesitate.”

In between Jiu Jitsu training and consulting, Kristin was writing a business plan for her line of women’s NoGi training apparel called ‘Detales.’ She started learning about textiles and fabrics, sketching designs for her apparel line, and purchased a sewing machine to create prototypes off of her designs.  She was creating her vision of what the ideal compression shorts, tights, sports bras and rash guards should be. Some of the apparel worn by women in the sport were made for yoga and running and not Jiu Jitsu. Therefore, the performance of some types of apparel for Jiu Jitsu was not up to par. The material could stick to the mat, hindering ground movement. The tights and rashguards might come loose and either come up down during drilling or rolling since they were not designed for grappling. Also, many apparel lines designed for women, were pink and featured flowers, which may not appeal to serious female Jiu Jitsu players. Kristin took these gaps in the market place into consideration while writing her business plan and designing her prototypes.

“Performance wise the fabric fits to the whole body. Most girls in NoGi don’t wear shorts and prefer tights,” she explained. “ The fabric is very important in not getting stuck to the mat and sliding easily. The rash guards are softer athletic fabric staying on you without coming up on you. It stays on your skin without feeling sticking. It is a polyester mix that is better than apparel that you purchase at TJ Maxx or other apparel stores. Options (in the market place) are limited. A lot of things were made stereotypical that are girly with pink and stitching.”

With much time and effort, Detales launched its initial line of apparel and website in May 2014. Kristin operates as a one woman show, overseeing the design, production, marketing, website development, public relations, social media, business development, and order processing for Detales. Since her launch, she has leveraged social media, partnerships with female Jiu Jitsu events such as seminars, and features in publications like Jiu Jitsu Magazine to promote Detales.

When she is not working as a consultant or building Detales into the top female Jiu Jitsu apparel company in the world, she is training up to 4 hours a day at 5 Star Martial Arts located in the Koreatown neighborhood of Los Angeles. When she first started training in Jiu Jitsu back in West Chester, she learned that adults competed in Jiu Jitsu competitions. When she considered pursuing Mixed Martial Arts while she was in college, she thought it was an all or nothing pursuit and did not realize there was a competitive avenue like Jiu Jitsu tournaments where she could compete in a physical combat sport without getting punched or kicked in the face. The thought of competing in Jiu Jitsu helped quench her desire to compete in mixed martial arts with the reduced chances of walking into business meetings with a black eye and fat lip.

When she initially moved to Los Angeles, Kristin lived in the Hollywood, which was a short commute from the academy. She has since relocated to Santa Clarita, a suburb of Los Angeles that is 30 miles north of the city, after becoming engaged to her fiancé who owns and operates his own martial arts and fitness center in Santa Clarita. Her years of commuting around New York City, New Jersey, and West Chester for work and training made this commute easy for her. While there are several top level Jiu Jitsu schools around the San Fernando Valley, she has maintained the sense of loyalty that first lead to her discovering Jiu Jitsu and remained loyalty to 5 Star and her coaches.

The long commute to training and her obligations to both her consulting career and Detales has not made her days any shorter than the long work days she had while living in New York City. Her weekdays still start early when she wakes up at 5:15 AM. By 5:45 AM, she is on the computer working on her consulting projects and Detales until 10:45 AM. From there she hops in her car and commutes an hour south to Los Angeles for noon training sessions. She will often use the commute to schedule conference calls. On Mondays through Wednesdays, she will head to a coffee shop or her sister’s house in Hollywood at 2 PM after training to continue working until 6 or 7 PM and then return to 5 Star for another 2 hour training session. After the session wraps up at 8 or 9 PM, she will then return home, arriving at 10 PM. On Thursdays, she will return back to her home after the noon training session, and work before heading to her fiancé’s gym to train grappling with him and his students. Friday is an off day, while Saturday consists of a 2 hour competition training class.

The difference between the long days in Los Angeles versus the long days in New York City is the terms they are under and what the days are filled doing. In New York City, there were long hours working in a field that where she lacked passion and was going through the motions doing what she thought she was expected to do with her life. While in her new life, her hours are spent pursuing her passions in Jiu Jitsu and building a business built around Jiu Jitsu.

“It is not as easy as a 9 to 5 and having everything set up for you. It is a different level of stress, but it lets me do what I want.”

While her days are long and her plate of responsibilities is full, she maintains a very level head in regards to her priorities in life.

“My priorities are my fiancé and family. Second priority is my training,” she said. “I don’t want to sacrifice that to make a great shirt, but I want to be black belt world champion one day. I want to make sure I can sustain the rigid structure I have in my schedule to do both.”

Her next step to becoming a Black Belt World Champion started at the IBJJF American Nationals at Cal State Dominguez Hills on September 6th and 7th. The two-day tournament features both a Gi and NoGi division and kicked off the Fall Schedule of major Jiu Jitsu tournaments held in Southern California that is highlighted by the NoGi Worlds on October 4th and the Masters Worlds on November 1st and 2nd.  Kristin goal is to win Gold in both events and like many, she used American Nationals as a warm up tournament leading up to NoGi Worlds and Masters Worlds.
American Nationals is also the tournament where Kristin made her competition debut a year earlier, earning a Silver medal in her first compeition. Her success at American Nationals kick started a successful run where she won Gold at Grappling X, Five Grappling, and the Las Vegas Open. During this run, she had to overcome a back injury which at times hampered her ability to train on a consistent basis. Her White Belt career in Jiu Jitsu culminated this past June with a 2nd place finish at the IBJJF Worlds, which is the most prestigious Gi tournament in the Jiu Jitsu community that draws competitors at all levels from around the world.

When asked about her achievements as a white belt and if it exceeded her expectations, she responded, “It is not that I expected it. I wanted it. I don’t expect to win, I want to win. I want to work hard and make my team proud. And make myself proud. I want to try my hardest. I don’t think it is something you can plan in advance. I am certainly proud of my accomplishments especially with my back injuries and I was out for a while. I definitely don’t expect it. I train looking for it and want it, but I don’t feel entitled it.”

A month after Worlds, Kristin received her blue belt from Shawn Williams. For some competitors, a belt promotion equals a sometimes rough transition period at tournaments since the quality of competition improves dramatically. Some have instant success, while some struggle and need time to grow and adapt to the higher level of competition. In order to prepare for her Blue Belt debut and a competition schedule that will consist of up to seven competitions over a nine week period, Kristin has worked with her coaches to develop a game plan, altered her diet and focused heavily on drilling during her training sessions. The jump in belt divisions hasn’t changed her approach to preparing to competitions.

“I would say 90% of it is my mind. I would say for me it is mental. If I go in there feeling confident about what I want to do and how I want it to go down and I go for it without any hesitation and I believe in my Jiu Jitsu then I have great results,” she said. “If I doubt myself or second guess myself at the last minute then that is where I find I could of done better. I get myself in the mindset that I am ready for this, I deserve this, I am as good as anybody else, I have worked hard for this, and I am going to do what I want and make this go my way. I have to think like that for me.”

When I arrived at American Nationals at 9:30 AM on September 6th for the Gi portion of the event, I saw Kristin warming up in the competitor bullpen where competitors weigh in and wait to be called to the mats for their matches. She was ready to go for her scheduled 10 AM match, listening to music on her headphones on and sporting a clear, emotionless expression on her face as she warmed up by doing squats and running in place. She was focused and in the zone, which carried over to when she stepped on the mats for her first match. She executed her game plan and finished her opponent within the first 45 seconds.

After high fiving and accepting congratulations from a handful of friends and teammates supporting her, she returned to the bullpen and resumed jogging in place and pacing around as she awaited her next match which took place 20 minutes later. In her second match she was matched up against a competitor who finished 3rd in the 2013 Masters Worlds and trained at the famed Cobrinha school. Within seconds of the match starting, there was a double guard pull where both competitors sat down on the mats at the same time while holding each other’s gis. Kristin then scored the first two points of the match sitting up from this position and standing in a kneeling position over her opponent. Then like a seesaw, her opponent caught Kristin off balance and reversed positions and with Kristin swept onto her back with her opponent kneeling over her. A scramble ensued and Kristin managed to recover her full guard position where her legs are wrapped around her opponent’s front torso. For the next minute, Kristin is trying to control her opponent from breaking and passing her guard while looking for potential submission opportunities. Roughly 2 minutes into the match, Kristin swivels her hips and catches her opponent in a submission and her opponent taps out quickly. Kristin is moving on to the finals with two matches down and one more to go while spending only 3 minutes of time on the mat.

In the finals, Kristin is matched up against an opponent from the Mendes Brothers’ Art of Jiu Jitsu school in Costa Mesa, California. The school, which opened in 2012 has become one of the hottest schools in not only Southern California, but the world. The head instructors, Gui and Rafa Mendes have attracted some of the top Jiu Jitsu talent to their schools. In some cases, students have left their schools in search of greener pastures and richer Jiu Jitsu knowledge through the Mendes Brothers. Kristin’s opponent is coming off a double gold medal at the Las Vegas Summer Open in August, where she won both her division and the open weight division.

Ten seconds after the match started Kristin gives up 2 points to a judo trip and retained an open guard and proceeded to fend off her attacking opponent. She attempted a tripod sweep, sending her opponent to the ground out of bounds causing a restart on their feet in the center of the mat without any sweep points scored. Kristin was taken down again with a judo trip and was trying to retain her guard while down 4-0. For the next 3 minutes, Kristin worked on setting up submissions and sweeps from the closed and open guard while fighting off pass attempts from a very game opponent who was not content riding out the match with just a 4-0 lead. Eventually, Kristin’s guard broke with a minute left in the match and her opponent moved to side control and then mounted Kristin to finish the match with an 11-0 victory.

While she did not win the Gold, she has proven that she can compete at the Blue Belt level in just her first competition. While most struggle in their initial matches at a new belt level, Kristin’s debut that included a submission victory over a competitor that placed in the Masters Worlds shows that she can compete and win now rather than later and bodes well for her medal hopes at Masters Worlds in November. Usually, after a tournament, most celebrate with food and drink after weeks of training and following a strict diet to make weight. Any celebrating will have to wait since she still needs to rest, recuperate and make weight for the NoGi tournament 24 hours later.

On Sunday morning, it is another early start for Kristin on day 2 of American Nationals as she is warms up for at 9:30 AM for another 10 AM start. Today, she will have her fiancé Mike and one of her coaches Dane Molina, a black belt under Shawn Williams in her corner. Both were absent yesterday since they both had to teach Saturday morning martial arts classes at their respective schools. Also in attendance are Kristin’s brother and sister and a handful of teammates from her school. Her teammate Cody Bitler is also competing this morning and his second round match starts on the mat next to Kristin’s just as her match starts. This creates a challenge for Dane as he tries to coach both matches at the same time.

Kristin’s opponent traveled with several of her teammates from Maryland and had also lost to the Mendes Brothers competitor who beat Kristin in the finals of the Gi tournament the previous day. The match is a struggle for Kristin as she gives up 2 points from a sweep and is fighting to score or submit from her back for the better part of the match. With roughly 90 seconds left in the match, both Kristin and her opponent are sitting in a 50/50 position where they are both sitting down, facing each other with each person having one of their legs in between the other person’s legs. This is a prime position to sit up and get points for the sweep or go for a potential leg lock. In this situation, legs can get tangled and Kristin’s opponent attempts to come up while her leg is in an unusual twisted position underneath Kristin’s leg. Kristin’s opponent’s attempt to sit up caused one of her knees to get cranked in an awkward position causing her to scream. In Jiu Jitsu, screaming is the same as a verbal tap out and the referee ended the match in order to ensure her safety. Two medics run over to attend to her and it quickly becomes obviously that she will not be able to continue. She was assisted by the medics over to a medical area where there was a examination table where she received further treatment. Despite being up 2-0, she will not be able to continue due to the verbal tap and knee injury. You could tell by the look on Kristin’s face that she took no joy or sense of accomplishment from this win. It was a close match where Kristin was losing, prior to her opponent’s the verbal tap. Kristin walked over to the medical area a minute after her match ended to check up on her opponent.

The next match was for the Gold medal against an opponent from the CheckMat team. Her opponent was an experienced blue belt who had won the Pan Ams as a Blue Belt in 2012, as well as the 2012 and 2013 Blue Belt NoGi tournaments in her weigh division at American Nationals.. This would be a match up of a green as can be blue belt making her blue belt debut against a very ripe blue belt who isn’t far from her purple belt. On paper, this match up heavily favored the more experienced and decorated competitor from CheckMat.  The match starts with a lot hand fighting from the competitors while they are standing  and attempting to set up their game plans to take the match to the ground.  Both competitors are parrying each other’s hand movements, and attempting to lock up to set up takedowns. 40 seconds into the match, Kristin slips and quickly gets back up before pulling guard 10 seconds later, with her opponent nearly passing her guard before Kristin turns into a turtle position. Kristin was face down on the mat resting on her forearms and knees like a turtle in a shell while her opponent was facing Kristin and putting her weight down on Kristin while attempting to spin around Kristin to take her back. Kristin managed to cut off the back take attempt by going to her back and recovering her half guard. She was still far from a secure position as her opponent gets and head and arm cross face on Krostin and places her shoulder into Kristin’s jaw as she tries to pressure pass Kristin’s half guard. As her opponent attempts a knee slide, Kristin scrambles and is able to recover full guard position where she submitted two opponents the previous day. Kristin goes to work attempting a high guard position and other submission setups, before finding an opening for an arm lock causing her opponent to tap out immediately. Kristin’s supporters cheered and clapped and you can see the look of shock and disappointment on her opponent’s face. Later her opponent would be on the floor with a training partner and coach reviewing what went wrong in her match with her training partner playing the role of Kristin.


With the 2nd place finish in the Gi and 1st place finish in NoGi, Kristin has put herself in position to contend for the Gold at both the Masters World and the NoGi World tournaments this Fall. Kristin’s accomplishments in both Jiu Jitsu, business and life are a testament to her work ethic and drive. The role of Jiu Jitsu and martial arts in her life make me think of a line from Joe Rogan’s black belt speech were he said Something that my tae kwon do teacher told me when I was a little kid that I never forgot was that martial arts are a vehicle for developing your human potential.” This holds very true for Kristin as she works toward both her short term and long term goals in all aspects of her life.

For more information on Detales, please visit detalesclothing.com.

Finding Passion in Life Through Jiu Jitsu

Read More


I originally wrote this article for  Foxdeportes.com prior to Cain Velasquez’s title defense against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva at UFC 160 on May 25th, 2013. I asked Cain about his first fight with Bigfoot, his thoughts of a trilogy with Junior Dos Santos and whether he would ever fight Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones and AKA teammate Daniel Cormier.

As he embarks on his second reign as UFC Heavyweight Champion, Cain Velasquez is focused on only on the present and what is directly in front of him.

As the main event of UFC 160 on Saturday, May 25th from the MGM Grand Garden Arena, the 11-1 Mexican American Velasquez, will be defending his title against the heavy handed striker and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva who possesses a record of 18-4 and earned his title shot after two straight knockout victories over Travis Browne and Alistar Overeem. Silva’s other victims includes former
UFC Heavyweight Champions Andrei Arvloski and Ricco Rodriguez and former Pride Heavyweight Champion and MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko.

This is a rematch of their bout last May at UFC 146 bought where Velasquez quickly took down Bigfoot after catching a leg kick six seconds into the fight and then proceeded to bust Silva’s forehead open with a series of elbows from a ground and pound attack from Silva’s half guard. After the referee called timeout to have a doctor check the cut between Silva’s eyes, Velasquez used his grappling to maintain top control and finished the bloodied and battered Silva with a series unanswered left hand strikes to Silva head before the referee stopped the fight 3:36 into the first round.

Despite the dominating performance over Silva in their first meeting, Velasquez knows that he must remain focused on his training and on the fight once he steps into the Octagon against his 6-foot 4 inch tall and 265 pound appropriately named Bigfoot and not make the same mistake that Overeem made against him.

“I think of it as a whole new fight which it is,” said Velasquez. “I think guys have underestimated him in the past and that is how he came out victorious. I can’t underestimate him. That is worst thing I can do. My whole focus is defending the title.”

In addition to already having met in the Octagon just 12 months ago, Velasquez has continued to study Silva’s game and has worked to develop a game plan and strategy to defeat the massive fighter that has to cut weight to in order to meet the heavyweight weight limit of 265 pounds. While Velasquez has developed a reputation of being the best conditioned heavyweight in the UFC, he is not quick to assume it will be a distinct advantage over Silva.

“He has great cardio,” Velasquez said. “I have seen his past fights where he has gone the distance. For a big guy, he has good cardio. The only thing I can do is be on top the whole time as far be better at him at the boxing, be better than him at the wrestling, be better at him  all around and that is what I have to do.”

When asked if he felt if he felt Silva’s fight game has evolved in his last two impressive victories, Velasquez responded “I think he is the same fighter. With his punching power, the thing I can’t do is stay in front of him too long. I think that is his best bet. (Bigfoot has) really strong, punches. I need to keep moving. I need to do my type of fight. Do my boxing and do my wrestling.”

While he has thoroughly studied Silva’s fighting style and developed a boxing and wrestling based game plan to counter Silva’s size, cardio, and punching power, he also knows the importance of actually executing the game plan once the Octagon door closes and the fight begins. This was an important lesson he learned during his first matchup against Junior Dos Santos on the first UFC on FOX card in November 2011. Velasquez and his team had a game plan in place, but he failed to execute the plan and got caught with a powerful overhand right hand from the deadly striker Dos Santos before being finished on the ground only 1:04 into the first round.

He lamented on the experience and said “After that fight it was just learning when fight night comes and you have a game plan to stick with it and implement it right away. So that is the one thing I took away from that fight.”

When the opportunity came to avenge the loss and regain his crown from Dos Santos at UFC 155 this past December, Velasquez executed his game plan, winning all 5 rounds and becoming the first fighter in UFC history to land triple digit significant strikes and double digit take downs in a single fight with 111 significant strikes and 11 takedowns on Dos Santos.

After regaining the crown, Velasquez visited Mexico City as part of a UFC media tour this past January. Although boxing is the traditional combat sport of Mexico, Velasquez received the rock star treatment as he was mobbed by thousands of fans at an autograph signing.

When asked how he felt about the warm welcome and fan support in Mexico City, he responded “It is great feeling for sure. Not just my name growing, but the UFC is growing. It is definitely growing internationally.  I wasn’t expecting it. That was definitely a surprise. I have been over there before a couple of times and it seems like the popularity is always growing. That last time over there though was definitely the biggest though.”

He has embraced his role as a hero and role model to the Mexican fight fans. “It is a great feeling” said Velasquez. “I am just doing what I am as far as fighting and training. It is honor and I am happy to be in this position and I am going to work harder to stay in this position.”

As a young fight fan, Velasquez admired the fighting style of the great Mexican pugilist Julio Cesar Chavez. With the growth of the UFC in Mexico and Latin America, he believes there is a lot of growth potential in both the fan base and fighters hailing from the country.

“I think with time, this sport is so exciting to watch, you are going to have fighters from everywhere, especially from Mexico make the transition (from boxing) and the popularity will keep growing. It will take on more and more over there and more fighters will come.”

While he knows he must stay focused on the task at hand and first get past Bigfoot Silva on May 25th, he is open to both old and new challenges in the UFC Heavyweight division. UFC President Dana White already went on record saying that if both Cain and Dos Santos are victorious at UFC 160, the two will meet again in a rubber match for the UFC Heavyweight Championship.

When asked about the possibility of a trilogy with his rival Dos Santos, he stated “I am definitely looking forward to the third fight… I can’t look past Bigfoot so my focus is on that.”
His reaction was the same when asked if he would be interested in a potential super fight with UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones who has teased the idea of eventually moving up to the Heavyweight division.

When asked about a super fight with Jones, Velasquez quickly responded “Definitely. If he does move up and works his way up, definitely for sure.”


One fighter that we will not be seeing him do battle with down the road is friend, training partner, wrestling coach, and fellow UFC Heavyweight Daniel Cormier. When asked how the two would co-exist if Cormier could not cut down to the Light Heavyweight limit of 205 pounds, Velasquez responded “I see him dropping down. He said he is going to. Maybe have one more fight at heavyweight. His goal right now is to drop down.”

Cain Velasquez Profile for UFC 160

Read More


This is a Q&A interview I conducted with Gilbert Melendez prior to his title fight against Benson Henderson for the UFC on Fox Card in April of 2013. Gilbert was a really laid back and nice guy who took some time off on his only day off that week to speak with me. We discussed his upcoming fight with Benson, the Caesar Gracie Team, and as Strikeforce Lightweight Champion. 




The UFC Lightweight Division is arguably the deepest division in the UFC right now. Why do you believe you were given the title shot over many other top level fighters in the division?
Well I have been in this sport a long time. I think my record and accomplishments speak for themselves. There is a lot of talent out there it, a lot of it has to do with what I have accomplished. A lot of it has to do with timing. I think it obviously champion vs champion. People want to see this fight. I am kind of a mystery guy. Am I the best or Am I a joke but we all know what is already going on in the lightweight division. There is a pecking order there, except where I stand in that division. Am I at the top or am I at the bottom. It intriguing to figure it out.

Many combat sports enthusiasts talk about the heart of a Latino Fighter in boxing and in MMA. As a Mexican American, how would you define the heart of a Latino Fighter and how it differs from fighters from other cultures.
I am definitely a Mexican American. I don’t speak very good Spanish and I get made fun of by my by all my cousins, family, and friends in Santa Ana (Gilbert’s hometown in Southern California.) There is one way I can  relate to my Mexican peeps and that is the way I fight. The Mexican blood in me. I fight with my heart. It is more important for me to show the warrior in me than to win.  I would rather not be a runner. To answer your question, we fight with a lot of heart. It is obvious that a lot of Mexican do that and it is more important for us to go out there and fight our hearts out then try to win a stick and move victory. They would rather respect the loser that put it out there. The Mexicans are trying to run the sport and once we do we will dominant with our hearts like we always do.

Were there any Latino fighters that you looked up to as you were growing up?
Tito Ortiz was a guy that was Latino, a Mexican American who has my same roots. I grew up in Santa Ana, California, the same area he is from. We both wrestled in high school. He is a guy I looked up to who could scrap because of wrestling and could throw hooks because he is from the area. Sometimes you get in fights. He is a guy I looked up to and still look up to. I think he annoys some MMA fighters, but I am from the same neighborhood, I am the same style as him. Tito was someone that I could look up to that was Latino.

HP Pavilion has been your home arena for many years while fighting for Strikeforce. Can you talk about the great atmosphere in that venue and how the home field advantage will benefit you as you fight there for the UFC Lightweight title?
It’s Amazing.  I love fighting in HP Pavilion. It is basically my home turf now. Fought there plenty of times.  It is exciting to get the title fight on Fox and its in my backyard. I think it is going to be great. The UFC Octagon is unfamiliar, the whole UFC production is a bit unfamiliar, but one thing that will be familiar is HP Pavilion, my crowd cheering for me and the locker rooms and the walkout songs are all going to be familiar so it’s going to play a big advantage.Usually when you fight in another city like Las Vegas, fighters usually stay at a hotel. 

Since the fight is in San Jose will you stay at home and go through your regular routine or at a hotel to get away from distractions?
I will probably transition the last couple of day to San Jose just because the UFC has me doing a lot of media stuff. If the fight was in San Francisco or a little bit closer of a commute I would come back and if it an available option, I would definitely come back. I have a hotel right now for the last couple of weeks for me to jump back and forth to, but I really miss my family, my daughter and my fiancée. They are actually good for me. My fiancée cooks for me, helps take care of me and is my friend so I miss out. I do like to come home. I do feel comfortable and it is a good place for me to be. I go back and forth with it. If it doesn’t really interfere too much I will come ho if me for sure. I would like to sleep in my bed the night before the fight if it makes sense for me.




The Caesar Gracie team has come up short in several UFC title fights in recent memories (Nick Diaz vs. Carlos Condit, Nate Diaz vs Ben Henderson, Jake Shields vs GSP). Does that add any extra pressure on you and can you elaborate on how important it is for you to be the one who finally brings the UFC title back to the Caesar Gracie Team?
I would love to be the person that brings the title back to the Caesar Gracie Team. All of my friends have done a great job getting there. It is just amazing that my teammates have made it there. Now, I can say I am the same with them. Yeah, there is pressure for that, to be the guy to do it. It has been brought to my attention that we are 0 for 5 in title fights. I take my job seriously, but I am just to go out there and do my thing, win or lose I know I have my girl who loves me, my family who loves me, and my team who loves me and is loyal to me. So I don’t feel too much pressure for that kind of stuff, to deliver for them. I just need to do my best and delivery for myself.

Your Caesar Gracie teammate Nate Diaz fought Ben Henderson for the UFC Lightweight title this past December. How much has the experience of training and game planning with Nate for that fight and watching his performance in that fight helped you in your training and preparation for Henderson?
Of course it helped me prepare. Nate did catch a nasty punch, which was a legitimate punch, by Ben Henderson at the end of the first round and I could tell a noticeable change in the fight for the way Nate was fighting. Nate was fighting with one eye and wasn’t really excelling. I was able to pick up a lot. Nate was able to give me a judgment of Benson strength. I was able to see him there in person. 7:20

Vice versa, you are very familiar with Nate Diaz’s opponent Josh Thomson. What advice and insight have you given to Nate on Thomson who you have fought three times while in Strikeforce?
Nate has helped me prepare for Thomson all 3 times as well. He knows Josh just as well me. Nate and are different styles, but I think some things are going to work better for Nate and I think it is a great matchup for Nate. Thomson is a tough guy and he is definitely going to be ready. I am doing all I can. Nate sometimes loses the scorecard but most of the time wins the fight.

In addition to your regular training partners, the Diaz Brothers and Jake Shields, who else have you brought in for your training camp to help prepare for this fight and what was the thought process behind bringing in each of these training partners?
Kron Gracie is the biggest guy I have brought up and he is coming back in. Kron is just an amazing grappler, leads with his right leg and has a similar style to Benson when it comes to his grappling. He is straight up the best grappler in the world. It doesn’t get better than that. I like to scrap and get in these crazy positions like the guillotine that Benson is really good at. I like to give Kron my back and try to battle out. There are a lot of things that he works well at.
I am also bringing in Daniel Roberts in. I have a lot of guys that are already great strikers. I have guys that I think are better strikers than Benson. The thing about Benson he is not the world’s best striker, the world’s best wrestler, the world’s best grappler, he is a real mixed martial artist. He can put all his techniques together. His striking is better because he fakes the shot first. He is mixed martial artist and so am I. I am the same way. I have plenty of good strikers already and plenty of good wrestlers, but I am bringing in Daniel Roberts who is an old scrap pack member who is in Tulsa right now and he is coming back in. He is a guy who is a MMA fighter. He can kick, shoot and do athletic stuff like Ben.
You are currently the number 1 contender and Nate Diaz is ranked 4th. Both of you are in your prime and one of you could be holding the title in the near future. Can you ever envision a scenario where you would fight Nate and what are the protocols that the Caesar Gracie team has in place in regards to teammates fighting?
Protocol is loyalty before loyalty any day of the week. That is my buddy and I don’t need to fight him. If somebody offered me $3 million to fight Nate and $2 million to fight someone else, I would rather take the pay cut. But Nate’s my boy and we train together. That is not how we roll. We are a different kind of team. We are grassroots together. It is different. I can understand why some teammates fight each other because they are a different kind of team, but for us that is not how we work.
The UFC purchased Strikeforce in March 2011 and moved many of the top fighters in Strikeforce including Nick Diaz, Alistar Overeem, Dan Henderson, and Cung Le over to the UFC. However, due to the Zuffa and Showtime dealings, you weren’t able to move over. How frustrating was that experience for you and how satisfying is it for you to finally make your debut in the UFC on the UFC on Fox card at HP Pavilion?

When you put that way, it is worth it at the end of the day. Immediately it was a bit frustrating seeing my boy go over there and me having to sit back. But I am also an employee. I am a team player and if I needed to stay back for Zuffa and that what I have to do then I would do. Hopefully it would be for the better for my career. I want to have a long career in this business inside the cage and outside the cage so I felt like I was taking one for the team and hoping it wouldn’t last forever. It started lasting forever and I started thinking that maybe I would be in Strikeforce the rest of my life. Then all of sudden things switched and then I got so excited. Then I out my next fight is going to be in the UFC, then I find out my next fight is for the UFC title. Then I find out my fight is going to be in HP Pavilion. Then I find it is going to be on Fox. This is something I have waited for a long time, I have been ready for it for a long time and it is finally here. It has been a roller coaster ride, but it is great to be at this point right now.

You have not fought in nearly a year due to the Strikeforce schedule and injuries. How have you dealt with the time between fights and how have you grown as a fighter and a person during your time off?
I run my gym with my fiancée. I train people I am in there training. Yeah, I was injured. I am not supposed to be sparring with one arm, but I am in there sparring with one arm. I am drilling with one arm. I am still working. The doctors said stay off the mat. You don’t want to be post pictures because people will say “oh you can fight.” The truth is I am going to train with one arm. I don’t care. I have gotten better. I have had a lot of time to lift weights. I feel like I have put on a lot of muscle and gotten really durable knowing I have to fight Benson. I have been able to work on lot on my game plan. I feel like I have used my time wisely to evolve and get back to where I need to be.

You have headlined many big fights, fought on national TV several times, and are used to the spotlight and attention. The UFC on Fox Card on April 20th brings along more media attention and obligations. How have you dealt with or plan on dealing with the extra attention and media obligations during your training camp leading up to the fight?
The main thing with this training camp is I have been doing two workouts a day and I have been able to wake up earlier and divide them up a little better. Sometimes I would start them a bit later 12 pm or 1 pm and then come back and train at 7 or 7:30 PM and it just wasn’t enough time to rest. Now I am training at 10 AM or 10:30 AM and sometimes I start at 9 AM, 11 AM at the latest. This allows me to have a lot more recovery time and to get some other stuff done. It maximizes my rest time and with that rest I am able to get more of these interviews done. Rest is so important and I felt like I have been able to get a lot of that which helps me train harder.

Why do you believe you are the man to dethrone Ben Henderson at on UFC on Fox on April 20th?

I feel like I have been the man to hold that UFC title for the last 4 years. I just so happened to be in Strikeforce and Ben Henderson so happened to be the UFC champ right now. I feel like I have what it take to beat him. I feel like I am a warrior. I feel like I am a fighter who has become an athlete. I feel like he is an athlete who is starting to become a fighter. I feel like I want this so bad. I feel like I have prepared all my life for this moment. I am definitely coming for that belt. I think I have got what it takes. My hands, my fists got what it takes to put this guy away.

Q&A with Gilbert Melendez from April 2013

Read More