Zak Maxwell: years to becoming an overnight success.

Mais de Zak Maxwell, Mais a vindo...

Zak Maxwell, admittedly first came to my attention when shortly before the Pans, he beat Kron Gracie.

I then watched him at the Pans finish 2 guys in a row with virtually the same omoplata to armlock sequence, and when it didn't work on the 3rd guy he used that same omoplata sequence to sweep then get on top and win.

At any rate, Jits Magazine has a great post here about him and his background.
Turns out (as is the case with many "overnight stars") that he's been at this Jiu-Jitsu things for awhile. The Jits magazine article goes into detail but starting out he had the little man survival mode that turned into making him one hard nut to crack.
For add'l competition and background info, here he is over at BJJ Heroes.

Zak Maxwell Vs Leandro "Lo" Nascimento at the Abu Dhabi Pro Trials in Las Vegas (not long after Zak was promoted to faixa preta/black belt).