Welcome to Black Belt, my name is Rafa, I'll be your tour guide - 2014 Euros

Rafa doing what does Rafa does.

Not sure if he's just being patient, or if the Berimbolo's day of sheer dominance seem to be waning.
That being said, Rafa passes with a pretty standard knee through after obtaining the underhook.
After that it's pretty standard fare as he controls, feeds the lapel, and switches the grip with the guy's arm already in position for the Brabo. He transitioned to mount to finish.

 

UFC 169: My Picks & Prognostications Paired with Gifs from The Office

How I felt when I read Urijah Faber was getting another title shot/Dominic Cruz was out with an injury.

Saturday is a big day in combat sports: the UFC takes place in New Jersey, the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Copa Podio takes place in Brazil. The Judo Paris Grand Prix takes place in France.
I'll be competing at the US Grappling Submission Only in Greensboro.

Somehow, they always schedule all these things for the same day so that I can never see or be a part of more than 1 or 2. I took the night off from my second job to watch the UFC after I finish competing at the Submission Only.

On to the picks and wild guesses based on little more than instinct and the google search engine!

Barao should win this fight. He was better than Faber virtually everywhere last time they fought and I see no reason why that will change. Historically, Faber just is not a title fight performer.
I see why he took the fight? It's last minute, if he loses it's not like he "lost" because he can say it was last minute with 3 weeks to prep.
If he wins, well, then the upside is obvious.

Barao by slightly more convincing decision over 5 rounds.








Aldo probably won't let Lamas out of the second round. Aldo's been patient to put guys away as of late, opting to simply put them down with leg kicks and combinations. For some reason, the look on Aldo's face at the weigh-ins keeps coming to me.
Aldo via 3rd round stoppage.

Frank Mir....Alistair Overeem...both guys with impressive-well, no, wait, Frank Mir has some impressive wins, sort of. Overeem has faltered whenever he's graduated to the A leagues.
Unfortunately for Mir, he has looked very gun shy in his last few fights and has nary even looked to shoot. The longer this fight is on the feet, the worse it goes for Mir. I just don't know if Mir will get Overeem down which means the fight can only go one way.
I don't see Mir pulling a Travis Browne and weathering a storm that will leave Overeem gassed and broken and ready to quit.
Overeem by bloody, decisive, soul-crushing stoppage in round 2.

John Lineker, I can't really call you a flyweight because you haven't made the weight 3 times in UFC appearances. Make the weight or move up a division, bro. Seriously. This isn't Ultimate Parking Lot Championship. Show up, make the weight or reside in another weight class. I see no reason why he won't beat Ali Bagautinov just based on having several more UFC fights worth of experience.
Lineker by close 3 round decision.

Jamie Varner, unless he gets old over night, (he's got some mileage on him from years fighting) should win this bout handily. Varner has good hands, good wrestling, and comes prepared to win. He moves forward and has the clear cut above of experience whereas Trujillo's gone 2-1-1 in 4 UFC appearances.
Varner by 2 round stoppage.
"Renan Barao vs. Urijah Faber
for bantamweight title

Jose Aldo vs. Ricardo Lamas
for featherweight title

Frank Mir vs. Alistair Overeem

Ali Bagautinov vs. John Lineker

Abel Trujillo vs. Jamie Varner

preliminary CARD

FOX Sports 1, 8 p.m. ET

John Makdessi vs. Alan Patrick

Chris Cariaso vs. Danny Martinez

Nick Catone vs. Tom Watson

Al Iaquinta vs. Kevin Lee

preliminary CARD

UFC Fight Pass, 6:30 p.m. ET

Andy Enz vs. Clint Hester

Rashid Magomedov vs. Tony Martin

Neil Magny vs. Gasan Umalatov "

Today's Jiu-Jitsu To Do List/Upcoming Tournaments

February 1st - Competing at the US Grappling Submission Only this Saturday at purple belt for the first time. 

February 15th - Competing at the Virginia Open in Judo at black belt.

February 22nd - Considering very seriously doing the ADCC Nationals in Virginia Beach.

With Judo tournament season looming, I'm back adding Olympic lifts and sprints to my training regimen. I'm also far more consistent with my diet, cutting out almost all eating out/restaurants minus the occasional tacos or sushi. I'll splurge sometimes and get some chocolate cookies at whole foods.

It takes about 2-3 weeks after adding Olympic lifts and sprints to when I can then add morning training several times a week to my usual 6 days a week without a serious retrograde in performance.
I used to blindly train as hard as possible every day but could only grind out perhaps 4 days in a row.
On average, I get anywhere from 1-3 Judo training sessions per week & 6 Jiu-Jitsu sessions per week.

Our Judo club is small and I wish we had more serious competitors and members in general, but we perform well at the state level and we make the most of what we have often placing for team points with only a handful of competitors,

Today:
Add some of the following people to my instagram
10 BJJ Personalities to follow on Instagram (Thanks bjjnews.com)

Finish watching the IBJJF 2014 Euros

Review of divisional winners at the 2014 Euros

Look at combination of sit-up sweep as it fits with my open guard game as a response to the knee through/RDLR counter by guys trying to knee through/cut through pass/smash into me
 

IBJJF 2014 Europeans - Legal Knee Reap/DLR + Underhook ?

The premise against the knee reap is that it drives against the outside of the knee inward.
This is the driving force/motion behind the heel hook. The torque, or twisting motion against the knee joint is destructive.
You'll notice it applied by Caio Terra against Koji Shibamoto at the roughly 2 minute mark in the video.

Coming back from ACL surgery, I did not like the pressure of the DLR/Berimbolo against my knees and thus adopted guard passing with my hand posted Leandro Lo style against the DLR hook and will avoid that position at all costs, which means I must be aware of my opponents inverting or spinning inside to deep half/RDLR/inverting et cetera, but that's the battle I fight b/c the pressure of the DLR/berimbolo when applied is so great, I've yet to see much good come from fighting it after it is set.

The premise behind allowing the Berimbolo and other moves is that I can concede the sweep to alleviate the pressure, but I could almost apply the same logic to the heel hook.
Especially with the underhooking grip Caio has with his right arm.
As someone who's had knee reconstruction, I know very well the pressure and feel of a knee reap motion when applied to my knees.
This isn't a post to bash Caio or anyone else, they exist within the rules as outlined by the governing body of the competition in which they enter, but it's the kind of move that when applied by a long legged or flex and bust out style force will inevitablylead to some ACL tears out there, mark my words. Especially if the person to whom it is being done is unaware of the position in which their leg/knee joint now resides.

My (Non)Expert Opinion on the Association of Ringside Physicians & Their Position

Having had ringside physicians who smelled of alcohol on their breath while conducting pre-fight physicals, I place them somewhat in the category of the boxing/athletic commissions which I have also had the distinct pleasure of interacting with in different states either as a fighter or as a corner for someone else who was fighting.
Are these the same guys who have watched for years as fighters showed up emaciated and dehyrdrated, cut weight, then reappeared the following day having ballooned up to 25 lb's more in weight?
Spare me the "we're concerned angle".
There must be another angle, and what that is, I am uncertain.
But "fighter health" is hardly a plausible one if we're consistent in our examination of the other practices allowed in combat sports.
Are they pushing for stricter drug testing? For testing that will catch micro dosing for Testosterone? The reality is that you should watch the BALCO/Joe Rogan Podcast episode to really hear about how steroid testing has evolved and changed to have your mind blown.



A good look at the website for the "Association of Ringside Physicians"

Here's the outline of the content on the exam.

As to how anyone with a medical license is now an expert on TRT or hypogonadism is beyond me, but hey, they made a public statement. That means something, I guess.  
 

The Future is Now: Rafa Mendes vs Gianni Grippo - 2014 Europeans

The Future is Now: Rafa Mendes vs Paulo Miyao - 2014 Europeans