Inside Nova Uniao MMA and BJJ

Gi Class at Nova Uniao. Photo by bjjpix.com

It seems like every week I have a new and amazing experience here in Rio, and this week was perhaps the most amazing opportunity yet. A journalist, Simeon Tegel, is here for the week to write an article on MMA training in Rio. During his stay he is sitting in on and participating in training at the famed Nova Uniao. Luckily for me, Dennis was able to arrange the opportunity for me to train with the pros at Nova Uniao as well and help Simeon around Rio.

Andre Pederneiras showing technique. Photo by bjjpix.com

My week of training at NU began on Wednesday when a large group of us from CR came to train BJJ in the Gi. The gym is located in Flamengo in a large gym called Upper Academia. NU is located on the top floor and has two large mat spaces and a boxing ring in the middle. When we first got up there they were finishing up a Muay Thai training session and we were able to watch some great training. The class started with an extensive warm up of jogging, cals, and bjj drills. In a chance coincidence the guy I got paired up with was another American wrestler, Chris, who recently made the move down to Rio with his fiance who is a NU blackbelt and professional MMA fighter. Chris has been doing BJJ for many years and was able to help me by giving me some great bjj techniques and thoughts for wrestlers. The rolling was great, to say the least. While Nova Uniao has some bigger guys they are known for being a small guy gym. Most guys there were within 10 kilos of me and as a result all of the rolls where fast paced and intense. In the last roll I trained with one of their MMA fighters who fights in the UFC Middleweight division. While we flowed and technically rolled (he could have smashed me if he wanted) he offered tips and advice. The guys in the gym genuinely seemed to care and take interest and how we were rolling. For instance Arlid, one of the guests here in the CR flat, submitted one of the blue belts (he is a white belt). The instructor praised him and cheered him on giving him tips and coaching him during his remaining rolls. The training in the Gi was phenomenal, but after class I was looking forward to the next day, when I would have the rare opportunity to workout and spar with their professional MMA team which is typically by invite only.

Training a back take to choke. Photo by Simeon Tegel.

Thursday arrived and Simeon and I made the trek in to Flamengo where we met Dennis who took us up to the training session. On the way up their we were introduced to Marlon Sandro, a fighter in Bellator who was previously ranked as the #2 featherweight in the world. He is a nice guy who welcomed Simeon and I to the training session. Before the sparring session started they had a quick photo session for the team website. During this time one of the things I noticed was just how much the MMA team is like a family. Everyone was smiling, laughing and joking around. While they were finishing up, we watched Dudu Dantes, the Bellator Bantamweight Champion hit Pads. He would blaze through combos with amazing speed, and his kicks echoed throughout the gym. As the photo session ended the tone shifted in the gym. Gone was the playful attitudes, they were replaced with an intense atmosphere of grit and determination. I got the go ahead from Marlon and I threw on my gear and joined in on the warm up. The warm up began with your normal jogging and calisthenics and then progressed to sport specific drills, with all 50+ fighters dripping with sweat by the end. The gym was divided into four parts, and the first rounds of sparring began. It took me and Chris (the American guy I had met the night before) a few minutes to understand the structure of things. The guys with fights were scheduled stay in for four rounds with fresh opponents working in at specific intervals, otherwise known as shark tank. Depending on how far out you are from your fight, you will have fresh guys rotating in on you at different intervals. The guys who don't have fights coming up work in against guys, coach, and give water and encouragement in between rounds. With a number of guys not in training camps and wanting to get max sparring time there is bit of a mad dash to get your sparring in. I learned quickly that you can't sit back and expect to get in, you have to step up and get out there before anyone else. The first guy I rotated in against was a tall lanky guy with very solid striking, and from what I saw great takedown defense. I went in and we had a couple short exchanges before I shot in on a deep high-crotch takedown attempt. I first tried to switch to the double, he defended, then I switched to running the pipe, again no luck. He was catching me with a few nice shots so I pressed him against the wall and tried to elevate him, again he defended. Using his hip sagging (to defend the lift) I took him away from the wall, brought one hand up to his head and drove his head over his leg as I ran the pipe (a takedown that Chris Weidman and Frankie Edgar hit a lot). Finally he went down, but before I could fully cover him his was back up on his feet. After the round I got some good advice on technique. Dennis introduced me to Andre Pederneiras (the head Coach at NU) who asked me about myself and my background. As the session went on I worked in more and more frequently. It didn't take long for people to realize I was a wrestler, so any guy who was training for a fight against a good wrestler I was quickly and repeatedly thrown in against. At one point as I was rotating out I turned to see who was coming in and there was Jose Aldo, the UFC Featherweight Champ. I briefly talked to him, and found out he is a really friendly, super chill, and above all a really humble guy. To meet him you would never know he is considered one of the pound for pound greats, he is just another member of the team. The training was phenomenal. The fighters are incredibly well rounded, I was constantly being pushed in all areas of my game, and feel that even from that one session I am a better fighter. During the last sparring session I was working against a judo and bjj blackbelt who is 12-1 (all submission wins). The round was going good both of us- we were landing shots and had good scrambles on the mat. He threw a cross that glanced my cheek and immediate backed off-- the punch had accidentally cut me. The guys looked at it quickly (it wasn't bad) and I continued on finishing the round with a solid takedown and top work. After I showered and cleaned up the cut the guys took a look at the cut. It really wasn't bad at all and two of the guys took the time to use some new skin adhesive to close up the cut for me. To me that just shows the type of good people NU has on the team. They took the time to help someone whom they had never met and made sure everything was ok.

photo by Simeon Tegel.

On Friday morning Simeon and I went back to train wrestling. Class was taught by Daniel “Pirata”, a Pan Am Silver Medalist, and a former Cuban Olympian who is now the coach of the Brazilian Women's Olympic Freestyle Team. The class was great. Everyone pushed the pace and worked extremely hard. For the live we did about 30-45 minutes of situational work. The guy I worked out with, Marshal, was incredibly good. If I slipped up in anyway he was all over me. It made for some great training. After the training Marshall asked if I wanted to drill with him. We spent the next 45min to an hour working various grappling techniques. Essentially it was like getting a private lesson from a blackbelt. In talking with him after drilling I found out he is 28 with 28 fights. He started training bjj as a kid in the famous Chute Boxe Academy, back when guys like Anderson, Wanderlei, and Shogun were there. He has been at Nova Uniao for the past three years and regards it as the best training team he has been on. Again someone taking the time to work and drill with me, showing me new techniques after only meeting me the day before again shows the kind of good people Nova Uniao attracts.

Working on leg locks. Photo by Simeon Tegel

I have already had some great experiences at Nova Uniao and I am excited to see what the oncoming training will be like. Being able to experience the training there and work with some of the best in the sport, is a dream come true. I am rested up after a good weekend hanging out and BBQing, now I am ready to dive headfirst into another amazing week of training here is Rio!

A Week Full of Training Ideas and Concepts

This week contained a lot of bumps, bruises, and soreness—but it also brought a lot of insight and growth. The training as always was great, but after this week of training what stands out to me the most is some of the mental and strategic side of things. It seemed like almost everyday this week someone had something insightful to say. Also this week, two new arrivals to CR from Norway, Arlid and Kim, began to train at ATT with me as well. They both have a background in full contact TKD and Arlid has a pretty good ground game. Both guys are here to work not only in the Kimono but to improve in all aspects of fighting.

Nicole and I drilling some of the new techniques she learned at Gracie Barra.

Week in Review

Mondays wrestling focused on the duck under series from the clinch/collar tie position. From there we worked several finishes- a lift, a snapdown, and taking the back. The guys picked it up pretty good and throughout the week guys were trying to work the series during live goes. Tuesday's striking class and luta livre sessions both went great, techniques and combinations really seemed to flow well. On Wednesday I again had the opportunity to work with Milton Viera. He focused on countering my strikes, and stifling any offense I would bring. Still though I felt good and landed some solid strikes and was able to score a takedown and maintain a top game for a minute or two (until he was able to hit a nice heel-hook). The other two rounds of sparring went fairly well, the second round I landed some nice punches and some powerful double legs. The third round I went against Humberto, a blackbelt with great hips. Most of the time on the mat was spend trying to stop sweeps or get out of submission attempts. After the sparring Milton and I talked for a bit. He gave me some great pointers. First off he told me to start throwing a bit more and then hitting my shots. Eventually after getting tagged a few times with punches your opponent will step in to counter, which is the time to attack for a takedown. That way its not solely you working to close the distance from a shot, but your opponent is bringing his hips in closer to you. Sometimes in sparring this is hard to do, because if you spar against someone who doesn't have a fight coming up they will usually play a more counter style, working and maintaining good position and distance. If you have a fight coming up is your job to stalk and engage, forcing the other guy into a battle. Milton also conveyed to me the importance of the look in your eyes during a fight. He said when you are tired your opponent will most likely be tired oo, so you have to keep an intensity in your eyes (even if your body doesn't feel it). This intensity will not only strengthen your resolve but it will work to break your opponents. If they look across the mat or cage and see you with the look of confidence and intensity they will (even if deep down) have the thought of “Oh Sh#t, this guys still going strong”. I was also told to hit harder on top to force him to open up and react (kind of sounds like poking a tiger with a stick, but we will see how it goes).

Milton and I

Wrestling on Thursday worked a lot of chain wrestling, flowing from one takedown to the next. In the afternoon conditioning went great, my lungs and legs felt strong. As we finished I was able to get more sound advice. This time it was from Edson Diniz. After running up the hill leading to Pedra de Gavea we were all about to walk back down when Edson told us to go to the waterfall to get “recharged”. We walked up the path and down to the water falls. Edson is an advocate for the power of relaxing in nature. He believes that instances where you are “one” with nature serves to recharge and re-energize the body and mind. I will admit after sitting under a waterfall of a cold mountain stream and then sitting on the rocks enjoying the forest I did feel better and more relaxed. Power of nature or not, I do feel like his attitude of taking time out to relax and appreciate your surroundings is extremely important and healthy thing to do.

Friday's and Saturday's training were a bit low in numbers (most of the guys were in Peru for several fights or recouping from competition) but still strong in quality. For sparring on Saturday I sparred 3 rounds with Edson. The first was only striking, the next was striking with takedowns, and the third round was takedowns and ground work. After the sparring we rolled five minute rounds rotating through everyone there. It was great training my striking felt good ( a little sloppy at times) and my takedowns felt awesome, my ground game transitions are feeling better. Afterwards Edson talked with us about ground theory and how we have to find a style that works well for us specifically. A person needs to embrace there natural inclinations and build a style surrounding what works best for them, and not try to play a game that is foreign and unnatural.

Hanging out poolside at HQ.

The rest of the weekend went good. It was rainy so a lot of time was spent playing cards and relaxing in the flat, and on Saturday night we all headed out and watched the UFC fights. It was really cool seeing 5 guys whom I had recently (in the last 6 months) trained with being interviewed at the event. If that's not a sign of the high quality of training here I don't know what is. On Sunday the weather was a bit cool, but the sun came out long enough to enjoy some time at the beach watching the final day of the surf competition and swimming in the ocean.

5 Months in Rio, Sparring with Milton Viera, and Wrestling at BTT

Nicole and I at the beach celebrating 5 months in Rio

This Sunday (the 12th) marks fives months of living in Rio. The time has flown by, but looking back I am amazed at all the amazing things Nicole and I have done. Experiences that most would deem ‘once and a lifetime’ almost seem to happen everyday. Sometimes it’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind, but here in Rio where the lifestyle is more laid back I can take time everyday and reflect on things and truly appreciate where I am and the life I am living.


Week in Training

Post sparring session with Milton Viera. 

Monday morning’s wrestling started with a quick review on basic defense and then shifted focus to escaping from the turtle position. The turtle position in MMA and BJJ is often thought of as an incredibly bad position (and rightfully so), but in the world of collegiate wrestling that type of position is a fairly typical position to work out of. The main technique that I stressed was the stand up, but I first made sure to institute some key concepts, such as wrist control and keeping your hips under you. Most importantly I tried to relay the concept of not accepting the position and being determined to escape back to the feet. After drilling some hand fighting techniques we covered a basic outside leg stand up to a cut through. We drilled that for several minutes and the added in another step, once we cut through and faced our opponent we either shot in for a takedown or threw a couple of strikes and looked to get out of the pocket. Monday night I joined in on the cardio training session run by Benkei. First we went through four five minute rounds of sport specific plyometrics, movements and KB lifts. We finished off by running several laps around the neighborhood and then up to the waterfall by Pedra.

Wrestling at BTT.

Tuesday was a day full of training. In the late morning I went in and worked boxing and muay thai, finishing off with hitting thai pads. I then quickly ran back to the apartment (literally) changed my clothes, grabbed my wrestling shoes and met Antoine down the street. Twice a week Antoine goes in and trains Brazils elite BOPE and then heads to Brazilian Top Team to teach wrestling. Originally I was supposed to go with him help train the BOPE, but due unfortunately a bad traffic accident (and that some of the BOPE were on a mission) we were not able to. We did however go to BTT to work with some of their MMA team. The gym where BTT is at the AABB a large health and fitness center sponsored by Banco do Brasil. The AABB is a large fitness center with restaurants, multiple pools, tennis courts, and basketball courts; they even have a salon. BTT is a large gym, they have a large mat space a boxing ring, and multiple heavy bags. I ran the warm up then Antoine ran the technique. He showed more MMA oriented technique. In addition to being an Olympian Antoine also has multiple MMA fights so he knows how to change the technique to better suit MMA. We went over several single leg takedowns (making sure to bypass our opponents guard) and then worked countering the single. We then did 40 second goes working to score takedowns, but with BJJ reaction time. By this I mean if during the process of being taken down a person could try to guard, sweep, or submit. It was good system because it forces you to be aware off all the possibilities. To finish the session out I had a seven minute match with a member BOPE who trains at BTT. The guy was really strong and held great position, but as time wore on and I kept the pressure up I was able to open up scoring opportunities when he stopped moving his feet. Seeing the high athletic ability of one single BOPE member really makes me want to head to the BOPE training site and work more with the elite soldiers. We headed back to Barra and I had just enough time to change clothes and talk with Nicole at are favorite beach kiosk before heading to the evenings nogi session. We worked defensively out of turtle and worked MMA guard technique to help block strikes and work for an escape or submission. We finished off the session with about 20 minutes of positional sparring and then another 15-20 minutes of free rolling. By the end of the day all I could really do was finish off a delicious acai and head to bed.

Wednesday morning I woke up sore (as expected) and headed to sparring. There were a ton of guys there, including former UFC featherweight and ADCC competitor Milton Viera. For the first of my three rounds of shark tank sparring (where I stayed in for 3x5 min rounds with new fresh opponents each round) I sparred Milton. Milton is a top tier fighter and I was a little slow to start, so I got it put to me. My shots got stuff and he out landed me on the feet (including a head kick that if I hadn’t halfway blocked would have put me out). Nevertheless I kept coming and trying to work, I may have gotten a choked, battered and taken down but I never stopped working. The second round of sparring started off slow but about half way through the round I started believing in my hands a bit more and using combos to set up takedowns. The third round I felt good I was slipping shots, blocking kicks, scoring on the feet and with takedowns, while my top game pressure wasn’t the best I still finished strong. After I got done Milton and I talked about some of the things he noticed while I was sparring, talking about both my strengths and areas where I need to work. While it may not have been the best sparring I have ever done, a was able to pull a lot of positives away from the experience and was enlightened to some new things. As I like to say, whether it’s a good day or a bad there’s always improvement.

The rest of the weeks training went good, it was filled with boxing, hard wrestling, and conditioning. The nice thing is now that my Portuguese is getting better I am able to communicate better with everyone, which is not only allowing me to better learn technique, but also just building a stronger team.

Nicole grabbing a drink at one of the many beach kiosks in Rio.

On Saturday night Nicole and I went into Laranjeiras to watch my friend and training partner Daniel Hortega make his professional debut at Bitetti Combat 15. Overall the whole card was great, a few back and forth battles, and a few impressive stoppages. Daniel was the 6th fight of the night, and even though he it was his debut he fought an experienced fighter. It was a battle with both guys landing hard shots on the feet, but the decisive factor in the fight was Daniels wrestling and BJJ. He was able to mix takedowns and top control with impressive sweeps in scrambles to control the pace on the ground and land hard strikes. In the end, he came out with the unanimous decision victory. Sunday, usually being our day of relaxing, was spent watching the Billabong Pro Surf Competition down on Barra Beach. It’s nice being able to head to 30 seconds to the beach and watch world class surfing and soak up the sun all day.

Pepe Beach, only about 2 minutes away from the apartment.

Hot Weather, Hard Sparing, and Rolling With Rani Yahya

A group shot of us all with Reyzinho and his Belt.

It’s been another fun and exciting week here in Rio. On Sunday we hit up the Dia da Rua in Ipanema, a music festival with various local artists who played 20-30 minute sets before the next group would start a block or two down the road. It made for a fun afternoon walking along the beach listening to Brazilian music. Also this week marked the start of Nicole’s BJJ training. She started training at Gracie Barra on Monday, and she absolutely loves it. She was nervous at first, but I am proud of here for getting out of her comfort zone and trying something new. I am happy to say that one of my friends and training partners Reyzinho Duarte fought this past weekend and won the Ring of Fire Bantamweight Title down in Sao Paulo, he faught a game opponent but Reyzinho's pressure and aggression was to much for him. Congrats! In other cool news UFC flyweight fighter Chris Cariaso is staying at CR HQ for the next 10 days to finish off his training camp for his May 18th fight in Brazil, hopefully I‘ll get the chance to get on the mat with him for some good training.The weather the past week has been simply amazing! During the day the sun is hot and it has been perfect for spending the afternoon at the beach, in the evenings the weather cools enough to make it extremely comfortable to sit out with friends spending the evening talking and laughing. Rio truly is a paradise.

Christian and I at the free "Flintstones" gym in Arpoador.

Weekly Training Review

This weeks training started off Monday morning with wrestling. We covered various defenses and counter offense options. Everyone took to the techniques well and its crazy at how fast some of the guys with little to no grappling background are picking up wrestling. Tuesday morning was striking class, after a foot work and movement circuit we broke into pairs. We would then cycle through each pair getting two  five minute rounds in with the muay thai instructor Daniel and two rounds with the boxing coach Jean Pierre. It was great because it gave each guy 20 minutes of individual time working solely on the techniques and style that works best for them. After the rounds the workout finished off with three five minute intervals of running on the beach. So after hitting away at mitts and hard running through sand I spent a few minutes sitting in the ocean letting my body recover.

Looking back across Ipanema beach from Arpoador.

Wednesday was another holiday down here in Rio (learning more and more how much Carioca’s love to find a reason to celebrate). While most gyms were closed or had open mat we were sparring hard. The first round I went up against Daniel the muay thai instructor. He is one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet but he’s simply vicious when it comes to striking. I have seen him drop several people with leg kicks alone, and you can tell he doesn’t throw with full power. Needless to say I wanted no part of that and spent most of the round crowding him and working the takedown. I filled in for a half round against Leozada (after he dropped someone with a body shot) who is always game and a hard fight. The next round I sparred Pequeno Nogueira, who brought it. Being short and stocky he has some vicious power. I worked my distance while trying to create opening for takedowns. During the round I was able to score several nice takedowns,  but any time I let up seemingly little pressure I would find myself being swept. A couple times I scrambled out, but a couple of times I ate some heavy shots or got guillotined for my efforts. The round ended with me landing hard shots from bottom and him landing shots from in my guard. The last round I sparred was against Emiliano, who is a good kick boxer who also packs a strong punch (and kick). We had some great exchanges on the feet, but my main focus was turning the fight into a dirty grind with me working for takedowns and top control. The great thing about having a large group of talented fighters is afterwards I was able to identify what areas I did well and what areas I needed to work on. The rest of the day was spent like any other holiday here, a large post workout acai and then the afternoon sitting at the beach and doing a little body surfing.

One of the many talented artists playing at Dia de Rua.

Thursday morning we worked wrestling against the cage and fighting the out of the clinch. The main focus was defensive work, focusing on countering the double and single leg attacks and working on reversing position from your back on the cage to putting your opponent against the cage. Thursday evening I got in a great kettlebell workout and beach sprint workout, and Friday morning’s striking session was focused on muay thai. Some of the combos worked well for me, while some just felt foreign and I couldn’t get the combos down. While doing some light technical sparing I felt more loose and relaxed in my strikes than I had in a long time. I was able to land, slip and block a lot and felt good doing it. In the afternoons nogi/ luta livre UFC Batamweight and ADCC Champion Rani Yahya came in to roll with us. The training started with me leading the guys in some takedown work to get warmed up, we then spent about 15-20 minutes of minute goes submission grappling starting on the feet. After we went and spent the rest of the training live rolling starting from out knees. I had the opportunity to roll with Rani, the man reminds me of an anaconda. Starting from our knees I was able to counter with arm drag attempts and tried to keep him at bay with my own attack. There were several times he submitted me, each time started with what felt like a relatively weak attempt but as I moved to counter the move would get tighter. The harder I worked to escape the tighter to submissions got. One of the submissions he caught me in may have been one of the tightest triangles I have ever felt. It was interesting going from a submission artist like that to Pequeno and Leozada Nog., who snap on their submissions with lighting fast speed and a ton of power. I felt I rolled pretty well overall, I was able to get out of some bad positions and work my offense against a very high level group of grapplers. I’m still getting schooled, but at least now I am feeling like I am keeping them on there toes and they can no longer afford to get sloppy with me. After training Rani came up and said he really liked the takedown work that we did and that he was impressed by my technique…those simple little comments made my day. After training a small group of us from all of the CR houses went out and grabbed a bite to eat and spent a couple of hours discussing training, Brazil, life, and just joking around. The training is phenomenal here in Rio, but one of the things I enjoy most about the life here at CR is all the people you get to meet from all over the world, the friendships that get built and the discussions that take place. Saturdays sparring session went great, I felt relaxed and I mixed things up a bit more varying my strikes and takedown. The only down side was I was involved in two different head butts  (both totally accidental of both peoples parts) but one of which has left my jaw a bit tender. Oh well comes with the territory.

After  Nogi training with Rani Yahya.

Overall this week was just another great week of training. Being down here, training with world class athletes 6 days a week, meeting and hanging out with new friends, enjoying great conversation, and relaxing at the beach is what makes this place so great. Time can fly bye and it’s great to be able to write this blog every week, it allows me to reflect and look back week to week and see how things are progressing.