Augusto “Tanquinho” Mendes and purple belt Mackenzie Dern are an item. And the young couple made their debut at the Portuguese leg of the Abu Dhabi World Pro tryouts last weekend.
“I had three matches in Portugal, with two submissions and one 18-0 win in the final,” says Tanquinho, who won a round-trip ticket from Lisbon to Abu Dhabi. The Soul Fighters lightweight impressed with the uneven scores of his matches. In his first, before getting the finish, he scored 16 to 0; his next was 14 to 0 prior to the tapout; and then the aforementioned final…
Now Mackenzie put on a great performance, despite not winning. “Mackenzie took second competing with the browns and blacks,” her boyfriend explains.
“She won her first match by 2 to 0. She only lost in the final to Michelle Nicolini, but now she’ll try and qualify at a different tryout event,” says the black belt on his way to Norway to teach a seminar.
The two return to competition at the end of this month, at the European Open 2011. Not signed up yet? Then do so here.
Check out the complete coverage of the Portuguese tryouts here.