Ary vs Langhi in Long Beach. Photo: Luca Atalla
Ary Farias, who was tipped by GRACIEMAG.com as one of the big names to make noise in 2010, lived up to expectations by winning the featherweight brown belt division of the Jiu-Jitsu World Championship. Forthright and to the point, Ary spoke of his change of teams, his win over the hard-nosed Michel Langhi (brother of Michael Langhi), the injury that nearly kept him out of the Worlds and much more.
Check out the interview below:
What is your assessment of your World Championship campaign?
The Worlds was awesome. Well, the Worlds is the Worlds, right? My preparations went without a hitch. As always, I look to be in the best shape possible.
Is it true you competed at the Worlds carrying injuries?
I could only show 30% of my Jiu-Jitsu because I suffered a serious injury two weeks before the Brazilian Nationals. I rushed to my doctor to let him know; he examined me and told me my knee wasn’t in the best of shape and that I’d best forget about the Brazilian Nationals and the Worlds this year because, if I’d compete, I’d only aggravate the problem and I wouldn’t be in the best of shape. I told him it would be frustrating not to enter the two events and that I was going to compete and win. That’s when I signed up for the Brazilian Nationals and all went well, but my knee got worse. Ramon Lemos told me to focus entirely on physical conditioning and only do light Jiu-Jitsu training. So I entered the Worlds full steam and fought with my heart. It was my day.
So long as Langhi is on a different team he’ll lose every time,” Ary Farias
Tell me about your match with Michel Langhi at the Worlds. It didn’t look like anyone could beat him…
It was a battle between two lions. The one hungriest for it was going to win and, thank God, the three times I faced him in the past I was the hungrier! It was a tough match. His strategy going in was to win on advantage points. Jiu-Jitsu is an attacking sport and he would have to put in a good appearance for the crowd in attendance. It was a good win, but no different from the rest. So long as he’s on a different team he’ll lose every time. It wasn’t unlikely that anyone would beat him. The truth is that it was his second championship as a brown belt; he still has a long way to go.
Aryz receives brown belt from Ricardo Vieira while still at CheckMat. Photo: Carlos Ozório
Ary celebrates at Worlds. Photo: Personal archive
Why is it that you left CheckMat for Atos?
Atos is a family that takes everyone in! The move to Atos was because my brother (Yuri Simões) and I already knew about what the guys were doing and we realized that there are a lot of people on this team with the same objectives that we have. It’s a group where everyone trains to be champion and training is focused on that; and after talking to Ronaldo Jacaré, who has always backed me up when making decisions, we ended up moving. We found out it is a complete team in every way. We have an exemplary teacher and we feel completely at home there. The whole gang is friendly and gives us the support we need to make a living as Jiu-Jitsu professionals. What’s important is that I’m super happy with the move and I’m certain it will only make my Jiu-Jitsu evolve even more.
What’s changed for you since moving to the new team?
The move was the best. I’m a really focused, determined and disciplined guy and really want to compete.
What are your upcoming commitments this year?
Now I’m here recuperating energy with my family and girlfriend. Last week I went to the doctor and he told me to recharge my batteries to not short-circuit. He’s going to call me this week to let me know if I’ll have to operate and then I’ll focus completely on the Rio Open.
Thanks for the interview, GRACIEMAG.com!