Braga Neto. Photo: Carlos Ozorio
An athlete who sticks his neck out in all the competitions, Antonio Braga Neto couldn’t resist the Brazilian Nationals. The black belts will see action this coming weekend, at the Tijuca Tennis Club.
“I’m in. I’m in the weight group and the absolute,” he tells GRACIEMAG.com.
At this year’s Pan, Braga nearly repeated his feat from 2009, when he won both categories. But, in the absolute final, he lost in the waning moments to Bernardo Faria. At the Brazilian Nationals the fighter hopes not to make any mistakes, but also makes a point of heaping praise regarding the quality of the opponents he will encounter.
“I’ve lost some by the finer details, but my opponents deserve the credit. Bernardo surprised me, he got me in a position I wasn’t expecting. In the final of the No-Gi Worlds, I also suffered a takedown at the very end. But that happens because there’s a great opponent facing me,” he says.
“I always look to prevail and I’m learning. I’m in all the championships and don’t want to just be someone who wins; I want to be champion. I’m happy because people are getting to see what I do, which is attacking Jiu-Jitsu, always going for the submission,” he adds.
By Braga’s side, Gordo Evolve team boasts some more black belts promising to give their opponents a hard time.
“We didn’t come in this strong this time because we missed the deadline for getting our IDs, but we have a strong crew, like Vitor Bonfim and Renan Vital,” he says in finishing.