Caio goes for armbar in semifinal. Photo: Carlos Ozório.
The first South American qualifying tournament for the World Pro was held last Wednesday in the city of Natal, Brazil.
To the joy local crowd’s delight, one of the city’s representatives qualified in the brown/black belt division: Caio Alencar, in the over-92kg weight group.
The fighter submitted all four of the opponents he faced in his weight class, as well as shutting out the absolute. Content with the opportunity to compete in Abu Dhabi, the Kimura Nova União representative is happy to be able to show the quality of Jiu-Jitsu in his region.
“It was great because we’re really far from the Rio-São Paulo axis and tournaments like this one show how there are a lot of good Jiu-Jitsu guys in Brazil’s northeast. I feel we’re set back for not having many competitions around here, which means we lack some rhythm. Abu Dhabi is coming up and people can see we have some very promising athletes,” he comments.
Caio went to the back to finish in the final. Photo: Carlos Ozório.
In Caio’s weight class, the champion at World Pro 2010 was Ricardo Demente. The fighter is pleased about having a chance to face some of the best in the world.
“It will be a great honor for me. I know most of the guys there have been competing in the big tournaments for longer than me, they’re more experienced, but I may surprise them. It will be a great honor because Jiu-Jitsu is my philosophy of life and it’s what I like best. Competing is a party to me!”
Now he carries on working hard until the World Pro, when he’ll finally be back in action.
“I’m going to keep on training, doing physical conditioning, and staying focused. I’ll be ready to give my best when I get there, to do the impossible. I never give up!” says the mat whiz from Natal in finishing.