Calasans during 2010 campaign / Foto: Luca Atalla
Claudio Calasans was the big name of the 2010 installment of the World Pro, winning both his weight division and the absolute. This season in Abu Dhabi Calasans is still on the same path. In the under-83 kg division this Thursday the black belt overcame all his opponents and is through to the final, against Vinicius Corrales, one of the dark horses of the competition.
“I saw some of his matches – the kid’s tough, and he’s not in the final for nothing. But I’m prepared to deal with all kinds of opponent. I had three matches with fighters who are also really tough, and I put together my strategy with my team so that so as to make no mistakes and win,” Calasans tells GRACIEMAG.com.
Vinicius Corrales, of team Sul Jiu-Jitus, joins the other names that weren’t listed among the favorites to win but who are through to the World Pro finals.
“This event is different in that the matches are six minutes, which is totally different from ten-minute matches. You can’t do the same physical conditioning or have the same strategy. Falling behind on the scorecards is bad news, time goes by in a flash. I watched a lot of guys make that mistake. I like six-minute matches – the fights are fun to watch, more dynamic and more likely to have surprises.”
However happy he is to be in the final of his weight class, Calasans reflects on an issue that stirred up commentary on the first day of Gi Jiu-Jitsu disputes.
“I try and keep concentrated so as not to lose focus on my work. What I noticed in the event is that there are a lot of people complaining about the refereeing. They weren’t complaining that the refs were out to get them, but that they are outdated. They were often in doubt, even though there are good referees at the event. But I myself experienced an absurd refereeing mistake in the no-gi division and heard a lot of folks complaining about reffing mistakes. Jiu-Jitsu is always evolving, you can’t stop in time. I feel the refereeing should be the same, especially with matches at this level. So that’s my criticism so that next year the event won’t have to worry about that part,” he says in closing.